The ''Maestà'', or ''Maestà of Duccio'' is an altarpiece composed of many individual paintings commissioned by the city of

Siena Siena ( , ; lat, Sena Iulia) is a city in Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the province of Siena. The city is historically linked to commercial and banking activities, having been a major banking center until the 13th and 14th centur ...

in 1308 from the artist

Duccio di Buoninsegna Duccio di Buoninsegna ( , ; – ) 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. Ducc ...

and is his most famous work.Encyclopedia Britannica: Duccio
/ref> The front panels make up a large enthroned

Madonna and Child In art, a Madonna () is a representation of Mary, either alone or with her child Jesus. These images are central icons for both the Catholic and Orthodox churches. The word is (archaic). The Madonna and Child type is very prevalent i ...

with saints and angels, and a

predella In art a predella (plural predelle) is the lowest part of an altarpiece, sometimes forming a platform or step, and the painting or sculpture along it, at the bottom of an altarpiece, sometimes with a single much larger main scene above, but oft ...

of the ''Childhood of Christ'' with prophets. The reverse has the rest of a combined cycle of the ''

Life of the Virgin The Life of the Virgin, showing narrative scenes from the life of Mary, the mother of Jesus, is a common subject for pictorial cycles in Christian art, often complementing, or forming part of, a cycle on the Life of Christ. In both cases the ...

'' 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.""Art History: Fourteenth to Seventeenth Century Art" by Marilyn Stokstad (2011) page 543 Though it took a generation for its effect to be truly felt, Duccio's ''Maestà'' set Italian painting on a course leading away from the hieratic representations of

Byzantine art Byzantine art comprises the body of Christian Greek artistic products of the Eastern Roman Empire, as well as the nations and states that inherited culturally from the empire. Though the empire itself emerged from the decline of Rome and lasted u ...

towards more direct presentations of reality.

History

Duccio di Buoninsegna painted the work with assistants in a studio located on Via Stalloreggi, very close to the

Siena Cathedral Siena Cathedral ( it, Duomo di Siena) is a medieval church in Siena, Italy, dedicated from its earliest days as a Roman Catholic Marian church, and now dedicated to the Assumption of Mary. It was the episcopal seat of the Diocese of Siena, and ...

. The painting was installed in the cathedral on 9 June 1311 after a procession of the work in a loop around the city. 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 John the Evangelist ( grc-gre, Ἰωάννης, Iōánnēs; Aramaic: ܝܘܚܢܢ; Ge'ez: ዮሐንስ; ar, يوحنا الإنجيلي, la, Ioannes, he, יוחנן cop, ⲓⲱⲁⲛⲛⲏⲥ or ⲓⲱ̅ⲁ) is the name traditionally given ...

(to the left of the throne);

Saint Paul Paul; grc, Παῦλος, translit=Paulos; cop, ⲡⲁⲩⲗⲟⲥ; hbo, פאולוס השליח (previously called Saul of Tarsus;; ar, بولس الطرسوسي; grc, Σαῦλος Ταρσεύς, Saũlos Tarseús; tr, Tarsuslu Pavlus; ...

;

Catherine of Alexandria Catherine of Alexandria (also spelled Katherine); grc-gre, ἡ Ἁγία Αἰκατερίνη ἡ Μεγαλομάρτυς ; ar, سانت كاترين; la, Catharina Alexandrina). is, according to tradition, a Christian saint and virgin, ...

;

John the Baptist John the Baptist or , , or , ;Wetterau, Bruce. ''World history''. New York: Henry Holt and Company. 1994. syc, ܝܘܿܚܲܢܵܢ ܡܲܥܡܕ݂ܵܢܵܐ, Yoḥanān Maʿmḏānā; he, יוחנן המטביל, Yohanān HaMatbil; la, Ioannes Bapti ...

(to the right of the throne);

Saint Peter ) (Simeon, Simon) , birth_date = , birth_place = Bethsaida, Gaulanitis, Syria, Roman Empire , death_date = Between AD 64–68 , death_place = probably Vatican Hill, Rome, Italia, Roman Empire , parents = John (or Jonah; Jona) , occupat ...

; Mary Magdalene, and Saint Agnes.The Maestà by Duccio di Buoninsegna – Olga's Gallery
/ref> In the foreground are Siena's various patron saints:

Saint Ansanus Saint Ansanus ( it, Sant'Ansano) (died 304 AD), called ''The Baptizer'' or ''The Apostle of Siena'', is the patron saint of Siena, a scion of the Anician family of Rome. Legend His legend states that he was born of a noble Roman family in the ...

; 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.Stockstad, Marilyn. ''Art History'', 2011, 4th ed.,

Dismantling and current locations

The altarpiece remained in place until 1771, when it was dismantled in order to distribute the pieces between two altars. The 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 in Europe and the United States. The panels in Siena are housed in the Duomo museum adjacent to the Duomo di Siena. The central panel, lower panels, and rear are displayed separately in the same room.

Stylistic analysis

* Deposition Christ's followers, Joseph and John, remove him from the cross while

Nicodemus Nicodemus (; grc-gre, Νικόδημος, Nikódēmos) was a Pharisee and a member of the Sanhedrin mentioned in three places in the Gospel of John: * He first visits Jesus one night to discuss Jesus' teachings (). * The second time Nicodemu ...

removes nails from his feet. The Virgin Mary looks into his closed eyes while Mary Magdalene holds his arm, and all have painful expressions as they tend to the dead Christ. The background has the same gold texture as in the "Crucifixion" and the cross that held Christ has blood running onto the ground, increasing the sense of realism in the scene. This panel aroused the emotions of its audiences and the story helped to symbolize the birth of Christianity. * Burial Immediately following the "Deposition" is the depiction of Christ as he is prepared for burial, surrounded by his mourning followers. His mother leans in close to him and kisses him one last time and Mary Magdalene throws her arms towards the sky in anguish. The background retains the gold setting of the "Deposition" and "Crucifixion," and the mountains in the background are similar to the mountains portrayed in previous and subsequent panels. These mountains lead the viewer's eye to Mary, who is accompanying him, and then to Christ's face. This scene also elicits an intense emotional response from its viewers and you can see the close connection that the burial party has to Christ, and especially to the Virgin Mary.

List of panels in the world

In Siena

* ''The Mother of God Enthroned with the Christ Child Amidst Angels and Saints'', central panel * ''The Wedding Feast of Cana'' * ''The Temptation of Christ atop the Temple'' * ''The Annunciation of the Virgin's death'' * ''The Virgin's Farewell to St. John'' * ''The Virgin's Farewell to the Apostles'' * ''The Death of the Virgin'' * ''The Funeral of the Virgin'' * ''The Burial of the Virgin'' * ''The Appearance of Christ behind closed doors'' * ''The Incredulity of St. Thomas'' * ''The Pentecost'' * ''The Appearance of Christ on Lake Tiberias'' * ''The Appearance of Christ on the Mountain in Galilee'' * ''The Appearance of Christ to the Apostles at Supper'' * ''The Adoration of the Magi; Solomon'' * ''The Presentation in the Temple; the prophet Malachi'' * ''The Massacre of the Innocents; the prophet Jeremiah'' * ''The Flight into Egypt; the prophet Hosea'' * ''The Boy Jesus among the Doctors'' * ''Episodes from Christ's Passion'' Tempera and gold on wood. The work, consisting of 26 episodes on 14 panels, was originally the reverse surface of the ''Maestà''.

Elsewhere

Europe

* ''Angel'' (formerly in the Stoclet Collection,

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

) * ''The Annunciation'' ( National Gallery, London) * ''Archangel Gabriel'' (Castel Huis Bergh, in

's-Heerenberg s-Heerenberg is a city on the Dutch-German border, in the Province of Gelderland, Netherlands. It is located about 5 km north of the German Emmerich, and about south of Doetinchem. It received city rights in 1379. 's-Heerenberg is the loca ...

, The Netherlands) * ''Christ and the Samaritan Woman'' ( Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid) * ''The Coronation of the Virgin'' (Szépmüveszéti Muzeum,

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...

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image
* ''Healing of the Blind Man'' (National Gallery, London) * ''The Transfiguration'' (National Gallery, London)

United States

* ''Angel'' ( Philadelphia Museum of Art,

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

) * ''Angel'' ( Mount Holyoke College, South Hadley, Massachusetts) * ''Isaiah; Nativity; Ezekiel'' (Andrew W. Mellon Collection, National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC) * ''Temptation of Christ on the Mountain'' ( Frick Collection, New York) * ''Calling of SS. Peter and Andrew'' (Samuel H. Kress Collection, National Gallery of Art, Washington DC) * ''The raising of Lazarus'' (

Kimbell Art Museum The Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth, Texas, hosts an art collection as well as traveling art exhibitions, educational programs and an extensive research library. Its initial artwork came from the private collection of Kay and Velma Kimbell, w ...

, Fort Worth, Texas)

References

External links

Article giving diagrams of the structure and images of the pieces
*Carl Brandon Strehlke, '
Archangel by the Workshop of Duccio di Buoninsegna (cat. 88),"
' in
The John G. Johnson Catalogue: A History and Selected Works
'' a Philadelphia Museum of Art free digital publication. {{DEFAULTSORT:Maesta (Duccio) Paintings by Duccio 1300s paintings Paintings of the Resurrection of Lazarus Paintings of the Madonna and Child Christian art Christian iconography Paintings depicting John the Baptist Paintings depicting Paul the Apostle Paintings depicting Saint Peter Angels in art Paintings on gold backgrounds Polyptychs Paintings depicting Thomas the Apostle Paintings depicting Mary Magdalene