Ambrogio Lorenzetti (Italian pronunciation: [amˈbrɔːdʒo lorenˈtsetti]; c. 1290 – after 9 August 1348) was an Italian painter of the Sienese school. He was active from approximately 1317 to 1348. He painted The Allegory of Good and Bad Government in the Sala dei Nove (Salon of Nine or Council Room) in Siena's Palazzo Pubblico. His elder brother was the painter Pietro Lorenzetti.
The Republic of Siena (Italian: Repubblica di Siena, Latin: Respublica Senensis) was a historic state consisting of the city of Siena and its surrounding territory in Tuscany, Central Italy. It existed for over 400 years, from 1125 to 1555. During its existence, it gradually expanded throughout southern Tuscany and became one of the major economic powers of the Middle Ages. It was one of the most important commercial, financial and artistic centers in Europe.
From 1287 to 1355, during the rule of the Noveschi, the Republic experienced a period of great political and economic splendor: new buildings were commissioned, including that of the Cathedral of Siena, the Palazzo Pubblico, and a substantial part of the city walls completed. This government is in fact defined by historians as the "good governance".