Reflection on the Creation of Project #4

The theme of my art exhibit is a selection of paintings from Sienese artist of the late 1200's to the early 1300's, Duccio di Buoninsegna. During this time period, Italy was not yet a country but was made up of many city-states, which were often fighting each other. Artists were still considered 'craftsman' and would run a studio with the help of assistants and apprentices. The artist would create the original design, but his assistants would often work on smaller commissions, grind the pigments (Duccio used pure pigment mixed with egg tempera), prep the painting surfaces, and clean the workshop. I have seen many of Duccio's works in person when I was a student in Siena in 1994, and nothing compares to seeing in his work in person, it's a magical experience. The title of my 'exhibit' is Duccio di Buoninsegna: Paintings with Sienese Artist of the Early 14th Century as a subtitle.

At first I wanted to do the theme of portraiture, because my favorite subject to paint is people. But as I researched portraiture I found the subject to be so broad that I would probably need to focus on only one to two artists. I considered then to focus on one artist and time period that I love, so I chose artist Duccio di Buoninsegna, the renowned Sienese painter commonly known by just his first name, Duccio. For the Spring semester in 1994 I was in the Siena Program, through Buffalo State College, and I lived with a family, and went to school, in Siena, Italy. Siena is an incredible city in Tuscany that seems to be frozen in time. The medieval wall that was built to protect the city from other city-states, Florence in particular, is still intact. There are many narrow streets leading to the Piazza del Campo, which is the heart of the city. It is easy to get lost, every street looks the same until you learn your way around. Duccio was one of the greatest and most-influential artists to come out of Siena, and I have seen many of his works in person. I chose my title, Duccio di Buoninsegna: Paintings with Sienese Artist of the Early 14th Century as the subheading because, while it is a long title, it succinctly states what exactly you are going to see in my 'exhibit'.