The Virgin and Child with Saints Dominic and Aurea

The seven figures in the tympanum above the central panel, are the Old Testament prophets Daniel, Moses, Isaiah, David, Abraham, Jacob, and Jeremiah; on the left-wing, Saint Dominic; on the right-wing, Saint Aurea (probably Aurea of Ostia).

It may have been made for the private devotion of Cardinal Niccolò da Prato (died 1321), a high-ranking Dominican who was Cardinal of Ostia and would therefore have had reason to venerate Saint Aurea of Ostia, otherwise rarely shown.

This type of small-scale altarpiece with closing shutters was intended to be portable. The dimensions of this triptych are identical to those of a triptych of 'The Crucifixion with Saints Nicholas and Gregory' on the shutters (Boston, Museum of Fine Arts) which also seems to have been painted in Duccio's workshop. The exterior of the shutters in both triptychs have the same geometric patterns. The geometric patterns painted on the shutters prompt the worshipper as to the correct order of opening.

杜喬是 14 世紀意大利最重要的畫家之一。他經營著一個大型工作室，塑造了幾代錫耶納藝術家。他的學生對佛羅倫薩藝術產生了影響。
他最偉大的作品是雙面祭壇畫“Maestà”，製作於 1308-11 年間。畫廊的“天使報喜”、“耶穌打開了一個天生盲人的眼睛”和“變形”都是其中的片段。
杜喬的出生日期不詳，但他於 1278 年活躍於錫耶納，並在那裡度過了大部分的工作生涯。他在中世紀藝術家中是不尋常的，因為他有很好的記錄。杜喬的藝術以拜占庭為基礎來源，但深受皮薩尼雕塑和法國哥特式金屬製品的影響。他的作品在線條、色彩和圖案的運用上兼具裝飾性和極強的表現力。與他年輕的同時代人喬托相比，他對音量不感興趣。
“The Maestà”是有史以來最大、最複雜的祭壇畫之一。它的影響可以在錫耶納畫家Ugolino的祭壇畫的 predella 面板中看到，它模仿了“Maestà”中對主題的處理。
詳細資訊

標題: The Virgin and Child with Saints Dominic and Aurea
建立者: Duccio
建立日期: about 1312-15 (?)
實際尺寸: 61.4 x 39.3 cm
類型: Painting
材質: Egg tempera on wood
School: Italian (Sienese)
More Info: Explore the National Gallery’s paintings online
Inventory number: NG566
Full Title: The Virgin and Child with Saint Dominic and Saint Aurea, and Patriarchs and Prophets
Artist Dates: active 1278; died 1319
Artist Biography: Duccio was one of the most important painters of 14th-century Italy. He ran a large workshop that shaped generations of Sienese artists. His pupils were influential on Florentine art. His greatest work was the double-sided altarpiece, the 'Maestà', made between 1308-and 11. The Gallery's 'The Annunciation, 'Jesus opens the Eyes of a Man born Blind' and 'The Transfiguration' are fragments from it. Duccio's date of birth is not known but he was active in Siena by 1278 and spent most of his working life there. He is unusual among medieval artists for being well documented. Duccio's art is based on Byzantine sources but was deeply influenced by the sculpture of the Pisani and by French Gothic metalwork. His work is both decorative in the use of line, color, and pattern, and highly expressive. He is less interested in volume than his younger contemporary Giotto. 'The Maestà' was one of the largest and most complex altarpieces ever produced. Its influence can be seen in the predella panels for an altarpiece by the Sienese painter Ugolino, which imitates the treatment of subjects in the 'Maestà'.
Acquisition Credit: Bought, 1857