Duccio

Duccio di Buoninsegna was the leading painter of Siena around 1300. He softened the Byzantine tradition with tender expressions, flowing line and a new sense of space, laying the foundations of the Sienese school. His Maestà for the high altar of Siena Cathedral, completed in 1311, was carried from his workshop to the cathedral in a public procession. City records also show a life troubled by debts and fines.