The Abbey of Monte Oliveto Maggiore was founded in 1313 by Bernardo Tolomei, a jurist from a prominent aristocratic family of Siena. The frescoes of the Life of St. Benedict painted by Luca Signorelli and il Sodoma in the cloister lunettes under the vaults of the the Chiostro Grande, are considered masterworks of the Italian Renaissance.
In one of the early scenes of the life of St Benedict Sodoma depicts himself as a well-dressed, white-gloved man, accompanied by two badgers. |