DUCCIO DI BUONINSEGNA

Duccio di Buoninsegna: translation

(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 contemporaryGiottowho rejected theManiera Greca, Duccio followed this tradition, bringing it to its ultimate refinement. In 1285, he received from theConfraternityof the Laudesi a commission to paint analtarpiecefor the Church ofSanta Maria NovellainFlorence, called theRucellaiMadonnadue to its location in the church's Rucellai Chapel.Two other works of this period are attributed to him, theCrevole Madonna(1283-1284; Museo dell'Opera del Duomo) and theMadonna 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 theVirginand Child in majesty for the Cappella dei Nove in the SienesePalazzo Pubblico, now lost. In 1308 he was to repeat this theme in his most important commission, theMaestà Altarpiece(1308-1311; Siena, Museo dell' Opera del Duomo), for the main altar in theCathedral of Siena. The round stained glass (1285-1308) in theapseof the cathedral, also designed by Duccio, depicts scenes from the life of the Virgin, the fourEvangelists, 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 ofSimone Martini, he provided the impetus for the development of theInternational Style.