Taddeo di Bartolo, Siena?s premier painter in the years around 1400, is the focus of a cultural history of a great Italian school in an understudied period. His patrons commissioned important fresco cycles and the most impressive polyptychs of the age. In part a travelogue, the text follows Taddeo (ca 1362-1422) from training in straitened times at Siena across central and northern Italy. Ten years of itinerancy drew him to various Tuscan centers, along the Ligurian coast from Genoa to Provence, probably to Padua, and into Umbria. About 1399 he resettled at Siena to rapidly become the preferred painter of his commune. His mural cycles made a greater imprint on Siena?s civic iconography than has been acknowledged while his efficient Sienese shop produced outstanding panel paintings for, among others, the most dynamic religious orders. Until his last years he received grand commissions in and from beyond Siena. He drew a pope?s portrait and was employed by a cardinal at Rome. Attention to his production methods shows how his busy shop ensured variety in numerous paintings for mid-level clients by a flexible design system. Taddeo?s works, including rediscovered and reconstructed paintings, come alive in beautiful illustrations. This chronicle of an indefatigable and successful late medieval career positions the painter, his colleagues, and his patrons in their political, economic, and social circumstances. It provides new insights on Siena?s artistic culture at the start of the Renaissance. TABLE OF CONTENTS Volume 1 Foreword Introduction A Timeline of Taddeo di Bartolo?s Life and Contemporary Events Part I: Emergence Chapter 1: Taddeo?s Early Life and Late Trecento Painting in Siena Chapter 2: The First Altarpieces Part II: Itinerance Chapter 3: Florence, Lucca, Pisa, and Padua Chapter 4: Genoa and Liguria Chapter 5: Pisa Again Chapter 6: Genoa and Liguria Again Part III: Siena: Dipentore Nostro Chapter 7: The Cathedral Chapter 8: The Palazzo Pubblico: The Priors? Chapel and Related Works Chapter 9: The Palazzo Pubblico: The Antechapel Chapter 10: The Late Civic Commissions and Taddeo?s Associates Part IV: Acclamation: Three Grand High Altarpieces Chapter 11: The Assumption Triptych for the Aragazzi at Montepulciano Chapter 12: The Double-Sided Heptaptych for the Franciscans at Perugia Chapter 13: The Heptaptych for the Dominicans at Gubbio Part V: Variety: Panel Paintings of the First Decade of the Fifteenth Century Chapter 14: Madonna and Child Paintings, Predellas, and Other Polyptych Elements Chapter 15: Narrative Altarpieces Chapter 16: From Monumental Crucifixes to Panels for Personal Devotion Part VI: Culmination Chapter 17: Volterra and San Gimignano Chapter 18: Last Works: Siena, Outside Siena, Orte, and Rome Chapter 19: Aftermath Chapter 20: Taddeo?s Legacy Volume 2 Appendix I: Fortuna Critica Appendix II: Documents Appendix III: Problematic Attributions List of Illustrations Illustrations Bibliography General Index Index of Works by Taddeo di Bartolo