In the early Renaissance era Florence and Siena were rivals in many aspects. The Battle of Montaperti was fought between the two in September of 1260. After their triumph over Florence, Siena used the monetary winnings for the building of the Palazzo Pubblico to serve the city in governmental, spiritual and social needs; it was comparable to the basilicas in ancient Rome in this aspect. The Palazzo Pubblico (fig. 1) was also made to compete with Florence’s already constructed Palazzo della Signoria1 (fig. 2). The city also focused the new funds on the elaboration of the cathedral interior (fig. 3). In 1308, Duccio di Buoninsegna was hired for this reason. Duccio completed the requested polyptych, or multipaneled, altarpiece three years later before the townspeople paraded the Maestà from the artist’s workshop through the town and to the cathedral, its resting point for many years.
Siena, a town located in the heart of the “boot” of Italy is stationed just over forty miles south of Florence. This city claimed the Virgin Mary as their patron saint praying to her for protection and the keeping of peace. Siena’s nickname was “Vetusta Civitas Virgins” which means “The Ancient City of the Virgin.” Therefore creating Mary as the main focus of the Maestà was not even questionable in Duccio’s large-scale masterpiece. Even today, many pray to the iconography of Mary as seen in the portable Catholic rosaries of the majestic virgin. Majesty translates to Maestà in Italian. It was named this because it beheld the Virgin in majesty reflecting the high regards of Mary during that time.
Art was viewed in a different sense in the fourteenth century. It had a more active role and was not just decoration, but a vital component of worship and pr...
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...oked to the icon of the Mother of God for peace and prosperity. With the function of Byzantine manuscripts and the signature style of Duccio, the Maestà claimed its spot in Italian history.
Works Cited
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Hartt, Frederick, and David G. Wikins. History of Italian Renaissance Art. Seventh Edition. New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 2007.
Schneider Adams, Laurie. Italian Renaissance Art. Colorado: Westview Press, 2001.
Stubblebine, James H., “Byzantine Sources for the Iconography of Duccio’s Maestà”.
The Art Bulletin, Vol. 57, No. 2 (Jun., 1975), pp. 176-185. (College Art Association), accessed November 17, 2010. http://www.jstor.org/stable/3049368.
Getlein, Mark. "Chapter 17-The 17th and 18th Centuries." Living with Art. 9th ed. Boston, MA: McGraw Hill, 2008. 384-406. Print.
The object of this book, Early Medieval Art, is to convey the theme “tradition not only receives and transforms, it literally invents a tradition upon which it founded itself” (p. 15) concerning art of the early medieval era. The purpose of this book is to summarize and offer knowledge of medieval art, that will then be included in the greater series of books by other specialists for Oxford University Press. Lawrence Nees accomplished his argument successfully by following the chronological production of the art and the traditions that are imbedded within them. Although, his thesis is strongly supported, Ness’ failure is found in his over reliance on the artwork itself, which then leads to the masking of his personal arguments.
Crivellari, Domenico, and Maria Da Villa Urbani, eds. Basilica di San Marco. Procuratoria di San Marco Venezia. 2003.
It is abundantly clear how Leonardo Bruni feels about the city of Florence. In Panegyric to the City of Florence, he expresses nothing but the highest praise for the city. Every aspect of Florence is backed by a clear reason why it is the best, and there is no other city in the world that can compare. According to Bruni, Florence has extraordinary beauty, architecture, geography, history, government, and people. This, of course, is only one person’s opinion. In the diaries of Buonaccorso Pitti and Gregorio Dati, they too give their opinions on the city of Florence. In general, they do not seem to give Florence the same recognition and praise that Bruni gives.
As discussed by Kloss (2005), the subject matter of Giotto’s Arena Chapel (1303-05) and Duccio’s Maestà (1308–11) are similarly both narrative cycles of Christian biblical scenes depicting the lives of the Virgin Mary and Jesus Christ. Giotto’s cycle of paintings were done in frescoes which adorn the walls of the Arena Chapel in Padua Italy. Duccio’s Maestà was a double sided altarpiece for the Cathedral of Siena, Siena, Italy with tempera and gold on wood. The main frontal image is the Madonna and Child Enthroned and the reverse side consists of forty smaller images of biblical accounts from the life of Mary and Jesus.
...les E. "Builders, Patrons, and Identity: The Domed Basilicas of Sicily and Calabria." Gesta 43, no. 2 (2004): 99-114.
Murphy and her book Murder of a Medici Princess. This historical non-fiction novel follows Isabella de Medici as she lives through all the drama of the Medici family and eventually meets her death in the end. The main section of this book that pertains to this essay is how the Medici family was depicted as saints, and Isabella’s description of her family in the painting provides for excellent insight into how a member of the family saw this manipulation of art. The author of this novel is a cultural historian who studies women in early modern Italy and its art. Her first book, Lavinia Fontana: A Painter and Her Patrons in Sixteenth-century Bologna, was published by Yale University Press and she has gone on to write many more books in this area (Vezzaro). The purpose of Murder of a Medici Princess was not to discuss the Medici’s family patronage to art, but rather to document Isabella de Medici’s life and her struggles with the power that her family had. Although this book is a secondary source, its content is based on historical documents, letters, and Isabella’s behavior, making it an accurate source of information. This first hand view on the manipulation of the Medici’s power offers a look into how they saw their patronage of the arts as a benefit to Italy’s society and can give a perspective different than the modern one. As mentioned before, the value of this book is very high since it has the views of a member of the family; however, it is also biased because of Isabella’s position. She does not have an outsider’s perspective of the the art and therefore will show favor toward her family’s patronage. Through both of the paintings, though, it is clear that the Medici family’s power over paintings was prominent in Italy and changed how the society viewed them for the better. With all three paintings, the Medici family depicted themselves in a holy manner, hoping to associate themselves with the church in
Florence, Italy was a city just like any other during the Renaissance. It was city of 50,000 people, less than there were in Paris and Venice but more than most other European cities. The busiest parts of the city were the Ponte Vecchio, a place lined with markets and houses, the neighborhood of the Orsanmichele and Mercato Vecchio, or the Old Market. Florence was a place of beauty and leisure. A Venetian visitor once said, “There is in my opinion no region more sweeter than that wherein Florence is a placed for Florence is situated in a plain surrounded on all sides by hills and mountains…And the hills are fertile cultivated, pleasant…” (Unger, pg. 1). Florence was a very prosperous city; it made fortunes off of wool and banking trades. A certain Florentine family contributed to the vast wealth as well. The Medici family was no doubt the foundation of prosperity for Florence.
Piero della Francesca presented an iconic image of the Renaissance in Italy in his own way, highlighting the two most important idols of the Catholic church, Jesus Christ and the Virgin Mary. Through oil paint, he connected sacred biblical meanings into his own masterpiece. He devoted Christ to portray him in a scene of blessing with his surroundings and other holy figures. The Madonna and Child with Two Angels (Senigallia Madonna), is a piece created with such emphasized meaning and such divinity of the holy, Jesus Christ and his mother the Virgin Mary.
Gardner, Helen, and Fred S. Kleiner. Gardner's Art Through the Ages: The Western Perspective. N.p., 2014. Print.
Much of the art created during the Renaissance was geared toward religion, and with Michelangelo this was no exception. By th...
On its walls hang portraits of several Grand Masters of the Order. Lunettes depicting Maltese landscapes adorn the walls along their length. These works are by Nicolau Nasoni from Siena; also by Nasoni are the decorative paintings on the ce...
Burton, David. "Exhibiting Student Art." Virginia Commonwealth University Journal 57.6 (2004): 41. eLibrary. Web. 30 Oct. 2013.
The shift between the Middle Ages and Renaissance was documented in art for future generations. It is because of the changes in art during this time that art historians today understand the historical placement and the socio-economic, political, and religious changes of the time. Art is a visual interpretation of one’s beliefs and way of life; it is through the art from these periods that we today understand exactly what was taking place and why it was happening. These shifts did not happen overnight, but instead changed gradually though years and years of art, and it is through them that we have record of some of the most important changes of historic times.
Larmann, R., & Shields, M. (2011). Art of Renaissance and Baroque Europe (1400–1750). Gateways to Art (pp. 376-97). New York: W.W. Norton.