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In the recently restored Piccolomini Library Pinturicchio's fresco cycle is a rare example of a unified decoration of the early sixteenth century. Well-suited to Pinturicchio's skills and to a somewhat provincial Siena, his lyric style fits comfortably into the medieval setting of the Cathedral. The subject matter concerns incidents in the life of Aeneas Silvius Piccolomini, the Sienese pope (Pius II) and humanist, an unusually complete program for someone neither a saint nor a ruler.
The narratives are illustrated with descriptive clarity, the figures precisely drawn, the unatmospheric landscape bright and sharply defined.
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