Click on any panel in the altarpiece reconstruction below to see an enlarged version of the image. Color reproductions in the reconstruction indicate panels in the National Gallery of Art collection.
Overview
Like
This panel was located on the back of the altarpiece, where the imagery was devoted to Christ’s Passion and his mission as teacher—apt subjects for the rear panels, which would have been seen only by clergy standing behind the altar. Here we find Jesus calling his first disciples. He approaches two fishermen at work on the Sea of Galilee: Simon, called Peter, and his brother Andrew. Their net is full when Jesus says to them: “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men” (Matthew 4:18).
This panel is one of the highlights of Duccio’s accomplishments and likely one of the last created, displaying all the lessons learned over the years of painting the Maestà. The figures are sensitively human, their gestures expressive, their draperies lyrical yet describing the bodies beneath. Duccio’s setting is evocative of nature, yet reminds us, with the gilded sky, that capturing the physical world is not this painter’s top priority.
Entry
The episode illustrated in the panel is that recounted in the synoptic Gospels of the calling of the first two apostles: Jesus
The altarpiece of monumental dimensions and complex structure, of which The Nativity and The Calling of the Apostles formed part, is unusually well documented.
Art historical discussion of the Maestà has concentrated mainly on the problem of reconstructing the original appearance of the dismantled and in part dispersed ensemble. An exception is James Stubblebine’s attempts to distinguish the parts attributable to various assistants who hypothetically participated in its execution.
Discussion has also focused on how best to interpret the iconography of the scenes on the back of the Maestà,
In more recent decades, general consensus has been reached regarding the nine episodes of the rear predella. Weigelt’s reconstruction of the front predella has also been accepted. It is also generally conceded that one of the stories of the public life of Jesus and the two scenes filling the front and rear of the central gable have been lost.
Another hypothesis, formulated more recently by the present writer (1982, 1990), concerns the missing first scene of the back of the predella.
The original appearance of the Maestà, and in particular of the back predella, thus still remains a discussed problem. What remains unchallenged, on the other hand, is the artistic quality of the two panels now in the National Gallery of Art, and on this point a further brief comment should be made. The particular accomplishment of execution of the paintings in the lower zones of the Maestà has long been recognized. Some have tried to explain this phenomenon by assuming that the painter left less room there for the intervention of studio assistants than in the less visible parts, in the upper tiers of the altarpiece.
Miklós Boskovits (1935–2011)
March 21, 2016
Provenance
NGA 1939.1.141 formed part of the rear predella of Duccio's double-sided altarpiece the Maestà, which was in the course of execution by October 1308 and was placed on the high altar of the Cathedral of Siena on 30 June 1311;[1] the altarpiece was removed from the cathedral in 1506, first stored by the Cathedral authorities, and then later displayed on the wall of the left transept, close to the altar of Saint Sebastian, but probably by this time the predella and gable panels had already been separated from it;[2] the altarpiece was moved to the church of Sant'Ansano in 1777, where its two sides were separated and returned to the cathedral;[3] in 1798 the gables and eight panels of the predella were reported as being housed in the sacristy of the cathedral, whereas the rest, including NGA 1939.1.141, must already have been in private hands;[4] Giuseppe and Marziale Dini, Colle Val d'Elsa (Siena), by 1879;[5] purchased 1886 by (Charles Fairfax Murray [1849-1919], London and Florence) for Robert Henry [1850-1929] and Evelyn Holford [1856-1943] Benson, London and Buckhurst Park, Sussex;[6] sold 1927 with the entire Benson collection to (Duveen Brothers, Inc., London, New York, and Paris);[7] sold 1 October 1928 to Clarence H. Mackay [1874-1938], Roslyn, New York;[8] sold 1934 to the Samuel H. Kress Foundation, New York;[9] gift 1939 to NGA.
Exhibition History
- 1904
- Exhibition of Pictures of the School of Siena, Burlington Fine Arts Club, London, 1904, nos. 1 and 7.
- 1927
- Loan Exhibition of the Benson Collection of Old Italian Masters, City of Manchester Art Gallery, 1927, no. 108.
- 1935
- Exposition de L'Art Italien de Cimabue à Tiepolo, Petit Palais, Paris, 1935, no. 150.
Technical Summary
The support consists of a single piece of horizontally grained wood, cradled by Stephen Pichetto in 1935 and probably thinned (thickness 0.9 cm) at that time. Before the painting process, fabric and
The gold
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- 1975
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- 1976
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- 1979
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- 1985
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- 1986
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- 1987
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- 1988
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- 1988
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- 1989
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- 1989
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- 1989
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- 1989
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- 1989
- Vos, Rik, and Hendrik W. van Os, eds. Aan de oorsprong van de schilderkunst: vroege italiaanse schilderijen in Nederlands bezit. The Hague, 1989: repro. 126.
- 1990
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- 1991
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- 1991
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- 1991
- Riedl, Helmut Philipp. Das Maestà-Bild in der sieneser Malerei des Trecento unter besonderer Berücksichtigung der Darstellung im Palazzo Comunale von San Gimignano. Tübingen, 1991: 16, figs. 8, 11.
- 1991
- Zeri, Federico. Giorno per giorno nella pittura: scritti sull’arte toscana dal Trecento al primo Cinquecento. Turin, 1991: 520, 521.
- 1992
- Hall, Nicholas H. J., ed. Colnaghi in America: A Survey to Commemorate the First Decade of Colnaghi, New York. New York, 1992: 9, 10, fig. 2.
- 1992
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- 1992
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- 1992
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- 1993
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- 1996
- Apostolos Cappadona, Diane. Encyclopedia of Women in Religious Art. New York, 1996: 47, fig. 14.
- 1996
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- 1996
- Popp, Dietmar. Duccio und die Antike: Studien zur Antikenvorstellung und zur Antikenrezeption in der sieneser Malerei am Anfang des 14. Jahrhunderts. Munich, 1996: fig. 41.
- 1997
- Moskowitz, Anita Fiderer. "A Late Dugento Male Nude Studied from Life." Source: Notes in the History of Art 16 (1997): 7 n. 11.
- 1998
- Bellosi, Luciano. Duccio, la Maestà. Milan, 1998: 17, 22, 264, 268, repro. 274.
- 1999
- Schmidt, Victor M. "A Duccesque Fragment of the Coronation of the Virgin." Bulletin du Musée Hongrois des Beaux-Arts 90-91 (1999): 42 n. 10.
- 2001
- Strehlke, Carl Brandon. "Carpentry and Connoisseurship: The Disassembly of Altarpieces and the Rise in Interest in Early Italian Art." In Rediscovering Fra Angelico: A Fragmentary History. Edited by Laurence B. Kanter and Carl Brandon Strehlke. Exh. cat. Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, 2001: 41-42, repro.
- 2002
- Schmidt, Victor M. "Duccesque Painting Representing St John the Baptist Bearing Witness in the Museum of Fine Arts." Bulletin du Musée Hongrois des Beaux-Arts 96 (2002): 54, repro. 55.
- 2002
- Seiler, Peter. "Duccio’s Maestà: The Function of the Scenes from the Life of Christ on the Reverse of the Altarpiece." In Italian Panel Painting of the Duecento and Trecento. Edited by Victor M. Schmidt. Studies in the History of Art 61 (2002): repros. 252 and 253, 271-272 n. 26.
- 2003
- Bagnoli, Alessandro, Roberto Bartalini, Luciano Bellosi, and Michel Laclotte, eds. Duccio: Siena fra tradizione bizantina e mondo gotico. Exh. cat. Santa Maria della Scala, Siena; Museo dell’Opera del Duomo, Siena. Cinisello Balsamo (Milan), 2003: 218-220.
- 2004
- Eclercy, Bastian. Suis manibus? Studien zur Beteiligung von Mitarbeitern am Entwurfsprozess von Duccios Maestà. Munich, 2004: 53, 74.
- 2004
- Hand, John Oliver. National Gallery of Art: Master Paintings from the Collection. Washington and New York, 2004: 10, no. 5, color repro.
- 2004
- Secrest, Meryle. Duveen: A Life in Art. New York, 2004: 337.
- 2004
- Strehlke, Carl Brandon. Italian Paintings, 1250-1450, in the John G. Johnson Collection and the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Philadelphia, 2004: 130-131 repro.
- 2006
- Hartt, Frederick, and David G. Wilkins. History of Italian Renaissance Art: Painting, Sculpture, Architecture. 6th ed. Upper Saddle River, 2006: 106, color fig. 4.6, no. 12.
- 2006
- Sander, Jochen, Matthias Theodore Kloft, Rita Sauer, and Stefan Weppelmann. Kult Bild: das Altar- und Andachtsbild von Duccio bis Perugino. Exh. cat. Städelsches Kunstinstitut, Frankfurt am Main. Petersberg, 2006: 70, 71, 74.
- 2010
- Sahaydachny, Antonina. "The Madonna Protectress of Siena in the Maestà Altarpiece by Duccio (1308-1311)." In 1308: eine Topographie historischer Gleichzeitigkeit. Edited by Andreas Speer and David Wirmer. Berlin, 2010: 664.
- 2011
- Gordon, Dillian. The Italian Paintings Before 1400. National Gallery Catalogues. London, 2011: 175-176, under no. NG1330, color fig. 2.
- 2013
- Cappelletti, Lorenzo. "La vocazione dei santi Pietro e Andrea, o piuttosto l’imposizione del nome di Cefa (Pietro) a Simone." Arte cristiana 101, no. 877 (2013): repro. 274.
- 2013
- "Vasari and the National Gallery of Art." National Gallery of Art Bulletin 48 (Spring 2013): 10-11, repro.
- 2015
- Bowron, Edgar Peters. “Samuel H. Kress and His Collection of Italian Renaissance Paintings.” In A Market for Merchant Princes: Collecting Italian Renaissance Paintings in America ed. Inge Reist. (The Frick Collection Studies in the History of Art Collecting in America, 2) University Park, Pennsylvania, 2015: 113, color fig. 49.
- 2016
- Boskovits, Miklós. Italian Paintings of the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Centuries. The Systematic Catalogue of the National Gallery of Art. Washington, 2016: 81-102, color repro.
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Altarpiece Reconstructions

Reconstruction of the back of the predella of Duccio di Buoninsegna's Maestà
a. Saint John the Baptist Bearing Witness (Entry fig. 2)
b. Temptation on the Temple (Entry fig. 3)
c. Temptation on the Mountain (Entry fig. 4)
d.
e. The Wedding at Cana (Entry fig. 5)
f. Christ and the Samaritan Woman (Entry fig. 6)
g. Healing of the Man Born Blind (Entry fig. 7)
h. The Transfiguration (Entry fig. 8)
i. The Raising of Lazarus (Entry fig. 9)

Reconstruction of the front of the Maestà altarpiece for Siena Cathedral by Duccio di Buoninsegna:
1. The Annunciation (The National Gallery, London)
2. Isaiah (National Gallery of Art, Washington)
3. The Nativity (National Gallery of Art, Washington)
4. Ezekiel (National Gallery of Art, Washington)
5. The Adoration of the Magi (Museo dell’Opera del Duomo, Siena)
6. Solomon or David (Museo dell’Opera del Duomo, Siena)
7. The Presentation in the Temple (Museo dell’Opera del Duomo, Siena)
8. Malachi (Museo dell’Opera del Duomo, Siena)
9. The Massacre of the Innocents (Museo dell’Opera del Duomo, Siena)
10. Jeremiah (Museo dell’Opera del Duomo, Siena)
11. The Flight into Egypt (Museo dell’Opera del Duomo, Siena)
12. Hosea (Museo dell’Opera del Duomo, Siena)
13. Christ among the Doctors (Museo dell’Opera del Duomo, Siena)
14. The Virgin and Child, Saints, and Angel (Museo dell’Opera del Duomo, Siena)
15. Saint Thaddaeus (Museo dell’Opera del Duomo, Siena)
16. Saint Simon (Museo dell’Opera del Duomo, Siena)
17. Saint Philip (Museo dell’Opera del Duomo, Siena)
18. Saint James the Great (Museo dell’Opera del Duomo, Siena)
19. Saint Andrew (Museo dell’Opera del Duomo, Siena)
20. Saint Matthew (Museo dell’Opera del Duomo, Siena)
21. Saint James the Less (Museo dell’Opera del Duomo, Siena)
22. Saint Bartholomew (Museo dell’Opera del Duomo, Siena)
23. Saint Thomas (Museo dell’Opera del Duomo, Siena)
24. Saint Matthias (Museo dell’Opera del Duomo, Siena)
25. The Annunciation of the Virgin’s Death (Museo dell’Opera del Duomo, Siena)
26. The Virgin’s Farewell to Saint John (Museo dell’Opera del Duomo, Siena)
27. The Virgin’s Farewell to the Apostles (Museo dell’Opera del Duomo, Siena)
28. The Coronation of the Virgin (lost)
29. The Assumption (lost)
30. The Death of the Virgin (Museo dell’Opera del Duomo, Siena)
31. The Funeral of the Virgin (Museo dell’Opera del Duomo, Siena)
32. The Entombment of the Virgin (Museo dell’Opera del Duomo, Siena)

Reconstruction of the back of the Maestà altarpiece for Siena Cathedral by Duccio di Buoninsegna:
1. John the Baptist Bearing Witness (Museum of Fine Arts, Budapest)
2. Christ’s Temptation on the Temple (Museo dell’Opera del Duomo, Siena)
3. Christ’s Temptation on the Mountain (Frick Collection, New York)
4. The Calling of the Apostles Peter and Andrew (National Gallery of Art, Washington)
5. The Wedding at Cana (Museo dell’Opera del Duomo, Siena)
6. Christ and the Samaritan Woman (Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum, Madrid)
7. The Healing of the Blind Man (The National Gallery, London)
8. The Transfiguration (The National Gallery, London)
9. The Raising of Lazarus (Kimbell Art Museum, Fort Worth)
10. The Entry into Jerusalem (Museo dell’Opera del Duomo, Siena)
11. The Washing of the Disciples’ Feet (Museo dell’Opera del Duomo, Siena)
12. The Last Supper (Museo dell’Opera del Duomo, Siena)
13. Christ Taking Leave of the Apostles (Museo dell’Opera del Duomo, Siena)
14. Judas Taking the Bribe (Museo dell’Opera del Duomo, Siena)
15. The Agony in the Garden (Museo dell’Opera del Duomo, Siena)
16. The Betrayal of Christ (Museo dell’Opera del Duomo, Siena)
17. The First Denial of Saint Peter (Museo dell’Opera del Duomo, Siena)
18. Christ before Annas (Museo dell’Opera del Duomo, Siena)
19. The Second Denial of Saint Peter (Museo dell’Opera del Duomo, Siena)
20. The Third Denial of Saint Peter (Museo dell’Opera del Duomo, Siena)
21. Christ Accused by the Pharisees (Museo dell’Opera del Duomo, Siena)
22. Christ before Pilate (Museo dell’Opera del Duomo, Siena)
23. Christ before Herod (Museo dell’Opera del Duomo, Siena)
24. The Mocking of Christ (Museo dell’Opera del Duomo, Siena)
25. The Flagellation (Museo dell’Opera del Duomo, Siena)
26. The Crowning with Thorns (Museo dell’Opera del Duomo, Siena)
27. Pilate Washing His Hands (Museo dell’Opera del Duomo, Siena)
28. Christ Carrying the Cross (lost)
29. The Crucifixion (lost)
30. The Deposition (Museo dell’Opera del Duomo, Siena)
31. The Entombment (Museo dell’Opera del Duomo, Siena)
32. The Holy Women at the Tomb (Museo dell’Opera del Duomo, Siena)
33. The Descent into Limbo (Museo dell’Opera del Duomo, Siena)
34. Noli me tangere (Museo dell’Opera del Duomo, Siena)
35. The Way to Emmaus (Museo dell’Opera del Duomo, Siena)
36. The Apparition behind Closed Doors (Museo dell’Opera del Duomo, Siena)
37. The Incredulity of Saint Thomas (Museo dell’Opera del Duomo, Siena)
38. The Apparition on the Sea (Museo dell’Opera del Duomo, Siena)
39. Christ in Glory or The Last Judgment (lost)
40. The Ascension (lost)
41. The Apparition in Galilee (Museo dell’Opera del Duomo, Siena)
42. The Apparition at Supper (Museo dell’Opera del Duomo, Siena)
43. Pentecost (Museo dell’Opera del Duomo, Siena)