Beyond Naturalism in Art and Poetry: Duccio and Dante on the Road to Emmaus

• Autores: Gervase Rosser
• Localización: Art history: journal of the Association of Art Historians, ISSN 0141-6790, Vol. 35, Nº. 3, 2012, págs. 474-497
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • Duccio’s altarpiece for Siena Cathedral, completed in 1311, has been praised for the artist’s use of newly acquired naturalistic techniques; but other modes of representation are simultaneously present in the work.

    Duccio’s use of the motif of the open door is analysed to reveal a conscious attempt to prompt the viewer to look beyond the surface of the historical narrative of Christ’s Passion, and to refl ect on its deeper meanings. The case study is used to engage with certain arguments and assumptions concerning the relation of word and image in the fourteenth century. Particular passages and motifs in Dante’s Divine Comedy strengthen the claim that this relationship has been misunderstood. Duccio and Dante worked in an environment in which both the reliability of human sight and the role of images were the subjects of debate. The poet engaged explicitly with these discussions. On the basis of this visual evidence, the artist did so, too.