Both Italian artists lived in the late middle ages and beginning of the Renaissance period. They have contributed to same Sienese School, with different artistic approaches but with Maestà we can compare and contrast them:
- Maestà: a depiction of someone enthroned, usually the Virgin and the child surrounded by angels and saints.
Duccio di Buoninsegna’s Maestà of Siena is polyptych altarpiece with a central panel depicting the Virgin Mary and Child enthroned. The composition is traditional and hierarchical arrangement can be seen. Duccio’s style is characterised by a Byzantine influence, with an attention to symbolic representation and gold leaf backgrounds. The colors are more vivid. The expression of figures, the calm aura, facial representations are emphasizing the spiritual and heavenly nature of the subjects. The painting shows Paradise. The patron saints of Siena are beseeching the Virgin to protect Siena.
This altarpiece is known for its;
- size & complexity
- unified action in the central panel
- narrative predella
From left to right in order the saints kneeling to the Virgin Mary and the Child are named,
- Ansanus, Savinus, Crescentius and Victor
