Duccio di Buoninsegna Italian the greatest Byzantine Style Painter of the Sienese School

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Duccio di Buoninsegna

Italian, Sienese, Early Renaissance Architect and Painter

1255-1319

Cause of Death - Leprosy

One of the Greatest Painters Of All Time

While Byzantine art is stormy and rigid, Sienese painting is youthful, lovely, and graceful. The prevailing characteristic being slender, supple grace. It seems as if the stone vaults of the churches had suddenly become transparent, and the eyes gazed upwards towards heaven, where tender ethereal beings, singing and praising the Highest, lived in eternal youth and lovingly gazed down upon mankind. In his great Madonna of the Cathedral Duccio gave first impulse of greatness. This new Mary is no linger severe and dignified, but mild and gracious, as if she has had pity upon the longing soul of the believer; for a soft dreamy melancholy transfigures her features. Her relation to the Child also is changed; she is no longer the involuntary mother of God, but a tender mother. Duccio explored in his own art a new world of emotion and passion, but with a lyricism and sensitivity to color that became the foundation of Sienese painting.

Duccio di Buoninsegna was one of the great genius of Sienese painting. He was known among his contemporaries as intelligent and generous . Buoninsegna' s paintings became prized by the church and royal court for their suave elegance and lively brilliance. He became a well-known painter with a distinctive manner. Quintessentially Italian, The Sienna School was the part of a vibrant, rich tradition that epitomized Duccio di Buoninsegna living and painting style. His style was typified by a certain fantastic exuberance, and carefully articulated composition. It is this which gives his Madonna's their unique peevish-looking expression and charm. He has worked out in them a distinct and peculiar type.

His repertoire included emotionally charged representations of the holy figures of the Christian faith--Christ, Saints, The Cross, Virgin Mary, Chalice, Keys, The Anchor, Wheat , The Good Shepherd, The Apostles, Animals, Fish, Angels, Birds, Insects and Satan.

Sienese Painting

While Byzantine art is strict and aloof, Sienese painting possesses a mystic sincerity. It seems as if the stone vaults of the churches had suddenly become transparent, and the eyes gazed upwards towards heaven, where tender ethereal beings, singing and praising the Highest, lived in eternal youth and lovingly gazed down upon mankind. Origen Adamantius, an early Christian theologian stated "If all things were made through Him, clearly so must the splendid revelations have been which were made to the fathers and prophets, and became to them the symbols of the sacred mysteries of religion." Duccio explored in his own art a new world of emotion and passion, but with a lyricism and sensitivity to color that became the foundation of Sienese painting.

Key Descriptive Words and Phrases associated with the Renaissance Movement - rebirth, rediscovery of the classical world, publication of Della Pittura, a book about the laws of mathematical perspective for artists, sfumato, chiaroscuro, Savonarola, spiritually significant, illuminated manuscript, idealized biblical themes, scriptorium, illuminator, Age of Discovery, axonometric drawing, curiosity about the natural world, realistic use of colours and light, Bonfire of the Vanities, Old Testament stories, ethereal and foggy backgrounds, Gospel parables, The Blackdeath, romanticized landscapes, Christian symbolism.

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Significant Italian Sienese Artists Listed Alphabetically

Taddeo di Bartolo (1362-1422) Italian, Sienese, Early Renaissance

Giovanni Antonio Bazzi (1477-1548) Italian, Sienese, High Renaissance

Domenico di Pace Beccafumi 1486-1551) Italian, Sienese, Renaissance

Duccio di Buoninsegna (1255-1319) Italian, Sienese, Early Renaissance

Giovanni di Paolo di Grazia (1403-1483) Italian, Sienese, Early Renaissance

Sano di Pietro (1406-1481) Italian, Sienese, Early Renaissance

Ambrogio Lorenzetti (1290-1348) Italian, Sienese, Early Renaissance

Pietro Lorenzetti (1280-1348) Italian, Sienese, Early Renaissance

Coppo di Marcovaldo (1225-1274) Italian, Sienese, Early Renaissance

Simone Martini (1280-1344) Italian, Sienese, Early Renaissance

Lippo Memmi (1285 -1361) Italian, Sienese, Early Renaissance

Giovanni di Paolo (1399-1482) Italian, Sienese, Renaissance

Sassetta (1394-1450) Italian, Sienese, Early Renaissance

Sodoma (1477-1548) Italian, Sienese, High Renaissance

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