Triptych of the Madonna with the Child and Saints, Crucifixion, four saints and the Annunciation to Mary c. 1380 - 1395

This Triptych of the Madonna with Child, Crucifixion, four saints and the Annunciation to Mary was painted by Cristoforo di Bindoccio in Siena, Italy, most likely in the late 14th century. It is a work deeply embedded in the religious culture of its time. The triptych format, with its folding panels, makes it an object for personal devotion, a sort of portable altarpiece. The central panel portrays the Madonna and Child surrounded by saints, while the side panels depict the Crucifixion and the Annunciation. These scenes, rendered in rich colors and gilded backgrounds, speak to a society steeped in religious symbolism. But the image also reflects institutional histories. Painted in Siena, a city-state with its own unique artistic traditions and its own complex relationship to the church. It would be useful to examine parish records, confraternity documents and other archival material for any evidence of the kind of patron that might have commissioned such a work. The work reminds us that the meaning of art is contingent on a whole host of historical conditions.