Saints on gold, Siena to Venice
Gothic Painting
Painting on wooden panels in Siena, Florence and Venice, from the late 1200s into the 1400s. Duccio’s Madonna with the child reaching for her veil, Giotto’s kings at the stable with one kneeling in red, Pietro Lorenzetti’s Crucifixion crowded with horsemen, Lorenzo Monaco’s Nativity with the child lying in gold rays, and Giovanni di Paolo’s round world beside Adam and Eve sent out of the garden. Tempera, gold leaf and a great deal of blue.
As a puzzle
Gold is the hard part. The grounds, the halos and the patterned cloth are all gold leaf, one warm shimmer from edge to edge, so begin with the faces, the red cloaks and the deep blue mantles, and leave the gold for last. Most are tall panels with arched or pointed tops. The crowded Crucifixions take a higher count well; keep the quiet Madonnas moderate.
A good size here: 50–200 pieces.
Subjects here: Sacred Art
16 pictures, pick one to build
The Adoration of the Magi Giotto di Bondone, possibly ca. 1320 
Madonna and Child Duccio di Buoninsegna, ca. 1290–1300 
The Crucifixion Pietro Lorenzetti, 1340s 
The Trinity Agnolo Gaddi, ca. 1390–96 
The Nativity Lorenzo Monaco (Piero di Giovanni), ca. 1406–10 
The Creation of the World and the Expulsion from Paradise Giovanni di Paolo (Giovanni di Paolo di Grazia), 1445 
Madonna and Child Workshop of Sano di Pietro (Ansano di Pietro di Mencio), 1450s 
Saint Paul Lippo Memmi (Filippo di Memmo), ca. 1330 
Madonna and Child Enthroned Workshop of Paolo Veneziano, ca. 1350 
Madonna and Child Enthroned with Two Donors Lorenzo Veneziano, ca. 1360–65 
The Crucifixion Andrea di Bartolo 
The Adoration of the Magi Bartolo di Fredi, ca. 1390 
Saint Mary Magdalen Holding a Crucifix; (reverse) The Flagellation Spinello Aretino (Spinello di Luca Spinelli), ca. 1395–1400 
Madonna and Child with Angels Gentile da Fabriano (Gentile di Niccolò di Giovanni di Massio) 
The Crucifixion Attributed to Ugolino da Siena, ca. 1315–20 
The Crucifixion Allegretto Nuzi, ca. 1355–60