Masterpieces, Then and Now

The Met reunites Siena Renaissance paintings for the first time in centuries.

- JERRY SALTZ

"SIENA: THE RISE OF PAINTING. 1300-1350" METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART. THROUGH JANUARY 26.

WHAT A SIGHT it must have been. On June 9, 1311, Duccio di Buoninsegna's The Maestà was paraded from his studio to Siena's cathedral. Bells rang as priests, monks, noblemen, and government officials walked beside it. Citizens held candles in their hands. They were honoring a giant double-sided altarpiece with dozens of pictures depicting martyrs, saints, miracles, and poignant scenes from the lives of Mary and Jesus. At the center on one side was a life-size Virgin and Child, surrounded by 40 reverent haloed figures. A plaque attached to the work reads HOLY MOTHER OF GOD, BE THOU THE CAUSE OF PEACE FOR SIENA AND LIFE TO DUCCIO BECAUSE HE PAINTED THEE THUS.

The Maestà is part of the Metropolitan Museum of Art's rapturous "Siena: The Rise of Painting, 1300-1350," an opportunity to commune with art that will likely never be brought together again. Curator Stephan Wolohojian reunites works that have not been seen together in centuries; some have never traveled outside Italy. How this feat of lending was pulled off might fill a book. In the 18th century, Duccio's mighty altarpiece was sliced in half, cut into pieces, its panels sold off; now we can gape at the astonishing sight of ten panels of The Maestà from around the globe, eight of which are installed inches from one another. There are almost 100 works by at least 20 named artists. There are textiles, manuscripts, ivory carvings, stone sculptures, and one shocking wooden head of Christ split open during World War II.