Duccio di Buoninsegna (c. 1255-c. 1319) was a Sienese painter who founded the Sienese school of painting and created one of the most important works in Italian art: the Maestà (1308-11), a massive double-sided altarpiece for Siena Cathedral. While primarily a painter, his influence on Sienese artistic tradition extended to all visual arts.
Duccio combined Byzantine gold-ground tradition with a new warmth, emotional depth, and spatial awareness that pointed toward the Renaissance. The Maestà's front shows the Virgin enthroned among saints, while the back contains 26 narrative scenes from Christ's Passion painted with remarkable subtlety. When the altarpiece was completed, it was carried through Siena's streets in a public procession.
1 painting catalogued with museum locations
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