WHAZHOT · MADE IN FLO' · ONLY IN FLO' · DISCOUNT COUPONS
sections
Booking
.
culture
.
The founder of the Sienese school of painting All about Duccio
[Laura Mangiavacchi]
With the impressive exhibition “Duccio: The Beginnings of Sienese Painting“ the city of Siena rediscovers one of its most famous artists: Duccio di Buoninsegna, the founder of the Sienese school of painting. Active from 1278 to his death in the summer of 1319, he represents a link between the outgoing Romanesque style and the incoming Tuscan Gothic. A contemporary of the Florentine Cimabue, Duccio was influenced by him but he always kept his own stylistic identity. His work is characterized by a sophisticated and softer hued palette, as well as an almost calligraphic and seductive painting style, that brings him closer to the work of the extremely young but already active Giotto. Several of the greatest artistic geniuses of the Trecento - like Simone Martini and brothers Pietro and Ambrogio Lorenzetti - were heavily influenced by his masterpieces.
It is possible to visit this extraordinary exhibition until March 14th, 2004. It is organized in two separate locations, both of which are close to the Sienese cathedral, the Ospedale di Santa Maria della Scala and the Museo dell'Opera del Duomo. The exhibition takes off with the restoration of the large round stained glass window, in Duccio’s style, which is normally located in the apse of the Sienese Duomo. It was taken down and recomposed inside the Ospedale to facilitate conservation efforts and this allows visitors admire it close up. The restoration is still in progress but it has already produced important results.
At the Ospedale di Santa Maria della Scala there are about a hundred of works gathered around the stained glass window - paintings, miniatures, sculptures and jewellery - covering the fundamental points of Duccio's art and the influence of his work on later generations. The exhibition also provides an opportunity to see many works which are normally difficult to see, like the important panel "Christ and the Virgin Enthroned" which is jealously kept in the convent of the enclosed order of the Clarisse of Siena.
The second part of the exhibit is Duccio's masterpiece, the Maestà painted for the main altar of the cathedral in 1308-1311. Its colossal size makes it impossible to move it from the Museo dell'Opera del Duomo. The backside of the work is composed of twenty-five scenes from the Passion of Christ and is completed with episodes from the life of Jesus and Mary in the predella (the horizontal part at the base) and the pinnacles (the upper part).
In addition to the main exhibition it is possible to see architectural works attributed to Duccio and his circle in and around Siena. An interesting itinerary begins at the Crypt of the Duomo of Siena, which has opened in honor of the exhibit but you can only go if you have made reservations. Here you will find Scenes from the Old and New Testaments produced around 1270-1275 by a group of Sienese artists that were active before Duccio and drew from both the Byzantine tradition and Cimabue’s new style.
In Siena's Palazzo Pubblico, under Simone Martini's famous "Guidoriccio da Fogliano", is the well-executed fresco "Surrender of Guincarico Castle" which has been attributed to Duccio Buoninsegna and is dated around 1314 - making it one of his last works. The ideal itinerary winds through picturesque buildings of historic and religious importance where works by Duccio's pupils - as well as by other artists who were influenced by him - are conserved; both the remains of the bell-tower murals in San Martino and the Spinelli Chapel are attributed to Francesco di Segna. After visiting the little church of San Lorenzo al Colle Ciupi and the Pieve dei Santi Giovanni and Paolo at Santa Colomba, visitors leave the city and head for Casole d’Elsa and Monteroni d'Arbia through a historical excursion that compares three generations of Duecento painters influenced by Duccio's style.
The main exhibition is open daily (including Holidays) from 9am to 7.30pm; on Fridays and Saturdays it stays open until 10pm.
The joint ticket for Santa Maria della Scala and the Museo dell'Opera costs 10 Euros (concessions 8.50 Euros, school groups 5 Euros).
The official exhibition website is www.duccio.siena.it
Siena can be reached by train of by Sita scheduled buses.
Watch out for additional events scheduled in Siena during the exhibition.
The tourist information office is located in Piazza del Campo.
Tourist infoline 0577.280551
Tourist board site www.terresiena.it
MORE
http://www.duccio.siena.it/
http://www.terresiena.it/