Masterpiece influenced the course of Italian art history
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| Duccio's altarpiece in the Duomo di Siena, the Maestà |
A magnificent altarpiece by the artist Duccio di Buoninsegna
was unveiled in the cathedral in Siena on this day in 1311.
Duccio’s Maestà was to set Italian painting on a new course,
leading away from Byzantine art towards using more realistic representations of
people in pictures.
The altarpiece was commissioned by the city of Siena from
the artist and was composed of many individual paintings.
The front panels made up a large picture of an enthroned
Madonna and Child with saints and angels.
At the base of the panels was an inscription, which
translated into English means: ‘Holy Mother of God, be thou the cause of peace
for Siena and life to Duccio because he painted thee thus.’
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| Duccio's Madonna col bambino, which is housed in the Metropolitan Museum in New York |
When the painting was installed in the cathedral on June 9, 1311,
one witness to the event wrote: ‘…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 honourable 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.’
The altarpiece remained in place until 1711, when it was
dismantled in order to distribute the pieces between two altars. The five-metre
high construction was sawn up and some of the paintings were damaged in the
process. Some pieces went astray and are unaccounted for, while some pieces are
now in museums.
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| The Cathedral of St Mary of the Assumption in Siena |
Travel tip:
Siena’s Duomo, the Cathedral of St Mary of the Assumption, was designed and completed
between 1215 and 1263 on the site of an earlier structure. It has a beautiful
façade built in Tuscan Romanesque style using polychrome marble. In the
attached Museo dell’Opera del Duomo, Duccio’s Maestà can be seen in a first
floor room.
Travel tip:
The shell-shaped Piazza del Campo in Siena, where the Palio di
Siena takes place twice each year, was established in the 13th century as an
open marketplace. It is now regarded as one of the finest medieval squares in
Europe. The red brick paving, fanning out from the centre in nine sections, was
put down in 1349.
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