102. Duccio di Buoninsegna, Maestà, 1308-1311.

Tempera on panel, 211 x 426 cm.

Museo dell’Opera Metropolitana, Siena (Italy).

 

 

Painting in Padua

Giotto’s example triggered a short but intense flourishing of monumental painting in Padua, where he had worked extensively. The interior decoration of San Antonio, the church of the city’s patron saint, which is also abbreviated to Il Santo, kept the artists of the city busy. One particularly colourful personality, Altichiero of Zevio, is worth mentioning. Starting in 1376, he painted the chapel of San Giacomo with depictions from the legend of St. Jacob and a Crucifixion. While at first he followed Giotto’s example, he soon surpassed him by enlivening and deepening the physiognomic expression of his figures. He also strove for a richer coloration, removed perspective flaws, which often marked Giotto’s work, and developed a richer aesthetic sense. All this progress culminated to great effect in a second row of Altichiero’s frescos in the chapel of San Giorgio, on which he probably collaborated with the Veronese painter, Jacopo Avanzi. In this chapel, which is located on the square in front of Il Santo, the two artists told, in twenty-eight large paintings, the story of Christ’s youth, the crucifixion, the coronation of Mary and the main events from the legends of St. George, St. Lucia and St. Catherine. The individualisation of the many hundreds of figures in particular shows great variety.