What does good government need? That's what a fourteenth-century artwork in Siena tells us: Ambrogio Lorenzetti's Allegory of Good and Bad Government

This article has been translated from Dutch to English with DeepL

It must be your job. Running a village, city, region or country. In our current times, this is no easy task if you have the best interests of citizens/residents at heart. In all sorts of places in Europe and the world where civil rights used to be fine, they are now being trampled on. The world order has changed face in a few months and the call for leadership is getting louder. This reminds me enormously of a fourteenth-century work of art in Siena that can still inspire administrators today to do the right thing. This is art history you can learn from.

Aristotle's vision
To do this, we first go back in time. Thinking about how to govern a city or country well was already happening in ancient Greece. Indeed, much of the thinking of that time has shaped our thinking today and can still be found in modern political and social systems. Take Aristotle (384 -322 BC), the great philosopher, who recorded his thoughts on politics in his book Politica*. Here are a few of them.

According to Aristotle, man is a social being who finds his destiny and optimal well-being in the state. Ethics and politics are closely linked with him: the former leads to the latter, because all action is aimed at welfare and happiness and an activity of the soul, he puts it nicely.

Fig. 1. Bust of Aristotle, marble, Roman copy after a Greek bronze original, by Lysippos from 330 B.C. The cloak of alabaster is a later addition

And he continues: every human being aims to survive and live with others in a situation of peace and tranquillity. All this is based on ‘friendship’ which promotes social cohesion and solidarity. This is strengthened when people can live together in togetherness and are governed by people who have been given the gifts of practical wisdom for this purpose. How beautiful this sounds: practical wisdom! It is a bit solemn language for us now but actually there is not a word wrong with what he is saying.

Aristotle defends as a form of state a practical hybrid of aristocracy and democracy. Aristocracy means that the best (aristoi) lead, democracy ensures that power and welfare are distributed evenly. He envisions a society with a strong civil society where there is as much equality and equality as possible. With good governance, there can then be stability and continuity, unlike forms of government where wealth, power and nepotism prevail. He also warns against assigning administrative positions to a limited number of people for too long and for a longer period of time. The danger of tyranny then lurks. How topical these words are again.

For that good governance, Aristotle gives four handles - positive human qualities later called the four cardinal virtues: Prudence (Prudentia), Justice(Iustitia), Fortitude (Fortitudo) and Temperance (Temperantia).** Under the influence of Christianity, three more virtues are added: Faith, Hope and Charity. Virtue, by the way, according to Aristotle, is not inborn, if you might think so, but can only be acquired through practice based on moral knowledge.

Siena
A long introduction needed to comprehend the following. In 1986, I travel by car to Italy with friend Mariëlle. Goal is Siena, which is said to be a beautiful medieval city. And it is! After some walking through the streets, we arrive at a very special square in the shape of a shell. It turns out to be the ‘most beautiful square in the world’, lucky us! The square slopes slightly downwards and is then intersected by an unusual building: the Palazzo Pubblico, Siena's old town hall.

Fig. 2. Shell square with the Palazzo Pubblico in Siena

Of course we visit this, and once inside, at some point we emerge into the Sala della Pace. Along three walls, we see a huge fresco cycle recounting the ingredients needed to govern well and also which dangers lead to bad governance. In addition, you can see from both what the consequences can be for city and countryside: the Allegory of good and bad governance.

What is so special about the work is that it is the first, almost entirely profane (secular) work of art in a public building in the very Roman Catholic Middle Ages. Until then, artistic expressions were religious. It is also one of the first paintings depicting the countryside. The whole is a striking example of a - under the influence of emerging humanism - burgeoning self-awareness of man. This would lead a century later to the period in Italy, with its heart in Florence, first called the Renaissance in the nineteenth century by the historian Jacob Burckhardt (1818-1897).

Its creator is Ambrogio Lorenzetti (1290-1348) who painted this cycle between 1338-1339, commissioned by the administration of the republic of Siena for the room where the city council meets. In those years, Siena is a republic and the city is governed by descendants of nine important families: the Consiglio dei Nove (Council of Nine). They are in office for a period of two months, only to be replaced by nine other administrators. Aristotle was listened to carefully because he is the man who recommended this to, as I wrote, prevent corruption. The cycle will have been intended to inspire the administrators gathered here but also hold them to the ethical standards recounted on the frescoes. These are inspired by this virtue ethic of Aristotle. See, this is what this introduction was for.

Fig. 3. Giorgio Vasari, Fantasy portrait of Ambrogio Lorenzetti in his Vite, 1550/1564

The cycle consists of four scenes along the top of the three walls of a rectangular space and is clearly made for teaching. The Allegory of Good Governance Lorenzetti applied to the short wall measuring c. 3 x 14 metres (!), with a variety of allegorical characters representing positive qualities needed if you want to govern a city well. Thanks to the captions, they are easy to spot. Turn around and along the left wall up to the window you can see their effects on town and country. On the opposite wall, on the left, you see the Allegory of Bad Government with the dangers - also depicted in allegorical figures - that can lead to bad government. And of these, too, Lorenzetti paints the effects on town and countryside.

Fig. 4. Overview of the Sala della Pace in the Palazzo Pubblico in Siena

Fig. 5. Ambrogio Lorenzetti, Allegory of good government and its effects on town and countryside, fresco, 1338-1339, 296 cm × 1398 cm, Siena, Palazzo Pubblico, Sala delle Pace

The Allegory of Good Government, as mentioned above, is on the short wall, directly opposite the window. On the left, high up, stands Divine Wisdom (Sapienta), crowned, winged and holding in her left hand a book, representing knowledge. In her right hand she holds a scale, on which two angels, according to Aristotelian tradition, practise the two sides of Justice: punish (left) and reward (right).

Justice, seated on a throne under Divine Wisdom, is the only one who can and may hold the weight of the scales. From each scale runs a rope that comes together in the left hand of Eendracht (Concordia), the figure below Justice. She has a sheaf on her lap, the symbol of equality and balance. Eendracht then gives the rope to the twenty-four citizens who symbolise the city, and the rope eventually comes attached to the wrist of the figure standing in front of the Comune - the city council. The citizens are dressed differently to express their different social backgrounds and professions. Below the figure of the Comune are Romulus and Remus and the wolf who play a role for Siena in the myth of the city's birth, in addition to Rome. Next to the two young boys are two lords who offer their castles to the Comune as they seek protection from the city.

Fig. 6. Romulus, Remus, the wolf and the two castle lords with a piece of one of the castles to their left (sorry, I can't get the picture to be sharper)

The figure of the Comune is dressed in black and white: the colours of Siena. In one hand he holds a sceptre and in the other a shield depicting the Virgin Mary and Child, flanked by two angels. His headdress of fur refers to his status as a judge. Around his right wrist is tied the Justice Rope given to him by the citizens themselves. Above the Comune's head hovers the three theological virtues: Faith, Hope and Charity. Also depicted - almost invisible - very small is the face of Jesus.

Fig. 8. The face of Jesus with a halo at the top, right of centre (I couldn't get the picture sharper)

To the left and right of the Comune are the four cardinal virtues: Justice, Moderation, Prudence and Fortitude. Each virtue is depicted with its attributes, after medieval iconography: the sword, crown and severed head for Justice; the hourglass for wise use of time for Temperance; a mirror to interpret the past, read the present properly and foresee the future for Prudence, and the mace and shield for Fortitude. They are accompanied by two other unconventional virtues, namely Peace (Pax), gracefully suspended in a chair with a pile of weapons underneath, and holding an olive branch, and Magnanimity (Magnanimitas), handing out crowns and coins. Below the virtues on the right are some soldiers, both cavalry and infantry, holding a group of men captive.

Fig. 9. Peace (Pax) relaxing in a chair, with her feet on top of some weapons

Fig. 10. Eendracht with the justice rope and a planer

In summary, the upper part of the fresco contains the divine components - the divine Wisdom and the theological virtues -, the middle part the city institutions - Justice, the Comune and the non-theological virtues , - and the lower part the builders and users of all this: the army and the citizens. The rope symbolises the unity between Justice and the Comune: inseparable and one useless without the other, held together by the citizens in a state of harmony. The fresco also shows what Justice looked like in 14th-century Siena: it is not only about passing judgement on people but also about regulating prosperity through trade. So justice in those days also meant that, for the sake of the city, inhabitants of neighbouring villages and towns could be subjugated, and the fact that deaths might occur in the process is part of it.

The effects of good government for city and countryside are on the left side wall, if you have the Allegory of Good Government in the back, and are shown in one fresco. At the top left are the cathedral's bell tower and dome, symbolic of the city at the time. The city has a lively traffic of people through a multitude of streets, squares, palaces and shops. There are many ornaments, such as stained-glass windows, crenellated roofs, moulded corbels under the roofs, arches, wooden beams, plants and flowers on the terraces, a painted roof terrace. All luxuries that only a good board can provide.

Industrious residents engage in handicrafts, trade and construction activities. In the foreground, we see a shoe shop selling something to a man with a mule. Above, some masons are busy constructing a building. A neatly dressed man sits in a chair and teaches to an attentive audience. A bride-to-be with a crown on her head, sitting on a horse, is on her way to her wedding blessing; two women look on. Very beautiful is the group of dancers holding hands and dancing to the rhythm of a singer with tambourine.

Fig. 11. Effects for the city of good governance

Fig. 12. A bride on her way to her wedding blessing

Fig. 13. There is singing and dancing

Fig. 14. Work is being done

Fig. 15. and lessons are taught

The city passes beyond the city gate into the countryside and there is trade back and forth: stuff goes in and out of the city. Two men on horseback leave the town, while one of them looks back and speaks to a third man. Two mules laden with bales leave towards a neighbouring town. A man walks with a boar towards town as do two men with bales on their backs. Two men walk towards town while talking, one of whom carries a basket of eggs. All goods that will be sold in the town.

Farmers sow, hoe and plough the land. Their activities follow the cycle of growth and flowering: ploughing, sowing, harvesting and threshing wheat. Estates have vineyards and olive trees. Also recognisable are farms, villas and fortified villages. Flying in the sky on the left is the personification of Security (Securitas), holding a hanged criminal: symbol of implacable justice when the law is broken. Everything seems geared towards prosperity.

Fig. 16. Effects of good governance in rural areas

Fig. 17. showing the figure of Security (Securitas) at top left

In summary, the city represents the harmonious union of the civic virtues Wisdom, Steadfastness, Justice and Moderation while the dancers refer to Unity, indispensable for peaceful coexistence.

Fig. 18. Two men on horseback riding out of town and people bringing all sorts of things into town to sell

Afb. 19. Boeren dorsen het graan

But what happens when governing goes the wrong way? Lorenzetti paints the dangers to which city and countryside are then exposed in the Allegory of Bad Government. That fresco is on the opposite wall, immediately to the right of the Allegory of Good Government on the short wall, so a comparison is immediately possible.

In the centre, you see the personification of Tyranny (Tyrannide): a scary monstrosity with fangs, horns, a squinty gaze and clawed feet. It is a stark contrast to the great proud figure of the Comune in the Allegory of Good Government.

Fig. 20. On the right, the Allegory of bad governance with its effects on the city and - not visible here - the countryside on the left. The work is unfortunately badly damaged

This Tyranny has no rope tied in trust with its citizens. At his feet lies a black goat; the antithesis of the lactating wolf of the twins Romulus and Remus at good government. Above it fly three winged vices: Greed (Avaritia) with the attribute of a long hook for raking up riches, and in her other hand two open money pouches clasped upside down between two planks; Haughtiness (Superbia) with a sword and a yoke and Vanity (Vanitas) with a mirror, with which she admires material beauty, holding in her right hand a dry fruit as a sign of her fickleness.

Next to Tyranny are personifications of different aspects of “evil”: Left Cruelty (Crudelitas), showing a snake to an infant; Betrayal (Proditio) with a lamb whose tail has been turned into a scorpion, symbolising its viciousness; Deceit (Fraus) with wings and feet with claws; Anger (Furor) with the head of a boar, the torso of a man, the body of a horse and the tail of a dog, symbolising bestial rage; Dividedness (Divisio) in a dress with a vertical black and white band - the colours of Siena but opposite to the horizontal colour division in the dressing gown of Comune - with a saw, counterpart to the scowl of Duck, and finally War (Guerra) depicted with a sword, a shield and a black robe.

Under Tyranny, Justice lies, now on the ground, submissive, stripped of her cloak and crown, her hands bound and the scales tipped to the ground. She looks sad. One individual holds her with a rope. Next to her stand - poorly visible - the victims of misrule: the citizens. To the right of the subdued Justice, two people fight over a baby and even further to the right, others leave two corpses with severed hands on the ground.

To the left of the Allegory of Bad Governance, the effects for the city and countryside are painted immediately on the same wall. The city is unsafe and full of rubble. The citizens no longer build and maintain, but destroy what is there. Murders are committed and there is no longer any protection or legal security so innocent citizens are arrested just like that. The economy is flat. In the countryside, things are not much better: there are fires and armies marching up to the city wall. In the sky, a sinister Fear (Paura) flies.

Fig. 21. Justice lies gagged under Tyranny

Fig. 22. Decaying buildings

Fig. 23. An innocent woman is arrested

Fig. 24. The effects for the countryside: houses become ruins, nothing grows anymore and soldiers make the countryside unsafe

There is, of course, much more to say about this work, but I will stop here. I still find this an incredible work and see in the developments at the moment a good reason to present it to you - my readers. For learning and entertainment, though the tone is serious.

Aristotle did the world an enormous service with his ideas on governance. Later generations transformed the cardinal virtues and other good and bad human traits into personifications, thus giving the abstract concepts human forms.*** Art, from the Renaissance onwards, is rich in many wonderful variations on these moral traits, with the aim of pointing out good behaviour also to the mostly illiterate population. With good behaviour, you can get into heaven later.

The walls of the Sala delle Pace show one of these variations, and in full force. The work is clear, principled and focused on people's well-being. And it is other people who can provide that, provided they have the right attitude and go not for themselves but for the community. As far as I am concerned, this work can belong to every European and in her or his cultural-historical backpack.

* Politika (Ancient Greek: Πολιτικά) is a work by Aristotle and second part of a diptych. The first part is titled Ethika (on ethics) and both writings have the same theme: Aristotle himself sometimes calls it the philosophy of human affairs, but more often political or social sciences. Before writing this work, he studied the state structure or constitution of more than 150 cities in ancient Greece. Politika is derived from the Greek word polis (πόλις: city-state).
** First so named by church father Ambrose of Milan (339-397), where cardinal is to be understood as pivotal.
*** That these properties take the form of a woman in art is purely because the terms for them in Latin grammar are feminine.

With thanks to Heino van Rijnberk

Justification literature:
Maria Meoni, Utopia and reality: Ambrogio Lorenzetti's good government, Firenze, Edizioni IFI, 2005Aldo

Cairola, Simone Martini and AMbrogio Lorenzette in the Town Hall of Siena, Firenze, Edizione IFI, s.j.

P. van Tongeren, Deugdelijk Leven - Een inleiding in de virtueethiek, Amsterdam, Boom, 2003

https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Politika_(Aristoteles) (consulted april 2025)
https://historiek.net/aristoteles-universele-filosoof-oudheid/65153/ (consulted april 2025)
WIKIhttps://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allegoria_ed_effetti_del_Buono_e_del_Cattivo_Governo?oldid=95388399 (consulted 5 mei 2025

Verantwoording fotografie:

Opening image: https://www.wga.hu/index1.html Fig. 1. https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aristoteles#/media/Bestand:Aristotle_Altemps_Inv8575.jpg

Fig. 2: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/50/013_le_vite%2C_ambrogio_lorenzetti.jpg

Fig. 3. https://www.google.com/search? q=comune+di+siena&client=firefox-b-d&sca_esv=db94c43514cdc207&biw=1520&bih=883&ei=1B4jaL74O4WD9u8PjIip- Ak&gs_ssp=eJzj4tDP1Tcwt6xMMmD04k_Ozy3NS1VIyVQozkzNSwQAbeMIhw&oq=comune+di+siena&gs_lp=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&sclient=gws- wiz-serp

Fig 3. https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allegorie_van_goed_en_van_slecht_bestuur#/media/Bestand:Ambrogio_Lorenzetti_-_Allegory_of_Good_Government_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg

Fig 4. Photo author

Fig 5. https://www.google.com/search? client=firefox-b- d&sca_esv=1dda3acef72a6239&q=allegory+of+good+and+bad+governance&udm=2&fbs=ABzOT_DDfJxgmsKFIwrWKcoyw2RfcH6DTUcy5g5alyxuLXMELFYytOWGTvTZIDoI52i6SCFNqL_OZxl3G9DnEiz6AN3CpZJFP1tcfep0ykVEhFLnQvV914RcW5J1gj0Q1gX4Ga6plAfc4PTfmXkq5UC- I3hRAdpMnzUEO2daUcml4I3e51u6qeHHGcN9-4w14x_-D-2GtpJr&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiWqLHz74mNAxWPnf0HHWFnM3YQtKgLegQIFxAB&biw=1520&bih=883&dpr=1#imgrc=WZY9SvU-b5j_eM&imgdii=wPwBQcwbT75DGM

Fig. 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 : details of Fig. 5 https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allegoria_ed_effetti_del_Buono_e_del_Cattivo_Governo?oldid=95388399#/media/File:Lorenzetti_Good_Govt_Detail.jpg

Fig. 11-18: https://www.wga.hu/index1.html Fig. 19: detail of

Fig. 18 Fig. 20-24: https://www.wga.hu/index1.html