Duccio biography

Not much is known about him, the only sources of information are official records. He is married with seven children. Duccio is trained in the rigid Byzantine style of painting but succeeds in adding more life and emotion to his work than his predecessors. Many of his larger works are surrounded by smaller tableaux showing scenes from everyday life.

Nevertheless, his artistic talents were enough to overshadow his lack of organization as a citizen, and he became famous in his own lifetime. In the 14th century Duccio became one of the most favored and radical painters in Siena. Where Duccio studied, and with whom, is still a matter of great debate, but by analyzing his style and technique art historians have been able to limit the field.

Many believe that he studied under Cimabue, while others think that maybe he had actually traveled to Constantinople himself and learned directly from a Byzantine master. Little is known of his painting career prior towhen at the age of 23 he is recorded as having painted twelve account book cases. Although Duccio was active from to about only approximately 13 of his works survive today.

Of Duccio's surviving works, only two can be definitively dated. Duccio's known works are on wood panel, painted in egg duccio biography and embellished with gold leaf. Differently from his contemporaries and artists before him, Duccio was a master of tempera and managed to conquer the medium with delicacy and precision.

There is no clear evidence that Duccio painted frescoes. Duccio's style was similar to Byzantine art in some ways, with its gold backgrounds and familiar religious scenes, however it was also different and more experimental. Duccio began to break down the sharp lines of Byzantine art, and soften the figures. He used modeling playing with light and dark colors to reveal the figures underneath the heavy drapery; hands, faces, and feet became more rounded and three-dimensional.

Duccio's paintings are inviting and warm with color. His pieces consisted of many delicate details and were sometimes inlaid with jewels or ornamental fabrics. Duccio was also noted for his complex organization of space. He organized his characters specifically and purposefully. In his "Rucellai Madonna" c. The work was finished in and carried in solemn procession from his workshop to the Cathedral.

Most of it is still in Siena Cathedral Museumbut a few small panels are missing, and the other panels, all small ones from the predelle, are in several foreign museums. Above and below were scenes from the Life of Christ and the Virgin, with small figures of Saints. Most of these smaller scenes would have been visible only to the officiating duccio biography.

ISBN Oxford Art Online. Retrieved 10 February Art and Architecture in Italy — Yale University Press. Metropolitan Museum of Art. Retrieved 10 December Mitteilungen des Kunsthistorisches Institutes in Florenz. JSTOR Retrieved The Washington Post. Retrieved November 28, The New York Times. Section C, page 1. Archived from the original on April 11, Retrieved Jul 27, Museum of Fine Arts Boston.

Retrieved 24 December Sources [ edit ].

Duccio biography

Further reading [ edit ]. External links [ edit ]. Wikisource has the text of the Catholic Encyclopedia article Duccio di Buoninsegna. Gualino Madonna — Crevole Madonna c. Sienese school Trecento.