Visual Culture in The Sacred Spaces Figurative Representation. The Duccio Di Buoninsegna’s Majesty Cycle of Stories
Abstract
Starting from the XIII century the figurative arts underwent a profound transformation. In fact, we can note the gradual passage of the use of mosaic to the pictorial representation on the table and then on the wall, initially used for the altar paintings and then in all the sacred works. The figurative arts begin to break away from a predominantly symbolic conception to arrive to a narrative communication. Therefore, one of the first elements of representative experimentation begins to be the architectural space (interior and/or exterior) where to set up scenes of a sacred nature. The present contribution offers the graphic analysis of the cycle of stories present on the back of the large table depicting the Majesty of Duccio di Buoninsegna (1255-1318) which constitutes the triumphal epilogue of the Siena artist itinerary.
The ‘putting into shape’ of any iconographic apparatus (pictorial, engraved or graphical) depends fundamentally on the point of view from which one chooses to represent it. The determination of the latter is a function of distance from the representation framework; the direction of observation of the observer's height with respect to the station plan. With respect to this assumption, the present paper examines both the similarities and the differences that distinguish themselves in the use of different geometrical representation modalities for the staging of different spatial configurations that extract or immerse the observer in the context. Furthermore, graphic artifices designed to resolve points of incongruity obtained by the incorrect application of such codified methodologies which only in the following centuries are identified.
The research has currently obtained the graphic analysis and the identification of the different methods of geometric representation.
Full text article
References
Bellosi, L. (1998). Duccio. La Maestà. Milano.
Cirillo, V. (2016). Modelli rappresentativi di città in “Il Regno di Napoli in Prospettiva” di Gio. Battista Pacichelli. In Capano et al, editor. Delli Aspetti De Paesi. Vecchi e nuovi media per l'immagine del paesaggio. Rappresentazione, memoria, conservazione. Napoli: Edizioni Circe.
D’Acunto, G. (2004). Geometrie segrete. L’architettura e le sue immagini. Padova: Il poligrafo.
De Rosa, A. (2000). La geometria nell'immagine. Storia dei metodi di rappresentazione. Dall’antichità al Medio Evo. Torino: UTET.
De Rosa, A. & et al. (2000). La geometria nell'immagine. Storia dei metodi di rappresentazione. Torino: UTET.
De Vecchi, P. & et al. (1999). I tempi dell’arte. Milano: Bompiani.
Docci & et al. (1992). Scienza della rappresentazione. Fondamenti e applicazioni della geometria descrittiva. Roma: Carocci editore.
Donati, P.P. (1965). La Maestà di Duccio. Firenze: Sansoni.
Giordano & et al. (2015). "Punti di vista" dell'architettura dipinta: l'opera di Arcangelo Guglielmelli a Santa Restituta.. In: Bartoli et al, editor. Le teorie, le tecniche e i repertori figurativi nella prospettiva d'architettura tra il '400 e il '700. Firenze:Firenze University Press, 437-446.
Giordano & et al. (2017). Descrivere lo spazio. Dalla genesi geometrica alla rappresentazione delle superfici. Padova: Il Progetto.
Giordano & et al. (2018). Prospettiva, Architettura, Deroga. Strumenti per la restituzionegrafica delle architetture dipinte nelle opere di Jacopo Tintoretto. In: Marsel, Grosso, editor. Titoretto e l'Aarchitettura. Venezia: Marsilio, 1, 150-152.
Zerlenga, O. (2016). Disegnare la città in “veduta”. Il manoscritto illustrato di Konrad Grünemberg. In Capano et al, editor. Delli Aspetti De Paesi. Vecchi e nuovi media per l'immagine del paesaggio. Rappresentazione, memoria, conservazione. Napoli: Edizioni Circe.
Authors
Copyright (c) 2019 Resourceedings

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
- The Author shall grant to the Publisher and its agents the nonexclusive perpetual right and license to publish, archive, and make accessible the Work in whole or in part in all forms of media now or hereafter known under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License or its equivalent, which, for the avoidance of doubt, allows others to copy, distribute, and transmit the Work under the following conditions:
- Attribution: other users must attribute the Work in the manner specified by the author as indicated on the journal Web site;
With the understanding that the above condition can be waived with permission from the Author and that where the Work or any of its elements is in the public domain under applicable law, that status is in no way affected by the license.
- The Author is able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the nonexclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the Work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), as long as there is provided in the document an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post online a pre-publication manuscript (but not the Publisher's final formatted PDF version of the Work) in institutional repositories or on their Websites prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (see The Effect of Open Access). Any such posting made before acceptance and publication of the Work shall be updated upon publication to include a reference to the Publisher-assigned DOI (Digital Object Identifier) and a link to the online abstract for the final published Work in the Journal.
- Upon Publisher's request, the Author agrees to furnish promptly to Publisher, at the Author's own expense, written evidence of the permissions, licenses, and consents for use of third-party material included within the Work, except as determined by Publisher to be covered by the principles of Fair Use.
- The Author represents and warrants that:
- The Work is the Author's original work;
- The Author has not transferred, and will not transfer, exclusive rights in the Work to any third party;
- The Work is not pending review or under consideration by another publisher;
- The Work has not previously been published;
- The Work contains no misrepresentation or infringement of the Work or property of other authors or third parties; and
- The Work contains no libel, invasion of privacy, or other unlawful matter.
- The Author agrees to indemnify and hold Publisher harmless from Author's breach of the representations and warranties contained in Paragraph 7 above, as well as any claim or proceeding relating to Publisher's use and publication of any content contained in the Work, including third-party content.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.