Duccio di Buoninsegna

Duccio di Buoninsegna (c. 1255 – c. 1319), usually known simply as Duccio, was born and died in Siena and worked mostly in Tuscany. Where he trained is still debated: many believe he studied under Cimabue, while others suggest he learned directly from a Byzantine master. The archives record his debts and fines as well as his commissions, and he was famous in his own lifetime. Only about thirteen of his works survive, and just two can be firmly dated: the Rucellai Madonna, commissioned in 1285 for Santa Maria Novella in Florence, and the Maestà for the high altar of Siena Cathedral, commissioned in 1308 and finished by June 1311. Working in egg tempera and gold leaf on panel, he kept Byzantine gold grounds but softened the figures, modelled them in light and shade and set them in architectural space. He is credited with shaping the Sienese school, and Simone Martini and the Lorenzetti brothers followed his example. Here: Maestà.