WELCOME FRIENDS, FAMILY & FACULTY!

This blog is an art history experiment for our Italian Renaissance travel course. We hope that you, our visitors, will not only take some time to read about what we are studying, but will ALSO feel free to make comments or ask us questions...especially after we see (most of) these things in person. As we travel, we will offer personal reflections on our experiences. After we fly out on the 17th, follow us as we visit Rome (May 18-20), Florence (20-24), and Venice (24-25). We return on Thursday, May 26...just in time for the holiday weekend.

Monday, May 9, 2011

The Maesta (Virgin in Majesty), Duccio di Buoninsegna

-Commissioned in 1308 as massive altarpiece for Sienese cathedral-
-Involved in elaborate procession at its completion, indicating the significance of the virgin to the Sienese  
-Replaced in 1506, unknown location by 1550 
-Originally Gothic-pinnacled, double-sided work
-Central panel = enthroned virgin, surrounded by Sienese saints, angels, and row of bust-length apostles
-Base = nativity scenes
-Top pinnacles = later life of the virgin, more angels
-Back = Passion of the Christ
-No separate elements stand out from interlaced figures, ornamentation, and color (in contrast to works by Giotto, for example)
-Lack of gold striations in drapery indicates decreasing reliance on Byzantine style
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