Daughter of Your Son. The Maestà by Duccio di Buoninsegn

In 1311, Duccio di Buoninsegna completed the great altarpiece for the Cathedral of Siena: the entire population accompanied the Maestà in a festive procession from the painter’s workshop to the Cathedral. In Duccio’s masterpiece, the people of Siena saw their own self-awareness expressed—this same identity was engraved on every coin with the words Sena vetus, civitas Virginis (Ancient Siena, city of the Virgin), and stamped on every official document with the Republic’s Seal: the Madonna with the Child between two angels and the inscription Salvet Virgo Senam veteram, quam signat amenam (May the Virgin protect ancient Siena, which she herself makes fair).

It is the same sensibility—though expressed in a different aesthetic form—that inspires the prayer to the Virgin Mary at the end of Dante’s Divine Comedy.

The large panel—whose dimensions were impressive, probably around 370×450 cm—was painted on both sides: the front entirely dedicated to Mary, the back to Christ.
In addition to the large central panel on the front, more than 50 narrative scenes were included in the predella, the reverse, and the crowning section.
Duccio’s work is thus the most extensive cycle of stories about Jesus and Mary ever created.

This exhibition aims to present this masterpiece of medieval painting to the broad audience of the Meeting, tracing the history of the city, the artist who was its greatest expression, and the events that, over the centuries, altered the work’s original form.

THIS EXHIBITION IS AVAILABLE IN A TRAVELING FORMAT. CLICK HERE FOR FULL DETAILS.