Italian Renaissance

Effects of Good Government in the City

 

“Sala Della Pace” or "The Effects of Good Government in the City and in the Country”, was created by Ambrogio Lorenzetti’s in Siena, Italy during 1338-1339. These murals on the walls of a display room that portray an allegory of the government’s influence on the people, city, and countryside. While this may seem a bit early for the Italian renaissance, this was one of the early works that focused on some signature characteristics of the Italian renaissance, as well as humanism aspects. 

Allegory of the Good Government

    The return of humanistic ideals into the mainstream of art during this time had a lot of the same elements of past art pieces but applied more towards humans (body, size, overall atmosphere). I feel something artists did at this time was bridging the gap between more religious works, making it more relatable. The churches liked this and to keep the religious work going, ended up paying artists a good amount of money to create work that was to be displayed at their religious establishments. “Sala Della Pace” had plenty of nods to the more religious ideas while being largely focused on the people and the place; more humanistic.

Effects of Good Government in the Country

    Some history about these murals, is that they are the "first and only secular painting of siennas early Renaissance period."¹ And when those governing Siena commissioned this, they wanted it to be a guid to everyone so they would know what would happen if they don't properly govern the place. 

Structure and Statement

    This mural was split into six sections, showing depictions of what the city and country would look like when the government is working as intended, but it also showed what it would look like if the rulers were taken over by things like tyranny and pride. This allegory of good and bad government served as a guideline for what things should look like when going right and served as a warning for what it would look like if ruled poorly. There are good signs like prosperity, construction, business full of people and happy gatherings, these are good things built off of balance. The allegory of  bad government shows violence, corruption, fire, broken building, chaos and more things that are a threat to an orderly place.

Allegory of the Bad Government

As you can see, this version of the government group has a much darker tone and the imagery is showing the corruption. Some of the figures seen from the good mural, such as justice, are seen dead and bound underneath the platform the rulers sit on.

 

Effects of Bad Government in the City

    Unfortunately, the quality of these murals aren't as good as the first three tiles, but there is an interactive 3D room that can give you a better view. The most notable figure in this mural, shown enlarged just above, is this "Tyrant" figure who sits on the throne living in luxury while emitting darkness. All of the figures that caused the city to fail can be traced to these corrupt ideas, for instance, the tyrant is surrounded by Avarice, Pride, Vainglory, Cruelty, Fury, and so on. All of which were seen to be the "leading enemies of human life". ²

Effects of Bad Government in the Country

    Here is the final section, showing the result of poor governing on the countryside, you can see the desolate landscape compared to the ideal one. While this is clearly showing elements of humanism as I mentioned before, this piece as a whole also shows the Influence of Royalty; the good v bad government murals directly illustrate that. Even though this was made so long ago it still is perfectly reflected into modern society. I think because it has such a simple meaning mostly based off of human nature. it's fascinating how this is still applicable to todays world.

References

1. Ambrogio lorenzetti's good and bad government. (n.d.). Retrieved February 12, 2021, from https://www.visittuscany.com/en/attractions/siena-ambrogio-lorenzetti-good-and-bad-government/

2. The allegory of good and bad government. (2020, July 30). Retrieved February 12, 2021, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Allegory_of_Good_and_Bad_Government#cite_ref-19

3. Brennan, M. (2019, January 01). Sala della Pace, Palazzo PUBBLICO, siena - 3D model by MATTHEW Brennan. Retrieved February 12, 2021, from https://sketchfab.com/3d-models/sala-della-pace-palazzo-pubblico-siena-bbd4d069d50e4e3282f0707a454bfbe1