Duccio di Buoninsegna

(active 1278-1319)

   Duccio was the leading figure of the Sienese School of painting. Little is known of his training. That he was temperamental is attested by the number of fines levied against him for various transgressions, including refusal to swear fealty to a civic official, declining to take part in the war of Maremma, and engaging in witchcraft. Unlike his contemporary Giotto who rejected the Maniera Greca, Duccio followed this tradition, bringing it to its ultimate refinement. In 1285, he received from the Confraternity of the Laudesi a commission to paint an altarpiece for the Church of Santa Maria Novella in Florence, called the RucellaiMadonna due to its location in the church's Rucellai Chapel. Two other works of this period are attributed to him, the Crevole Madonna (1283-1284; Museo dell'Opera del Duomo) and the Madonna del Buonconvento (c. 1295; Buonconvento, Museo d'Arte Sacra della Val d'Arbia). Duccio may have been in Paris in 1297 where a "Duch de Siene" is documented, which would have given him firsthand knowledge of the French Gothic style. In 1302, he received payment for an altarpiece depicting the Virgin and Child in majesty for the Cappella dei Nove in the Sienese Palazzo Pubblico, now lost. In 1308 he was to repeat this theme in his most important commission, the Maestà Altarpiece (1308-1311; Siena, Museo dell' Opera del Duomo), for the main altar in the Cathedral of Siena. The round stained glass (1285-1308) in the apse of the cathedral, also designed by Duccio, depicts scenes from the life of the Virgin, the four Evangelists, and Sts. Bartholomew, Ansano, Crescenzio, and Savino, significant to the Sienese. Duccio ranks among the most important masters of the Proto-Renaissance era and is recognized for having established the Sienese School of painting. As the teacher of Simone Martini, he provided the impetus for the development of the International Style.