Duccio di Buoninsegna

Duccio di Buoninsegna (c. 1255 - 1318 or 1319) was an Italian painter traditionally regarded as the first great master of the Sienese school. His art combined a strong Byzantine foundation with knowledge of Cimabue and a personal reworking in a Gothic direction, marked by elegant line and refined color. Over time his style became softer and more natural, also absorbing some of the innovations introduced by Giotto. His Siena Cathedral Maesta is one of the emblematic masterpieces of fourteenth-century Italian art.