DUCCIO DI BUONINSEGNA

born 13th century, , Siena, Republic of Siena died c. 1318, , Siena? one of the greatest Italian painters of the Middle Ages and the founder of the Sienese school. In Duccio's art the formality of the Italo-Byzantine tradition, strengthened by a clearer understanding of its evolution from classical roots, is fused with the new spirituality of the Gothic style. Greatest of all his works is Maest (1311), the altarpiece of Siena cathedral. Additional reading C.H. Weigelt, Duccio di Buoninsegna (1911), the first and the longest monograph on the artist (in German), prepared with great scientific exactitude, although some of the conclusions have been modified or superseded by succeeding studies; R.S. Van Marle, The Development of the Italian Schools of Painting, vol. 2 (1924), the chapter on Duccio constitutes the fullest treatment of the artist published in English, although it does not present any original ideas (also important for its treatment of the school of Duccio); E. Cecchi, Trecentisti senesi (1928), contains some fine pages on Duccio written by an author who was an excellent art critic; P. Bacci, Documenti e commenti per la storia dell'arte, pp. 147 (1944), a chapter dedicated to the research in the archives on Duccio and his family; E. Carli, Vetrata duccesca (1946), a study of the great stained-glass window in the choir of the Siena cathedral, establishing the time it was executed and revealing the authorship of Duccio; Duccio di Buoninsegna (1961), an interpretation, in Italian, of the work of Duccio, including the entire corpus of his established works reproduced in colour; C. Brandi, Duccio (1951), a thoroughly researched, critical study (in Italian) of the works of Duccio in the light of modern aesthetic theories, with an appendix containing accurate biographical data, chronological lists of documents, and philological notes; G. Vigni, Duccio di Buoninsegna, in the Encyclopedia of World Art, vol. 4, col. 503509 (1961), an accurate and acute biographical and critical synthesis founded on the most recent research; L'opera completa di Duccio, critical text (in Italian) by Edi Baccheschi with an introduction by Giulio Cattaneo (1972). Major Works: Madonna Rucellai (1285; Uffizi, Florence; Triptych: The Virgin and Child with Saints (c. 1300; National Gallery, London); Madonna with Child and Angels (c. 1300; Galleria Nazionale dell'Umbria, Perugia, Italy); Maest, altarpiece (1302; Palazzo Pubblico, Siena; now lost); Maest, altarpiece (130811; Museo dell'Opera del Duomo, Siena; panels from this altarpiece can be seen in the National Gallery, London; the Frick Collection, New York City; and the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.); Madonna and Child of St. Cecilia a Crevole (undated; Museo dell'Opera del Duomo, Siena); Madonna Enthroned with Angels (undated; Kunstmuseum, Bern); The Madonna of the Franciscans (undated; Pinacoteca Nazionale, Siena); Madonna and Child (undated; Stoclet Collection, Brussels); St. Paul (undated; Christian Museum [Keresztny Mzeum], Esztergom, Hung.); The Annunciation (undated; National Gallery, London); Nativity with the Prophets Isaiah and Ezekiel (undated; National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.); The Presentation in the Temple (undated; Museo dell'Opera del Duomo, Siena); The Marriage at Cana (undated; Museo dell'Opera del Duomo, Siena).