Maestà

The transcendent majesty of the Virgin - seated like a real secular queen on an elaborate golden throne and flanked by a celestial court -, and the preciousness, rarity and richness of the colours lend the fresco a sacred quality and a mystical stateliness that clearly render its moral and religious value. Here, the Virgin is also the protector of the city, inspiring good government on the part of its political class, represented by the work's commissioner, the Sienese Nello di Mino de' Tolomei, captain of the people and mayor, who kneels humbly before her seeking her blessing and guidance. Of course the whole composition resembles the Maestà painted two years before by his brother-in-law Simone Martini in the Sala del Mappamondo in Siena City Hall. In 1366 four lateral saints were added to the painting by Sienes artist Bartolo di Fredi (Siena, documented 1353, died 1410) and was later restored - following damage suffered when two doors were created in the wall - by the Florentine Benozzo Gozzoli