Duccio - part 1

More than 700 years ago in the Italian city of Siena, Duccio di Buoninsegna, known as Duccio, transformed European painting, ushering in a new era of refined elegance in the arts of Tuscany and beyond. Today he is celebrated for both his unprecedented delicacy and his vigorous storytelling. Here, below the cross, mourners coalesce in shared grief around the swooning Virgin. On the other side, the violent gesticulations of soldiers and onlookers explode outwards in confusion. The saints on the wings possibly represent the patron saints of the unidentified owner. Given the demand for his work, Duccio took on assistants who were trained in his style. One of them probably executed most of the central panel, basing the composition on prototypes by the master. This compact triptych was easily portable for use in private devotion. Although made of wood, the meticulous construction, gold backgrounds, and profusion of fine detail make this a precious object. Today it is among the greatest Sienese paintings—and one of the best preserved—outside Europe. He died in 1319.

This is part 1 of 2-part post on the works of Duccio:

c1280 Virgin and Child, with Scenes from the Lives of Christ and Saint Francis
tempera on panel 49.7 x 25.4 x 5 cm (open)
Harvard Art Museums/Fogg Museum
Photo © President and Fellows of Harvard College

1280s Madonna and Child
tempera on wood 63 x 49.5 cm
Pinacoteca Nazionale, Siena

1280s Madonna and Child
tempera on wood 63 x 49.5 cm
Pinacoteca Nazionale, Siena

1280s Madonna and Child
tempera on wood 63 x 49.5 cm
Pinacoteca Nazionale, Siena

1280s Madonna and Child detail of the above

1285 Ruccelai Madonna: The name of the altarpiece derives from the Ruccelai Chapel of Santa Maria Novella where it remained, after being removed to several different places inside the church, from 191 to 1937 when it was transferred to the Uffizi Museum. The panel was commissioned in 1285.

Rucellai Madonna

Rucellai Madonna

Rucellai Madonna

Rucellai Madonna

Rucellai Madonna

Rucellai Madonna

after 1285 Gualino Madonna
tempera on wood panel 157 x 86 cm
 Galleria Sabauda, Turin

c1285-86 Maestà
tempera 45 x 29 cm
The Uffizi Gallery, Florence

1288-1300 Maestà
tempera on wood panel  31.5 x 22.5 cm
Kunstmuseum, Bern

1290-1300 Madonna and Child
tempera and gold on wood 23.8 x 16.5 cm (painted surface)
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

1295-1305 Madonna with Child
tempera on wood panel 6.8 x 4.9 cm
Museo d'Arte Sacra della Val d'Arbia, Tuscany, Italy

1300-05 Madonna and Child with Six Angels
tempera on wood panel 97 x 63 cm
Galleria Nazionale dell'Umbria, Perugia

1300-05 Polyptych
tempera on wood 143 x 24.4 cm
Pinacoteca Nazionale, Siena

1300-05 Polyptych detail

1300-05 Polyptych detail

1300-05 Polyptych detail

1300-05 Polyptych detail

1300-05 Polyptych detail

c1302-08 Triptych; Crucifixion and other Scenes
tempera on wood panel 44.9 x 31.4 cm (central Panel)
Royal Collection Trust
© His Majesty King Charles III 2024

1305-08 Triptych
centre panel 44.9 x 31.4 cm each wing 4.8 x 16.9 cm
Royal Collection, Windsor

1307-11 Maestà Predella Panels, The National Gallery, London:

The Annun
egg tempera on wood 44.5 x 45.8 cm
The National Gallery, London

The Healing of the Man born Blind
egg tempera on wood 45.1 x 46.7 cm
The National Gallery, London

The Transfiguration
tempera on wood 48 x 50.5 cm
The National Gallery, London

1308-11 The Calling of the Apostles Peter and Andrew
tempera on panel 42.7 x 45.5 cm
National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C.

1308-11 The Nativity with the Prophets Isaiah and Ezekiel
tempera on single poplar panel overall (including original frame) 48 × 86.8 × 7.9 cm
National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C.

1310-11 Christ and the Samaritan Woman:

This small panel was part of the predella of the Maestà, a commission executed by Duccio for the Duomo in Siena. The monumental double-sided altarpiece was dismantled around 1771, and while most of the panels are now in the Museo dell’Opera in Siena, some were acquired by private collections and museums.

In the one here, Christ-seated on Jacob’s well-is approached by the Samaritan woman, with a pitcher on her head, and engaged in a conversation conveyed  through gestures. To the right, they are watched by a group of disciples placed in the architectural setting of the Samaritan town of Sychar, in an attempt to create spatial depth in the painting. The panel is early proof of the development of fourteenth-century art towards a more naturalistic approach, featuring a greater use of narrative discourse and a growing concern for the treatment of space.

1310-11 Christ and the Samaritan Woman
tempera and gold on panel. 43.5 x 46 cm
Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid

1310-11 The Raising of Lazarus
tempera and gold on panel 43.5 x 46.4 cm
National Gallery, London

1310s The Crucifixtion
panel 60 x 38 cm
City Art Gallery, Manchester, UK

Before 1311 Archangel:

The wand in the angel's hand identifies him as an archangel. With these wands the archangels expelled Satan from heaven, thereby securing their privileged position as messengers of God.

This panel comes from the pinnacle, or top section, of Duccio's large altarpiece known as the Maestà, which he made for the cathedral of Siena. Maestà is an Italian term for a depiction of the Virgin in a heavenly court. The altarpiece was disassembled in 1771.

before 1311 Archangel (Workshop of Duccio)
egg tempera and tooled gold on panel with vertical grain
24.4 x 17.1 cm
Philadelphia Museum of Art, PA 

c1312-15 The Virgin and Child with Saint Dominic and Saint Aurea:

Here, the Virgin’s cloak is defined by a fluid gold hem. Mother and child share an affectionate gaze as the infant Christ plays with her white veil. The central panel is flanked by two smaller panels – depicting Saint Dominic on the left and Saint Aurea on the right – which can fold inwards to cover and protect the main image. This was essential as it was most probably designed as a portable temporary altarpiece for private prayer while travelling.The painting was made for Niccolò degli Albertini da Prato who became Cardinal Bishop of Ostia, near Rome, in 1303. This would explain the inclusion of Saint Aurea, the patron saint of Ostia, and Dominic, for the Cardinal was himself a member of the religious order that Dominic founded in the thirteenth century.

c1312-15 The Virgin and Child with Saint Dominic and Saint Aurea, and Patriarchs and Prophets
egg tempera on wood 61.4 x 39.3 cm
National Gallery, London