Duccio di Buoninsegna
(c.1255–1260 – c.1318–1319)
Duccio was an Italian painter active in Siena, Tuscany, in the late 13th and early 14th century.
He was hired throughout his life to complete many important works in
government and religious buildings around Italy. Duccio is credited with
creating the painting styles of Trecento and the Sienese school, and also contributed significantly to the Sienese Gothic style.
22 November 2015 - 22 April 2008
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Biography
Although much is still unconfirmed about Duccio and his life, there is more documentation of him and his life than of other Italian painters of his time. It is known that he was born and died in the city of Siena, and was also mostly active in the surrounding region of Tuscany. Other details of his early life and family are as uncertain, as much else in his history.
Although much is still unconfirmed about Duccio and his life, there is more documentation of him and his life than of other Italian painters of his time. It is known that he was born and died in the city of Siena, and was also mostly active in the surrounding region of Tuscany. Other details of his early life and family are as uncertain, as much else in his history.
One avenue to reconstructing Duccio's biography are the traces of him in archives that list when he ran up debts or incurred fines. Some records say he was married with 7 children. The relative abundance of archival mentions has led historians to believe that he had difficulties managing his life and his money.
Another route to filling in Duccio's biography are by analyzing the works that can be attributed to him with certainty. Information can be obtained by analyzing his style, the date and location of the works, and more. Due to gaps where Duccio's name goes unmentioned in the Sienese records for years at a time, scholars speculate he may have traveled to Paris, Assisi and Rome.
Nevertheless, his artistic talents were enough to overshadow his lack of organization as a citizen, and he became famous in his own lifetime. In the 14th century Duccio became one of the most favored and radical painters in Siena.
Duccio's known works are on wood panel, painted in egg tempera and embellished with gold leaf.
Differently from his contemporaries and artists before him, Duccio was a
master of tempera and managed to conquer the medium with delicacy and
precision. There is no clear evidence that Duccio painted frescoes.
Duccio's style was similar to Byzantine art in some ways, with
its gold backgrounds and familiar religious scenes, however it was also
different and more experimental. Duccio began to break down the sharp
lines of Byzantine art, and soften the figures. He used modeling
(playing with light and dark colors) to reveal the figures underneath
the heavy drapery; hands, faces, and feet became more rounded and
three-dimensional. Duccio's paintings are inviting and warm with color.
His pieces consisted of many delicate details and were sometimes inlaid
with jewels or ornamental fabrics. Duccio was also noted for his complex
organization of space. He organized his characters specifically and
purposefully. In his "Rucellai Madonna" (c. 1285) the viewer can see all of these qualities at play.
Duccio was also one of the first painters to put figures in
architectural settings, as he began to explore and investigate depth and
space. He also had a refined attention to emotion not seen in other
painters at this time. The characters interact tenderly with each other;
it is no longer Christ and the Virgin, it is mother and child. He
flirts with naturalism, but his paintings are still awe inspiring.
Duccio's figures seem to be otherworldly or heavenly, consisting of
beautiful colors, soft hair, gracefulness and fabrics not available to
mere humans.
He influenced many other painters, most notably Simone Martini, and the brothers Ambrogio and Pietro Lorenzetti.
History
The painting was installed in the cathedral of Siena on 9 June 1311. One person who witnessed this event wrote:
« And on that day when it was brought into the cathedral, all workshops remained closed, and the bishop commanded a great host of devoted priests and monks to file past in solemn procession. This was accompanied by all the high officers of the Commune and by all the people; all honorable citizens of Siena surrounded said panel with candles held in their hands, and women and children followed humbly behind. They accompanied the panel amidst the glorious pealing of bells after a solemn procession on the Piazza del Campo into the very cathedral; and all this out of reverence for the costly panel… The poor received many alms, and we prayed to the Holy Mother of God, our patron saint, that she might in her infinite mercy preserve this our city of Siena from every misfortune, traitor or enemy. »
Besides the Virgin Mary and the Baby Jesus, saints depicted in the painting include John the Evangelist (to the left of the throne); Saint Paul; Catherine of Alexandria; John the Baptist (to the right of the throne); Saint Peter; and Saint Agnes.[3] In the foreground are Siena’s various patron saints: Saint Ansanus; Saint Sabinus; Saint Crescentius; and Saint Victor.
Creating this altarpiece assembled from many wood panels bonded together before painting was an arduous undertaking. The work was not only large, the central panel was 7 by 13 feet, but it had to be painted on both sides since it could be seen from all directions when installed on the main altar at the centre of the sanctuary.
The altarpiece remained in place until 1711, when it was dismantled in order to distribute the pieces between two altars. The five-metre high construction was dismantled and sawn up, and the paintings damaged in the process. Partial restoration took place in 1956. The dismantling also led to pieces going astray, either being sold, or simply unaccounted for. Extant remains of the altarpiece not at Siena are divided among several other museums.
The painting was installed in the cathedral of Siena on 9 June 1311. One person who witnessed this event wrote:
« And on that day when it was brought into the cathedral, all workshops remained closed, and the bishop commanded a great host of devoted priests and monks to file past in solemn procession. This was accompanied by all the high officers of the Commune and by all the people; all honorable citizens of Siena surrounded said panel with candles held in their hands, and women and children followed humbly behind. They accompanied the panel amidst the glorious pealing of bells after a solemn procession on the Piazza del Campo into the very cathedral; and all this out of reverence for the costly panel… The poor received many alms, and we prayed to the Holy Mother of God, our patron saint, that she might in her infinite mercy preserve this our city of Siena from every misfortune, traitor or enemy. »
Besides the Virgin Mary and the Baby Jesus, saints depicted in the painting include John the Evangelist (to the left of the throne); Saint Paul; Catherine of Alexandria; John the Baptist (to the right of the throne); Saint Peter; and Saint Agnes.[3] In the foreground are Siena’s various patron saints: Saint Ansanus; Saint Sabinus; Saint Crescentius; and Saint Victor.
Creating this altarpiece assembled from many wood panels bonded together before painting was an arduous undertaking. The work was not only large, the central panel was 7 by 13 feet, but it had to be painted on both sides since it could be seen from all directions when installed on the main altar at the centre of the sanctuary.
The altarpiece remained in place until 1711, when it was dismantled in order to distribute the pieces between two altars. The five-metre high construction was dismantled and sawn up, and the paintings damaged in the process. Partial restoration took place in 1956. The dismantling also led to pieces going astray, either being sold, or simply unaccounted for. Extant remains of the altarpiece not at Siena are divided among several other museums.
The Maestà, or Maestà of Duccio is an altarpiece composed of many individual paintings commissioned by the city of Siena in 1308 from the artist Duccio di Buoninsegna. The front panels make up a large enthroned Madonna and Child with saints and angels, and a predella of the Childhood of Christ with prophets. The reverse has the rest of a combined cycle of the Life of the Virgin and the Life of Christ
in a total of forty-three small scenes; several panels are now
dispersed or lost. The base of the panel has an inscription that reads
(in translation): "Holy Mother of God, be thou the cause of peace for
Siena and life to Duccio because he painted thee thus." Though it took a generation for its effect truly to be felt, Duccio's Maestà set Italian painting on a course leading away from the hieratic representations of Byzantine art towards more direct presentations of reality.
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