Catalogue entry
Duccio di Buoninsegna active 1278; died 1319
NG 1330
The Transfiguration
, 2011
Extracted from:
Dillian Gordon, The Italian Paintings Before 1400 (London: National Gallery Company and Yale University Press, 2011).
© The National Gallery, London
Predella panel from the Maestà
1307(?)/8–11
Egg tempera on wood, 48.5 × 51.4 cm
In the centre is the transfigured Christ on a mountain top with the Apostles Peter, John and James whom he took with him to pray. Standing either side of Christ are Moses on the left and Elijah on the right, who appeared and began talking with him. The voice of God then spoke from a cloud to the terrified Apostles, saying: ‘This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him’ (Matthew 17:1–8; also, with variations, Mark 9:2–8; and Luke 9:28–36).
Technical Notes
Panel structure and condition
Overall size, including original frame 48.5 × 51.4 cm. Thickness of original panel 3.7 cm. Painted surface 44.0 × 46.2 cm. Thickness of frame 1.7 cm.
The panel is of a horizontal grain; it has been tangentially sawn, but close to the centre of the trunk, and has developed a significant convex warp. It was constructed from a main central board with narrow strips added top and bottom. The top join is not exactly horizontal, resulting in a piece of wood c. 3 cm wide on the top right but c. 4.8 cm on the left (verso). The bottom piece is c. 3.5 cm wide. The original frame mouldings are glued to the panel: canvas and gesso extend over them. Modern screws now help to hold them in place.
At the top of the panel a square nail hole is situated c. 4.5 cm from the left edge (recto), driven in c. 1.7 cm from the back of the panel. In the X‐radiograph (see fig. 1) the hole can be seen to extend c. 11 cm into the panel; a similar nail hole is visible c. 12 cm from the right edge (recto), giving a spacing of about 33 cm between the nails. At the bottom, X‐radiography reveals two more nail holes, also about 33 cm apart, one c. 16.3 cm from the left edge and the other c. 1.7 cm from the right. The left hole is c. 11 cm long; the one on the right is partly hidden by the frame moulding so its length is not possible to measure.
On the back of the panel, at the bottom edge, a strip c. 2.2 cm wide and c. 0.3 cm deep has been rebated. This may in some way be connected with the fixing of the panel into the predella box. Two battens, now partly removed, were inserted into the back of the panel in 1891.1 A large knot is visible in the centre, which is responsible for the cracks to the left of the figure of Christ on the front of the panel. The large loss in the figure of Saint John the Evangelist is not connected with any visible fault in the wood.
Painting condition and technique
Cleaned and restored in 1952.
Infrared reflectography reveals a detailed underdrawing in a liquid medium identical to that found in NG 566, NG1139 and NG 1140, with both the characteristic relatively faint underdrawn lines and darker reinforcing lines, all done with a brush (fig. 4).2
At the bottom left‐hand corner behind Peter there is a grid, drawn freehand, the purpose of which is unknown.
The water‐gilded background is quite worn, although the mordant gilding of Christ’s garments has survived well.
The decoration of the haloes has been incised freehand. Christ’s halo is identical to his halo in NG 1140 (see p. 164, fig. 1). Each halo is different: Saint Peter’s has a four‐petal flower, Moses’ curling tendrils, Elijah’s palmette shapes and Saint James’s tendrils.
The edges of Christ’s book have been painted over the mordant gilding, presumably to neaten the edges of the gold. The mordant is yellow‐brown, as in the other panels by Duccio examined for this catalogue (NG 1139, 1140 and 566), and is composed of lead white and yellow earth with a little red lead and verdigris.
The condition of the paint surface is poor. There is a large loss in the figure of Saint John the Evangelist. The picture has a history of flaking resulting in scattered losses, especially from the pink ground around Saint James. There is also damage in Moses’ greyish‐blue robe, which has a pitted surface.
Christ and Saints Peter and John the Evangelist wear the same garments as in the previous scene (NG 1140), except that Christ’s now have mordant gilding to denote his transfigured state. Some of the red lake pattern on his vermilion book may have faded. Saint James wears a cloak painted with ultramarine over a robe painted with vermilion. It seems that his belt was never painted: only exposed gesso is visible. There are no signs of lettering on Elijah’s scroll. His robe is painted with red lake mixed with white, with yellow highlights and green shadows; his purple cloak is painted with red lake mixed with azurite and lead white, with azurite for the shadows. Moses’ brown fur‐lined cloak is made of black mixed with vermilion, and brown earth. Only very small traces remain of the white paint of his scroll.
Iconography
NG 1330 was probably the eighth of probably nine narrative scenes devoted to Christ’s ministry on the back predella of Duccio’s Maestà (see p. 175, fig. 2), coming after the Healing of the Man born Blind (NG 1140)3 and before the Raising of Lazarus (Fort Worth, Kimbell Art Museum). James Stubblebine pointed out that, unlike the other pre‐Resurrection scenes, Christ wears robes with gold striations to indicate his transfigured state, since according to Matthew 17:2: ‘His face did shine as the sun and his raiment was white as the light.’ He again appears in gold striated robes in the post‐Resurrection scenes, except when he is shown disguised as a pilgrim in the Road to Emmaus.4
Christoph Wagner applies the same interpretation to NG 1330 as he does to NG 1140, seeing the contrast in light and shade, and the contrasting of the colourful robes of the Apostles with the brown and neutral tones of the garments of the Old Testament figures, as symbolising the transition to revelation of the divine.5
The feast of the Transfiguration (6 August) was not celebrated by the medieval Latin church and is therefore not often shown in early Italian painting. Two rare examples are the [page 171][page 172] canvas painting (Siena, Pinacoteca Nazionale; fig. 2) attributed to Guido da Siena6 and the very damaged thirteenth‐century fresco on the east wall of the north transept in the Upper Church of San Francesco, Assisi.7 NG 1330 is fairly close to the latter in the poses of the Apostles, insofar as it is possible to judge, but in the fresco Christ is within a mandorla and Moses and Elijah are kneeling. The source of the iconography is probably Byzantine, as found, for example, in the late thirteenth‐century Tetra Evangelion, meaning ‘Four Gospels’ (Los Angeles, J. Paul Getty Museum, MS Ludwig II 5, 83.MB.69, f. 45 verso; fig. 3), although there the Apostles are shown half‐length rather than the usual full‐length.8
Composite X‐radiograph of NG 1330. © The National Gallery, London
Attributed to Guido da Siena, The Transfiguration, c. 1270. Tempera on canvas. Detail of Siena, Pinacoteca Nazionale, no. 8. SIENA Pinacoteca Nazionale, Siena © courtesy of Ministero per i Beni e le Attività Culturali, Soprintendenza PSAE di Siena & Grosseto. Photo Lensini Siena
Anonymous Byzantine painter, The Transfiguration from the Tetra Evangelion (Four Gospels), thirteenth century. Los Angeles, J. Paul Getty Museum, MS Ludwig II 5. 83.MB.69, f. 45 verso. LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA © The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles
For further comment on Duccio’s Maestà see pp. 174–87.
Attribution
The characteristic underdrawing confirms that NG 1330 was designed by Duccio. The condition makes it difficult to assess the extent to which the painting was executed by assistants.
Exhibited
Provenance
Acquired in Siena by R.H. Wilson a few years before he presented it to the National Gallery in 1891.9
[page 173]
Infrared reflectogram detail of Elijah. © The National Gallery, London
Notes
1. Information in the National Gallery Conservation dossier. (Back to text.)
2. Although in the exh. cat. Art in the Making 1989, p. 86, it is stated that the underdrawing was done with a quill pen, the clearer imaging that is now possible makes it evident that the underdrawing was in fact done with a brush, as in the other panels by Duccio in the National Gallery (see p. 157). (Back to text.)
3. X‐radiography confirms that the two scenes were painted on a continuous plank, with NG 1330 coming after NG 1140 (see the exh. cat. Art in the Making 1989, p. 83). (Back to text.)
4. Stubblebine 1979, I, pp. 56–7. (Back to text.)
5. Wagner 1998, pp. 15–28, esp. pp. 21–5. (Back to text.)
6. Stubblebine 1964, cat. III, pp. 27–30; Torriti 1980, cat. 8, pp. 24–5. (Back to text.)
7. See Alessio Monciatti in Bonsanti 2002, Schede, p. 608, cat. 2112, and Basilica Superiore. Atlante, p. 1067. (Back to text.)
8. See Neff 1999, pp. 82–7, and the exh. cat. Byzantium. Faith and Power 2004, cat. 169, p. 284. Byzantine examples tend to show the Apostles tumbling away from Christ. (Back to text.)
9. Letter in the National Gallery archives. (Back to text.)
List of archive references cited
- London, National Gallery, Archive, curatorial dossier for NG1330: Letter
- London, National Gallery, Conservation Department, conservation dossier for NG1330
- Los Angeles, J. Paul Getty Museum, MS Ludwig II 5, 83.MB.69: Tetra Evangelion, late thirteenth century
List of references cited
- Bomford et al. 1989
- Bomford, D., J. Dunkerton, D. Gordon, A. Roy, with contributions from J. Kirby, Art in the Making. Italian Painting before 1400 (exh. cat. National Gallery, London, 29 November 1989 – 28 February 1990), London 1989
- Bonsanti 2002
- Bonsanti, Giorgio, ed., La Basilica di San Francesco ad Assisi, 4 vols, Modena 2002
- Evans 2004
- Evans, H.C., ed., Byzantium. Faith and Power (1261–1557) (exh. cat. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 23 March–4 July 2004), New Haven and London 2004
- Neff 1999
- Neff, Amy, ‘Byzantium westernized, Byzantium marginalized: Two icons in the Supplicationes Variae’, Gesta, 1999, 38, 1, 81–102
- Padfield et al. 2002
- Padfield, J., D. Saunders, J. Cupitt and R. Atkinson, ‘Improvements in the Acquisition and Processing of X‐ray Images of Paintings’, National Gallery Technical Bulletin, 2002, 23, 62–75
- Saunders et al. 2006
- Saunders, David, Rachel Billinge, John Cupitt, Nick Atkinson and Haida Liang, ‘A New Camera for High‐Resolution Infrared Imaging of Works of Art’, Studies in Conservation, 2006, 51, 277–90
- Skaug 1994
- Skaug, Erling, Punch Marks from Giotto to Fra Angelico, Oslo 1994, 1 and 2
- Stubblebine 1964
- Stubblebine, James H., Guido da Siena, Princeton, New Jersey 1964
- Stubblebine 1979
- Stubblebine, James H., Duccio di Buoninsegna and his School, Princeton, New Jersey 1979, 1 and 2
- Torriti 1980
- Torriti, Piero, La Pinacoteca Nazionale di Siena. I dipinti dal XII al XV secolo, 2nd edn, Genoa 1980
- Wagner 1998
- Wagner, Christoph, ‘Metaphern der Blindheit und des Sehens in der Dantezeit. Beobachtungen zur “Heilung des Blindgeborenen” in Duccios “Maestà”’, in Festschrift für Christian Lenz. Von Duccio bis Beckmann, eds F. Billeter, H. Gutbrod and A. Pophanken, Frankfurt am Main 1998, 15–28
List of exhibitions cited
- London 1989–90
- London, National Gallery, Art in the Making. Italian Painting before 1400, 29 November 1989–28 February 1990
The Organisation and Method of the Catalogue
Sequence
The artists are listed in alphabetical order. Paintings are catalogued in chronological order under the artist’s name. Some artists are identified only as the master of a particular work, such as the Master of the Borgo Crucifix; others are known only through their association with a particular area, such as Pisa, Venice or Umbria.
Attribution
A painting is discussed under the artist’s name where the authorship is not considered to be in doubt. ‘Attributed to’ implies a certain measure of doubt.
Dimensions
Dimensions are given in centimetres; height is preceded by width.
Technical information and method
The paintings listed here, except Segna di Buonaventura’s Crucifix (NG 567), Spinello Aretino’s fresco (NG 1216.1) and Jacopo di Cione’s Crucifixion (NG 1468), have been re‐examined for this catalogue in the conservation studios. The paintings have been remeasured and examined with X‐radiography and infrared reflectography wherever possible.
The X‐radiographs were made using conventional X‐ray sensitive film sheets (30 × 40 cm, Kodak Industrex AA400), which have been scanned to produce 16‐bit mono TIFF digital images and finally assembled using software to produce a mosaic.1 A complete survey of the paintings in infrared was made using a Hamamatsu C2400 vidicon system, equipped with a N2606‐06 vidicon tube, which is sensitive between 500 and 2200 nm (radiation shorter than 900 nm was excluded using a Kodak 87A filter). Where features of interest were identified these were then recorded subsequently, when it became available, with SIRIS or OSIRIS, the Gallery’s digital infrared imaging systems, equipped with InGaAs detectors sensitive between 900 and 1700 nm.2 The paintings were examined with a Wild M650 stereo‐binocular operating microscope at magnifications between 6× and 40×. Photomicrographs were taken using a Zeiss Axiocam HrC mounted on the Wild microscope.
Occasionally references are made to X‐radiographs and infrared images which are not illustrated; this is because once these images are reduced to page size the information they contain is often no longer decipherable.
Technique and condition are discussed together since the condition of a painting is often, among other factors, the result of the techniques employed in its making.
Support
Descriptions of construction and carpentry are based on direct physical examination, infrared images and X‐radiographs. The support is assumed to be poplar unless otherwise stated. Where the wood has been identified positively, this is noted.
Medium
The medium of the paint is assumed to be egg tempera unless otherwise stated. For some of the works, analysis of the binding medium in paint samples has been carried out using Fourier transform infrared microscopy (FTIR) and gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS), usually during earlier examinations or in conjunction with conservation treatment. The results are described in the individual catalogue entries and, where published, the reference is given. Some further analysis of samples from a few of the paintings has been carried out specifically for this catalogue.
Gilding and tooling
Information on gilding is presented before that on painting, in keeping with the order of execution. Mordant gilding and silvering are included in the discussion on gilding, despite being applied in the later stages, so that all the techniques of metal leaf decoration could be discussed together. The individual punches are described, but the reader is also referred to Erling Skaug’s catalogue published in 1994. The particular gilding technique used by the artists has generally been identified from examination of the surface of the painting with a stereomicroscope. In some cases samples were available from previous examinations and were re‐examined, or occasionally a new sample was taken, particularly where analysis of the metal leaf or investigation of the composition of a mordant was of interest. Where metal leaf has been identified, this has been confirmed with energy dispersive X‐ray analysis in the scanning electron microscope (SEM‐EDX).
Punch mark illustrations
Unfortunately, when printed, some photomicrographs that show depressions in a paint surface appear to the reader reversed. This is particularly disturbing with some images of punch marks in gilding which may seem to show raised pastiglia. This phenomenon is a result of the way the human brain interprets visual signals; expecting a pattern of shadows and highlights to have been caused by raised areas (which would be more usual in normal life), this is the message sent to the reader by the brain.
[page xxiii]Pigments
Descriptions of the pigments for many of the paintings were available from earlier research carried out during the preparation for the 1989 exhibition Art in the Making: Italian Painting before 1400. Information also existed from studies of new acquisitions or from analysis carried out in support of conservation treatment. The paint samples that existed from earlier examinations were re‐examined with optical microscopy, SEM‐EDX and occasionally Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) microscopy. A limited number of new samples were taken to address specific questions that arose during the research for the catalogue. The surface of the paintings was examined under a stereomicroscope wherever possible at magnifications of up to 40×. At this magnification many pigments can be identified with a reasonable degree of reliability, and these examinations greatly extended the information on pigments and pigment mixtures in areas of the paintings that were not sampled, and enabled the observations from samples to be correlated with the appearance of the painting itself.
Comments
As full an account as possible is given with regard to authorship, companion panels – particularly relevant for altar pieces – subject matter, iconography, original location, date, patronage and so on. The compiler has tried to make this information accessible to the lay reader as well as to the art historian. Inevitably there is a certain amount of speculation, but it is made clear where an argument is hypothetical. For ease of reference the comments are given subheadings, but their sequence varies according to the requirements of the argument.
Notes and references
1. X‐radiography and the associated scanning of the plates and processing were carried
out by the photographic departments of the National Gallery. For a full description
of the process see J. Padfield, D. Saunders, J. Cupitt and R. Atkinson, ‘Improvements in the
Acquisition and Processing
acquisition and processing
of X‐ray images of paintings’, National Gallery Technical Bulletin, 23, 2002, pp. 62–75. (Back to text.)
2. For more details on SIRIS see D. Saunders, R. Billinge, J. Cupitt, N. Atkinson and H. Liang, ‘A new camera for high‐resolution infrared imaging of works of art’, Studies in Conservation, 51, 2006, pp. 277–90. (Back to text.)
About this version
Version 3, generated from files DG_2011__16.xml dated 06/03/2025 and database__16.xml dated 09/03/2025 using stylesheet 16_teiToHtml_externalDb.xsl dated 03/01/2025. Entries for NG564, NG566, NG579.6-NG579.8, NG752, NG1139-NG1140 & NG1330, NG1147, NG1468, NG2927, NG3897, NG5360, NG6572-NG6573 and NG6599 marked for publication; citations for NG6583 altered to include update date.
Cite this entry
- Permalink (this version)
- https://data.ng.ac.uk/0EB0-000B-0000-0000
- Permalink (latest version)
- https://data.ng.ac.uk/0E6N-000B-0000-0000
- Chicago style
- Gordon, Dillian. “NG 1330, The Transfiguration”. 2011, online version 3, March 9, 2025. https://data.ng.ac.uk/0EB0-000B-0000-0000.
- Harvard style
- Gordon, Dillian (2011) NG 1330, The Transfiguration. Online version 3, London: National Gallery, 2025. Available at: https://data.ng.ac.uk/0EB0-000B-0000-0000 (Accessed: 19 April 2025).
- MHRA style
- Gordon, Dillian, NG 1330, The Transfiguration (National Gallery, 2011; online version 3, 2025) <https://data.ng.ac.uk/0EB0-000B-0000-0000> [accessed: 19 April 2025]