The ''Maestà'', or ''Maestà of Duccio'', is an

altarpiece An altarpiece is a painting or sculpture, including relief, of religious subject matter made for placing at the back of or behind the altar of a Christian church. Though most commonly used for a single work of art such as a painting or sculpture, ...

composed of many individual paintings commissioned by the city of

Siena Siena ( , ; traditionally spelled Sienna in English; ) is a city in Tuscany, in central Italy, and the capital of the province of Siena. It is the twelfth most populated city in the region by number of inhabitants, with a population of 52,991 ...

Tuscany Tuscany ( ; ) is a Regions of Italy, region in central Italy with an area of about and a population of 3,660,834 inhabitants as of 2025. The capital city is Florence. Tuscany is known for its landscapes, history, artistic legacy, and its in ...

in 1308 from the artist

Duccio di Buoninsegna Duccio di Buoninsegna ( , ; – ), commonly known as just 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 religi ...

and is his major work.Encyclopedia Britannica: Duccio
/ref> Duccio's ''Maestà'' was the first altarpiece to have both a front and back side. The front panels make up a large enthroned

Madonna and Child In Christian art, a Madonna () is a religious depiction of the Blessed Virgin Mary in a singular form or sometimes accompanied by the Child Jesus. These images are central icons for both the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches. The word ...

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 showed in a total of forty-three small panels scenes 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'' (topped by additional six panels with angels). 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 to be truly felt, Duccio's ''Maestà'' set Italian painting on a course leading away from the hieratic representations of the

Italo-Byzantine Italo-Byzantine is a style term in art history, mostly used for medieval paintings produced in Italy under heavy influence from Byzantine art. It initially covers religious paintings copying or imitating the standard Byzantine icon types, but pa ...

style towards more direct presentations of reality, as developed in the course of the

Trecento The Trecento (, also , ; short for , "1300") refers to the 14th century in Italian cultural history. The Trecento is considered to be the beginning of the Italian Renaissance or at least the Proto-Renaissance in art history. The Trecento was als ...

associated predominantly with

Giotto Giotto di Bondone (; – January 8, 1337), known mononymously as Giotto, was an List of Italian painters, Italian painter and architect from Florence during the Late Middle Ages. He worked during the International Gothic, Gothic and Italian Ren ...

who presumably was Duccio's pupil.

History

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

Siena Cathedral Siena Cathedral () 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. Since the early 13th-century the Siena Cathedral has been an important pa ...

. 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 Piazza del Campo is the main piazza, public space of the historic center of Siena, a city in Tuscany, Italy, Its name comes from the Italian language, Italian word ''campanilismo,'' which translates to "local pride" and ''campanile'' "bell tower." ...
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 ( – ) is the name traditionally given to the author of the Gospel of John. Christians have traditionally identified him with John the Apostle, John of Patmos, and John the Presbyter, although there is no consensus on how ...

(to the left of the throne);

Saint Paul Paul, also named Saul of Tarsus, commonly known as Paul the Apostle and Saint Paul, was a Christian apostle ( AD) who spread the teachings of Jesus in the first-century world. For his contributions towards the New Testament, he is generally ...

;

Catherine of Alexandria Catherine of Alexandria, also spelled Katherine, was, according to tradition, a Christian saint and Virginity, virgin, who was martyred in the early 4th century at the hands of the emperor Maxentius. According to her hagiography, she was both a ...

;

John the Baptist John the Baptist ( – ) was a Jewish preacher active in the area of the Jordan River in the early first century AD. He is also known as Saint John the Forerunner in Eastern Orthodoxy and Oriental Orthodoxy, John the Immerser in some Baptist ...

(to the right of the throne);

Saint Peter Saint Peter (born Shimon Bar Yonah; 1 BC – AD 64/68), also known as Peter the Apostle, Simon Peter, Simeon, Simon, or Cephas, was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus and one of the first leaders of the Jewish Christian#Jerusalem ekklēsia, e ...

;

Mary Magdalene Mary Magdalene (sometimes called Mary of Magdala, or simply the Magdalene or the Madeleine) was a woman who, according to the four canonical gospels, traveled with Jesus as one of his followers and was a witness to crucifixion of Jesus, his cr ...

, and

Saint Agnes Agnes of Rome (21 January 304) is a virgin martyr, venerated as a saint in the Catholic Church, Oriental Orthodox Churches, Oriental Orthodox Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church, as well as the Anglican Communion and Lutheranism, Lutheran Chu ...

.The Maestà by Duccio di Buoninsegna – Olga's Gallery
/ref> 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.

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. Maest 0 duccio 1308-11 siena duomo

List of panels

All panels are displayed at the Museo dell'Opera del Duomo in Siena, unless noted otherwise. (The list reads from top left to bottom right.) Front side * Central panel ** ''The Mother of God Enthroned with the Christ Child Amidst Angels and Saints'' (the actual '' Maestà'') * Six panels on top (beneath six half-figures of angels, and a lost central panel of Mary) ** ''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'' ** ''Angel'' (formerly in the Stoclet Collection,

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

) ** ''Angel'' (

Philadelphia Museum of Art The Philadelphia Museum of Art (PMA) is an List of art museums#North America, art museum originally chartered in 1876 for the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia. The main museum building was completed in 1928 on Fairmount, a hill located at ...

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

) ** ''Angel'' (

Mount Holyoke College Mount Holyoke College is a Private college, private Women's colleges in the United States, women's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in South Hadley, Massachusetts, United States. It is the oldest member of the h ...

South Hadley, Massachusetts South Hadley (, ) is a New England town, town in Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 18,150 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is part of the Springfield metropolitan area, Massachusetts. South Hadle ...

) * Predella (seven scenes with six interjacent prophets) ** ''The Annunciation'' (

National Gallery, London The National Gallery is an art museum in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, in Central London, England. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of more than 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The current dire ...

) ** ''Isaiah / Nativity / Ezekiel'' (Andrew W. Mellon Collection,

National Gallery of Art The National Gallery of Art is an art museum in Washington, D.C., United States, located on the National Mall, between 3rd and 9th Streets, at Constitution Avenue NW. Open to the public and free of charge, the museum was privately established in ...

, Washington, DC) ** ''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'' Back side *Top row with six scenes of the '' Life of Christ'' (beneath six half-figures of angels, and a lost central panel) ** ''The Appearance of Christ behind closed doors'' ** ''The Incredulity of St. Thomas'' ** ''The Appearance of Christ on Lake Tiberias'' ** ''The Appearance of Christ on the Mountain in Galilee'' ** ''The Last Supper'' ** ''The Pentecost'' * Center of the altarpiece consisting of 14 panels with 26 episodes from '' Christ's Passion'' * Predella with nine scenes of the '' Life of Christ'' ** First on the left is lost ** ''The Temptation of Christ atop the Temple'' ** ''Temptation of Christ on the Mountain'' (

Frick Collection The Frick Collection (colloquially known as the Frick) is an art museum on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in New York City. It was established in 1935 to preserve the collection of the industrialist Henry Clay Frick. The collection (museum) ...

, New York) ** ''Calling of SS. Peter and Andrew'' (Samuel H. Kress Collection, National Gallery of Art, Washington DC) ** ''The Wedding Feast of Cana'' ** ''Christ and the Samaritan Woman'' (

Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza The Thyssen-Bornemisza National Museum (, ; named after its founder, Baron Heinrich Thyssen, Heinrich Thyssen-Bornemisza), or simply the Thyssen, is an art museum in Madrid, Spain, located near the Museo del Prado, Prado Museum on one of the city ...

, Madrid) ** ''Healing of the Blind Man'' (National Gallery, London) ** ''The Transfiguration'' (National Gallery, London) ** ''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 Fort Worth is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Tarrant County, Texas, Tarrant County, covering nearly into Denton County, Texas, Denton, Johnson County, Texas, Johnson, Parker County, Texas, Parker, and Wise County, Te ...

, 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 of John the Baptist Paintings of Paul the Apostle Paintings of Saint Peter Angels in art Gold ground paintings Polyptychs Paintings of Thomas the Apostle Paintings of Mary Magdalene

History

Dismantling and current locations

List of panels

See also

References

Further reading

External links