First Major Exhibition of Taddeo di Bartolo Opens in Perugia

The Galleria Nazionale dell'Umbria in Perugia hosts the first-ever retrospective dedicated to the Sienese painter Taddeo di Bartolo (c. 1362–1420), curated by Gail E. Solberg, the leading scholar on the artist. The exhibition centers on the reconstruction of the monumental double-sided polyptych from the church of San Francesco al Prato, originally comprising at least 42 panels spanning 4.5 meters, which was sawn apart in later centuries. The show is organized into thematic sections—Esordio, Viaggi, Ritorno, Trionfo, Racconti, Innovazione, Varietà—and includes loans from international collections. Taddeo di Bartolo, overshadowed by Duccio, Simone Martini, and the Lorenzetti brothers, was a master of polyptych construction, using innovative carpentry and 'patroni' (cardboard templates) to streamline production. The exhibition also features a miniature from 1382, a painted wooden Madonna from 1420 co-signed with his adopted son Gregorio Di Cecco, and virtual reconstructions of his frescoes in Siena's Palazzo Pubblico. The choice of Perugia over Siena is due to the Galleria Nazionale dell'Umbria holding the largest number of Taddeo's panels.