textbooks, but many museums recognize his signi¿ cance. For example, the
Metropolitan Museum acquired a small but beautiful painting by Duccio in
2004 at a considerable price (Madonna and Child, c. 1300).
In this lecture, we focus on Duccio’s unquestioned masterpiece, the Maestà
(1308–1311), which means “majesty.” This work shows the Madonna and
Child enthroned, surrounded by adoring saints and angels. The Italian word
applies to all large paintings of the subject, but only Duccio’s is universally
known as the Maestà. In 1260, a great victory over Florentine forces was
credited to divine intervention by the Virgin Mary. One day after the Feast of
the Assumption of the Virgin, the people dedicated themselves and their city
to her protection, thus making her the patron saint of Siena. This veneration
explains the people’s joy when Duccio’s completed altarpiece was taken to
the cathedral in 1311.
A contemporary account describes this occasion: “On the 9th of June, at
midday, the Sienese carried the altarpiece in great devotion to the cathedral
in a procession... They accompanied the painting up to the cathedral,
walking in procession around the Campo, while all the bells rang joyfully.”
Notwithstanding the devotion with which the Sienese regarded the Virgin
Mary, it is truly unique that the general populace of any city would carry
a work of art in triumphant procession. This is compelling evidence for art
historian Edgar Wind’s essay about art at the center of a culture, as it once
was, and art at the margins of society, as it now is.
Our example shows a badly damaged Maestà with the pinnacles (top) and
the predella (bottom) missing. This work has undergone reconstruction at
various times in its existence. Let’s consider its history. The Maestà was
commissioned for the high altar of the Sienese Cathedral of Santa Maria
in 1308 and completed in 1311. It was, before alterations, about 13 ½ feet
wide and 7 feet high. It was painted on both sides, and thus, its painted area
was about 188 square feet. It was very large, but recall that each of Giotto’s
frescoed scenes was about 6 ½ feet wide—the Maestà was just over twice as
wide as a single fresco in the Arena Chapel.
Duccio’s work is sometimes small, especially on the reverse, the side facing
away from the nave. The many predella panels are also intentionally small.