The Crucifixion; the Redeemer with Angels; Saint Nicholas; Saint Gregory
Brief Identification[]
This altarpiece was created by the painter Duccio di Buoninsegna and his assistants in the town of Siena, now part of Italy, during the years 1311 to 1318. The central panel depicts the crucifixion of Jesus of Nazareth while the reeeeeels depict St Nicholas and St. Gregory. It is made of wood and painted with tempera. It would have been commissioned either for private worship or for use as a portable altar [Weber 1997, 113]. It is currently located at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, Massachusetts.
Technical Evaluation[]
This particular type of altarpiece is called a triptych. A triptych consists of three panels side by side with the outer two folding in to the center. The piece itself is made of wood and painted with tempera [Weber 1997, 113]. Tempera is a type of paint made from mixing egg yolks with pigment to create the desired consistency and color.
Measuring 61.5 by 39 centimeters, the central panel depicts the crucifixion of Jesus of Nazareth. The cross dominates this section, towering over the crowd below. To the left, the Virgin Mary is seen in a fainting position being supported by other women in the crowd. To the right, a Roman soldier stands in front of a crowd of onlooking men. Around the cross appear flying angels. Above the image, the resurrected Christ can be seen accompanied by angels on either side. The two wing panels measure 45 by 20 centimeters each. The right panel depicts Saint Gregory the Great, a canonized pope from the late sixth century. On his head appears a crown, a symbol of his papal authority. The left panel depicts Saint Nicholas, later associated with the Christmas tradition of Santa Claus. Both appear in the garments of high-ranking church officials of Duccio’s era [Weber 1997, 113].
Local Historical Context[]
As mentioned earlier, this altarpiece was painted in Siena, a city in the Tuscany region of modern-day Italy. During Duccio’s life, the city was the capital of the Republic of Siena, one of countless city-states that existed on the Italian Peninsula at the time. It became a self-governing commune in the 12thcentury with a constitution and a ruling council made up of members of the noble families of the city. The city became a commercial center for banking and the wool trade. In addition, the republic controlled a swath of coastline territory which allowed it to participate in the extremely lucrative marine trade that was transforming Italy at the time. It had an extremely competitive rivalry with the Republic of Florence which culminated in the Battle of Montaperti in 1260. This engagement saw Sienese troops crush their Florentine adversaries giving their Republic a brief period of economic and military dominance in Tuscany. It was during this period of prosperity that saw the city reach its cultural peak as well.
Pieces like The Crucifixion; the Redeemer with Angels; Saint Nicholas; Saint Gregory would have been commissioned by the wealthy elite for use in personal worship or by ecclesiastical authority as portable altars [Weber 1997, 113]. Since the Catholic Church dominated civic life in Europe at the time, the vast majority of art would have depicted religious themes and subjects. The artist would have been paid a handsome sum to create their work [Bartlett 2013, 22-24]
Foremost among the artists of Siena at the end of the thirteenth century was Duccio di Buoninsegna [Carli 1964, 35]. Little documented evidence about his life and career have survived to the modern day so historians are forced to reconstruct his life events from limited city records and the development of his artistic works over time. Prior to Duccio, artists were primarily regarded as craftsmen and performed work such as painting ceiling coffers, parade shields, and other trivial jobs. His career marked the beginning of a change in the status of artists that would continue into the Renaissance. His Maestà, considered by many to be his masterpiece, was painted to commemorate the Battle of Montaperti and served as the altarpiece in the Cathedral of Siena for centuries. For this commissioned work, Duccio was paid 3000 florins, an unheard-of sum for an artist at the time. It represented a shift away from flat, medieval painting to more natural depictions of reality [Weber 1997, 36-109]. While still lacking much depth, the figures depicted in the works of Duccio possess lifelike expressions and intricately painted garments. In addition, they are not shown in static poses but rather in active ones. This transition to more lifelike scenes marked the beginning of the transition from medieval to renaissance art.
World Historical Context[]
Panel paintings such as The Crucifixion; the Redeemer with Angels; Saint Nicholas; Saint Gregory represented a meshing of Byzantine artistic techniques with Western Gothic themes. Like the Orthodox iconography it closely resembles, dematerialized golden backgrounds are used to avoid earthly reality and focus on the divine. Figures and objects are painted with little depth and perspective. Despite the style, the subjects and themes depicted are decidedly Western. While Orthodox iconography was intended to symbolize a connection to a holy and infinite presence, artists such as Duccio created scenes designed to instruct the faithful [Carli 1962, 35]. They illustrated stories from the lives of Jesus, Mary, and the saints featuring people in active poses using heavy form and simple shapes [Nash 2015, 251-257]. Byzantine religious art typically made no allusion to a direct time or place and featured schematized settings and static figures. This movement towards more lifelike scenes represented the beginning of changes in visual art that would define the Renaissance and would come to influence art across all of Europe.
Bibliography[]
Bartlett, Kenneth R. A Short History of the Italian Renaissance.Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2013.
Carli, Enzo. Duccio di Buoninsegna. Milan: Aldo Martello, 1962.
Carli, Enzo. Italian Primitives: Panel Painting of the Twelfth and Thirteenth Centuries. Milan: Aldo Martello, 1964.
Schmidt, Victor M. Italian Panel Painting of the Duecento and Trecento. New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 2002.
Weber, Andrea. Duccio. Cologne: Könemann Verlagsgesellschaft mbH, 1997.
Web
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