Duccio di Buoninsegna (c.1255-c.1319)
Trasfigurazione (The Transfiguration)
c.1307–1311
Egg tempera on wood, 48.5 × 51.4 cm
National Gallery, London
This painting was part of the predella (the bottom tier) of the Maestà altarpiece made for the Cathedral of Siena.
Christ stands at the top of a rocky mound, and the striations – stripes of gold leaf – on his clothes make him look as though he is shining. The moment shown is the Transfiguration, when Christ ascended a mountain and according to the Gospel of Matthew, ‘he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his garments became white as light’ (Matthew 17: 2).
Christ stands between Moses to the left and Elijah to the right. According to the Gospel, they appeared before him and began to speak with him. At this moment, a voice came from heaven: ‘This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him’ (Matthew 17: 5). The disciples Peter, James and John are kneeling below. They raise their hands up to shield their faces and recoil in fear. The Transfiguration prefigured the Resurrection and Ascension, when Christ ascended in glory from his tomb. This level of meaning was reinforced by the panel’s placement next to a scene showing the raising of Lazarus, a miracle in which Christ raised a man from the dead in anticipation of his own conquest of death.
It is suggested that the prophets’ sombre brown and purple clothing – Moses wears an animal skin cloak – is deliberately dark in contrast with the bright reds, greens and blues of Christ and the disciples to show the revelation of the divine in the person of Christ. A large part of the body of the central kneeling figure, Saint John the Evangelist, has been damaged; originally his robes were entirely red. The damaged area has been restored but not repainted.
This panel was once part of the back predella of Duccio’s large Sienese altarpiece, the Maestà. It was positioned between The Healing of the Man born Blind and the Raising of Lazarus. Unlike the front predella these scenes were not alternated with images of prophets but placed next to each other. Before the predella was cut into different scenes in the eighteenth century, the cured blind man in The Healing of the Man born Blind was looking up towards the figure of the transfigured Christ here.
This is a rare Italian painting featuring the Transfiguration – the event that prefigured Christ’s Resurrection, on Easter Day. The Feast of the Transfiguration (6 August) was not universally celebrated in the Western Christian Church in Duccio’s lifetime. Another example, a painting on canvas made in Siena four decades earlier by Guido da Siena, has a similar design. The original prototype comes from Byzantium, the Eastern Christian empire, where the feast was celebrated. (NG)
Virtual reconstruction of the Maestà Altarpiece (1308-1311).
Virtual reconstruction of the Maestà Altarpiece (back).
Central panel:
Duccio di Buoninsegna (c.1255-c.1319)
Maestà
1308–1311
Duomo di Siena, Siena
Predella:
Duccio di Buoninsegna (c.1255-c.1319)
Annunciazione
c.1307–1311
National Gallery, London
Duccio di Buoninsegna (c.1255-c.1319)
Cristo e la Samaritana
1310–1311
Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid
Duccio di Buoninsegna (c.1255-c.1319)
Guarigione del cieco nato
c.1307–1311
National Gallery, London
Duccio di Buoninsegna (c.1255-c.1319)
La vocazione degli apostoli Pietro e Andrea
1308–1311
National Gallery of Art, Washington
Duccio di Buoninsegna (c.1255-c.1319)
Natività con i profeti Isaia ed Ezechiele
1308–1311
National Gallery of Art, Washington
Duccio di Buoninsegna (c.1255-c.1319)
Resurrezione di Lazzaro
1310–1311
Kimbell Art Museum, Fort Worth
Duccio di Buoninsegna (c.1255-c.1319)
Tentazione sul monte
1308–1311
Frick Collection, New York