Sienese Art: Duccio, Martini, and Lorenzetti

Works discussed:
Duccio di Buoninsegna, Rucellai Madonna, c. 1285 (Uffizi Gallery, Florence)
Simone Martini, Annunciation Altarpiece, 1333 (Uffizi Gallery, Florence)
Ambrogio Lorenzetti, Effects of Good Government in the City and in the Country, 1338-1339 (Sala della Pace, Palazzo Pubblico, Siena)

Speakers: Dr. David Drogin, Dr. Beth Harris

 

In this period and for many hundreds of years later, Italy was not a unified country, but rather was divided into many small countries we call city-states. Florence, Siena, Milan,, Venice -- these were essentially their own countries, with their own governments. The city-states were often at war with eachother.

Siena had a unique style emphasizing decorative surfaces, sinuous lines, elongated figures and a heavy use of gold. Duccio is the founder of the Sienese style, and his work is quite different from Giottos (see other mini-lectires), since Giotto emphasizes a greater naturalism -- creating figures who are more monumental (large and feeling the pull of gravity, in correct proportion) and a greater illusion of three-dimensional space.