We take a look at how critics have been reacting to the National Gallery’s latest exhibition.
The Guardian: ***** “This epochal exhibition is full of works so intimate and expressive that the painters of a medieval Italian city 700 years ago suddenly seem close at hand.”
The Observer: ****** “What you see in this epochal show is a golden moment in art, before the city’s streets fall silent and empty.”
The Standard: ***** “It’s a blockbuster of a show, with an extraordinary emotional charge: beauty, skill, piety, spirituality and sheer fabulous extravagance in a single space. It helps that the glorious pieces are so well presented: perfect lighting and a dark backdrop for all that shimmering gold.”
The Telegraph: ***** “Having recently taken New York by storm, this bewitching new exhibition of trecento art arrives in the UK, and is not to be missed.”
FloLondon.co.uk: “However, the exhibition makes a strong case for Siena’s unique contribution to art history, even for a secular viewer.”
New Statesman.com: “This exhibition, both visually and spiritually sumptuous, shows how the painters of early-14th-century Siena forged a sweet new style too.”
The Independent: **** “There’s a reassuring sense that even in the 14th century, there was a lot going on well outside the mainstream.”
Siena: The Rise of Painting is on display at the National Gallery until the 22nd June.