Duccio (Masters of Italian Art Series)

Rating:
Summary: the great early Italian master
Review: Duccio di Buoninsegna (about 1255-1319) was extraordinary, and has been one of my biggest influences as an artist; unfortunately not enough people have heard of him, and this book would be a marvelous way to remedy that oversight, because of its large, beautifully reproduced images. The text by Andrea Weber is minimal but excellent; it gives a sketch of Duccio's life (of which little is known) and times, his place in the artistic life of Siena, and the many commissions he received, the greatest which is the magnificent Maesta. Now surviving only in a fragmentary state, it is in this book "built up of reconstructions" in a "photographic montage" of how most of it must have looked, bringing together the many pieces that are now scattered world-wide. It also has a map of the "hypothetical reconstruction", showing where each piece would have been placed.

The text gives an analysis of each piece, including several Madonnas, the most famous is the Rucellai Madonna (1285), which now resides in Florence's Uffizi, and the following eighty-five pages are given to the Maesta, which was commissioned in 1308. The enormity and complexity of what remains of this work is truly awesome, and the beauty of this book is that it is the closest that we will get to see it in its entirety.
The last pages are of his "Late Works", and are of two triptyches and one polyptych.

Duccio's colors are deep and rich, and his figures exquisitely expressive. Favorite pieces from the Maesta for me are the main panel, with a loving Madonna holding a Christ Child clothed in the most delicate, diaphanous garments, The Entry Into Jerusalem, with some marvelous perspective for the time in which this was painted, and The Crucifixion, with its agonized Christ figure gazing down on the almost fainting form of Mother Mary.
A "must have" for anyone who likes iconic art or the superb work of the early Italian masters, the paper used in this book is thick and glossy, and it is a wonderful addition to any art lover's book collection.


Rating:
Summary: Duccio, Masters of Italian Art Series
Review: I do not own this book, yet. I have read some of it and looked at most of it and believe it is a beautiful book. It has a perfect selection of art! It will make a nice gift for my friend whose Master's is in art and who owns some similar art in her home. I will want to add to this review after I purchase the book.

Rating:
Summary: Duccio, Masters of Italian Art Series
Review: I do not own this book, yet. I have read some of it and looked at most of it and believe it is a beautiful book. It has a perfect selection of art! It will make a nice gift for my friend whose Master's is in art and who owns some similar art in her home. I will want to add to this review after I purchase the book.