My Kid Could Paint That

The Majority of Muslims believe that Jesus did not die on the cross, but that God brought Jesus to heaven on the day Jesus was supposed to be crucified. (The Quran clearly states that Jesus and God were two separate entities. Jesus was only a messenger of God, not God himself.) The text in the Quran leaves some unanswered questions, like if Jesus didn’t die on the cross, who did? Muslim scholars have different interpretations and theories about the Quranic text. Peter Albedard’s Inquiry into Divergent Views of Church Fathers, Albedard encourages young readers to research contrasting views. He says, “By collecting contrasting divergent opinions I hope to provoke young readers to push themselves to the limit in search for truth, so that their wits may be sharpened by their investigation” (Abelard). As a Muslim who has not received a completely satisfactory answer on what happened to Jesus, I look to other religions to see different perspectives that can possibly contribute to my own beliefs. In Catholics, unlike Muslims, have agreed upon what happened to Jesus on the day of his death.
In The Betrayal of Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane, Duccio clearly captures the details and the mood of the Christian story. To the left of the painting, Peter cuts off a slave’s ear. To the right, the apostles run from the scene. In the middle, Judas kisses Jesus’ cheek, and the mob of the Romans stands angrily behind the two, holding their spears and torches. The number of figures and the energy of the painting gives it a claustrophobic and chaotic feel. The ominous dark trees in the background foreshadow betrayal and death. 
In the Bible Story, Judas leads the Roman Guards into the Garden of Gethsemane where he knows he will find Jesus and the apostles. To point Jesus out to the guards, Judas kisses Jesus’ cheek. Jesus offers himself up to the guards as long as the guards set the apostles free. The apostles want to jump into action, asking Jesus if they should fight off the guards with their swords. Before Jesus can respond, Peter wields one of his two swords, cutting off the ear of a slave in anger. Jesus, angered by Peter’s actions, heals the slave’s wound and proclaims, “Return your sword to its place, for all those who take up the sword will perish by the sword.” (Even when Jesus is about to get captured, he keeps trying to preach.) Jesus explains to his apostles that without his capture, the scripture would not be fulfilled. The mob begins to bind Jesus and the apostles flee the scene. 

Rucellai Madonna, 1285, Duccio

by REID GUEMMER

Rucellai Madonna, for example, caused its fair amount of controversy between art historians. The question at hand: was the painting done by Duccio or his mentor Cimabue? Although art historian Franz Wickhoff later decided to compared Ruccellai Madonna to Duccio's most famous work, Maestà. He found that the two paintings shared many similarities and overlapped in technique, providing enough evidence for Duccio to reclaim his piece.

Duccio, Temptation of Christ on the Mountain, 1308-1311

We all are easily enticed by the seemly handsome devil. A task or an action that we understand as immoral can seem like the right choice because it's simply easier in the short term. Whether it he dazzles you to be dishonest academically or socially, all of us can relate to Jesus' struggle in Duccio's masterpiece. Duccio brilliantly portrays the New Testament scene (Matthew 4:1-11) with tempera where the devil offers Jesus rule of the entire Earth. 

This piece showcases how Duccio’s work set the stage for future Renaissance paintings. While the artist still paints his central figures in a flat fashion, he incorporates new methods. Duccio uses the classic background yellow-grey background while including several new techniques. These styles include perspective and buildings with more two dimensional elements. 

The light focuses on the angels and shadow engulfs the devil while Jesus sits in-between. This emphasizes Jesus' juxtaposition. Duccio arranges the four figures in the piece in order of holiness the angels, Christ and Satan. Duccio humanizes Jesus, showing that he lies somewhere between good and evil.

Duccio, Maestà, 1255–1319

Commissioned by the city of Siena, Duccio painted Maestà around 1255 to 1319 using tempera paint and gold. Since tempera paint is thinner than oil paint or acrylic, it requires multiple layers to attain vibrant colors. Its breathtaking to see how he used gold to give the shiny effect. The amount of detail in the painting shows the amount of effort he put in it. The painting it consists total of 26 episodes and 14 panels that tells the history of Mary and Jesus. We all know the painting Mary and Child seems a bit off, but as time passed Duccio's skill truly developed. The flow of the painting is smooth, pretty symmetrical, and not to distracting to the eyes - especially the proportion of humans, their emotions, and the way fabric flows has become much more realistic.

Duccio, The Betrayal of Christ, 1308-1311

A vibrant disarray of chaos and agitation, Duccio’s The Betrayal of Christ leaves for few moments of relaxation. Above, gold permeates the sky accompanied by slender trees, cryptically sprouting out of slanted layering of rock. Below, a beautiful convulsion of robes sway without heed to their wearers’ discomposure. When focusing on these aspects alone, perhaps the painting’s airless claustrophobia would diminish.

Foul expressions and crude actions within the painting create a horizontal line across the middle. Even Jesus is thrown off his usual Jesus-y serenity, looking especially uncomfortable as Judas trespasses his halo’s radius. Peter slices off the ear of Malchus with a knife in his hand, a scowl across his face. Peter’s halo is not present in this painting, as his holiness is compromised by his actions.

The Betrayal of Christ is one piece of forty-three that compose Duccio’s Maestà, a highly decorated altarpiece. The Maestà was dismantled later, causing panels to scatter throughout the world. The divergence of the Maestà comes as a blessing and a setback. Panels are readily available to view in various museums, but will likely never converge back into its original state.

Duccio, Maesta Altarpiece, 1311

"Holy Mother of God, grant peace to Siena, and life to Duccio because he has painted you thus."

The Maesta, a double sided altarpiece found in the main altar at the Cathedral of Siena, is the most famous work of art from Siena and one of the most recognized works from the 14th century. The title Maesta means The Virgin Mary and Majesty. It is made of many panels and 59 narratives in all. Mary's life and story is shown on the front, and Christ's on the back. The piece was painted on a wood panel with tempera paint, a mixture of egg yolk, glue and ground up minerals. The composition of the piece is symmetrical. There is no distinct light source in the piece, so there is little variation in the color of the faces. Maesta is the only signed work of Duccio's.

Mary is the largest figure and the center of the piece. Attention is drawn to the beautiful soft folds in the Virgin's lapis lazuli robe, which contrasts from the colors in the rest of the piece. The cloth around Christ is translucent and very delicate. His face is full of depth and he holds a stare of wisdom and maturity. There are three rows of angels and Saints around the Virgin and Christ, and despite the formal setting, their faces are informal, all looking in different directions. The wings of the angels are not flat, but very detailed with small curled brushstrokes giving them volume and a feathered appearance.

After looking at so much of Giotto's work, I really enjoyed studying Duccio more. Duccio's figures, unlike Giotto's, are less heavy with less illusion of three dimensional space. Duccio's work has heavy uses of gold, softened elongated figures with tender emotional faces, and detailed backgrounds.

Duccio, The Betrayal of Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane, 1308

Duccio, Raising of Lazarus, 1310

Lazarus has been dead for four days, but now he stands in his burial shroud leaving the tomb with his eyes wide open. The smell must have been pretty bad because the onlooker in black dress socks covers his nose from the smell. Lazarus somehow defies physics by hopping to an upright position with his hands and feet tightly wrapped in linen cloth, sort of like a winning a two-legged burlap bag race at a family picnic without falling over. All we see of Lazarus is his ashen face, while the rest of the painting jumps out in vivid colors. Clearly, this guy was once dead.

Maybe when Duccio painted The Raising of Lazarus in 1310 people were accustomed to seeing this scene. The crowd on hand does not look particularly happy or eager to see poor Lazarus. Jesus, however, with his outstretched arm and a large decorative plate around his head, looks determined and compassionate. Duccio portrays Jesus as sure of himself, understanding the future meaning and significance of this miracle. The only person in the painting, a woman in a bright red robe, understands what has just happened. She, alone, directs her attention to Jesus, not to the smelly, wrapped, former corpse in the tomb.

Here, dozens of witnesses who had come to mourn the death of Lazarus instead witness the dude standing and breathing. How could this be anything but the awesome power and divine intervention of a benevolent God trying to make a point?

Duccio, Rucellai Madonna, 1285

Painted in 1285, Duccio di Buoninsegna’s famous work represents a significant departure from the Byzantine style that had previously dominated art. The most noticeable difference between Duccio’s work and those previous is the perspective. While the works of previous painters—and contemporaries such as Cimabue—presented the Madonna and Child looking directly at the viewer, the Rucellai Madonna presents them at an angle.

Duccio does not perfect the art of depth, but he makes an attempt, in itself unusual for its time. Duccio makes an attempt to shade the deep blue robe to represent shadow; the angels at the edge of the painting display his abilities here. Mary's robe’s naturally complex curves are beautifully done and much more intricate than the rigid form of days past demanded. Despite this, Duccio’s art in many ways represents a transition from one artistic style to the next. While he creates a much more life-like Madonna and child, the creepy boneless fingers and strange manhood of the baby remain. Madonna’s face fails to convey much meaning, greater expression appears in the reverent faces of the angels looking on from the sides.

These angels create upward movement in the painting by seeming to pull the throne up rather than hold it down, as does the pointed top and airy space above the throne. The throne itself bears bright hues and floral shapes lying behind a series of bars that support the structure. This differs greatly from other thrones of the day, such as those of Giotto or Cimabue, who painted much more solid structures. The small star visible on Mary’s shoulder comes from an alternate name for her, “Stella Maris,” or “Star of the Sea.” This name came about because Mary’s Hebrew name, Miriam, sounds similar to the Hebrew term for star of the sea.

Duccio’s work represents a major step in the progression of western art; additionally, it has value as a work in and of itself. The mother and child look forward, just as does Duccio.