Office of the Tax Administration (Biccherna) of Siena
The pattern
This still is filed under Exhibit in the column.
Define
An image is dropped into the column of type so the reader meets picture and argument in one scan.
Mechanism
In-flow exhibit. The figure is not a separate see fig. 2. It starts the paragraph. Eye and mind start together.
Verdict
Long copy must show as well as tell: a product cutaway, a before/after, a map in the story.
Why it works
The design puts the abstract promise and the physical evidence in the same frame: the picture shows the work being done and the inscription names the men who did it, so proof is structural rather than claimed. The gold-ground inscription block is given a full third of the panel and set in wide, dotted capitals, which makes a list of names read as a monument instead of a receipt. The heraldic row between picture and text is a signature strip: it stakes named families' reputations to the accounts above them. Scale does the hierarchy, from sacred figure to officials to petitioners to shields to record.
Steal this when
Use this when a set of numbers or results has to be trusted by people who cannot check them, and the only real proof you have is who signed. Show the work being performed, then give the names and marks of everyone accountable as much visual weight as the claim itself.