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Sinopias by Buonamico Buffalmacco (Triumph of Death, Last Judgement, Thebaida)
The museum houses sinopias—preliminary drawings—by Buonamico Buffalmacco, one of 14th-century Tuscany's finest Gothic painters. These sketches, rendered in pink ochre on raw plaster, were originally prepared for the Camposanto Monumental in Pisa. The collection includes preparatory designs for three major fresco cycles: the Triumph of Death, the Last Judgement, the Hell, and the Thebaïd. These works provide remarkable evidence of Buffalmacco's exceptional draughtsmanship and mastery of composition.
Sinopia of the Crucifixion by Francesco Traini
This sinopia—the preparatory underdrawing for the fresco—offers a rare glimpse into Francesco Traini's working method. Dating to around 1335, it ranks among the oldest surviving sketches from Pisa's Camposanto Monumental and is now housed in the Museo delle Sinopie. The drawing reveals the artist's individual hand far more clearly than the finished fresco itself, where the demands of wet-plaster painting inevitably smoothed out distinctive brushwork. Essential viewing for understanding Renaissance fresco technique.
Sinopias of the Old Testament Stories by Benozzo Gozzoli
Benozzo Gozzoli's sinopias depicting Old Testament stories form one of the most extensive cycles preserved in the Museo delle Sinopie. These underdrawings represent the final chapter of the Camposanto's Old Testament decoration scheme. Gozzoli, a celebrated Renaissance master known for his narrative skill and vivid compositions, completed a cycle that Pietro di Puccio had begun earlier. What to see here are the preparatory sketches that reveal the artist's working methods and compositional thinking beneath the finished frescoes.
Sinopias of the Stories of Giobbe by Taddeo Gaddi
These are the preparatory sinopias in red ochre created by Taddeo Gaddi, the 14th-century Florentine master, now displayed in the Museo delle Sinopie. Removed from the walls of the Camposanto Monumental, they form one of the collection's most significant late-14th-century cycles. What to see here are the detailed underdrawings that reveal the artist's original design process before frescoes were applied, offering a rare glimpse into medieval fresco techniques and Gaddi's working methods.
Main Exhibition Hall (former hospital nave)
The main exhibition hall occupies the nave of the former Spedale Nuovo di Santo Spirito, a medieval hospital converted into a museum space in 1969. It houses the world's largest collection of sinopia—preparatory drawings rescued from the Camposanto Monumental. These medieval sketches, rendered in red ochre on rough plaster by masters including Buonamico Buffalmacco, Francesco Traini, Piero di Puccio and Benozzo Gozzoli, offer a remarkable glimpse into the artistic process of Renaissance painters. What to see here is an extraordinary record of creative intent, preserved for nearly six centuries.
- 1.Sinopias by Buonamico Buffalmacco (Triumph of Death, Last Judgement, Thebaida)
- 2.Sinopia of the Crucifixion by Francesco Traini
- 3.Sinopias of the Old Testament Stories by Benozzo Gozzoli
- 4.Sinopias of the Stories of Giobbe by Taddeo Gaddi
- 5.Main Exhibition Hall (former hospital nave)
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