Description
The great circular window of Siena Cathedral was designed, according to the widely accepted attribution, by Duccio di Buoninsegna in the late thirteenth century. Its imagery centres on the Dormition, Assumption and Coronation of the Virgin, surrounded by the city’s four patron saints and the four Evangelists. Deep blue, ruby red, green and golden glass make transmitted light an essential element of the work.
Municipal records from 1287 and 1288 document the commission and its funding, although they do not name the painter. Following restoration in 2003, the original window is preserved in the Museo dell’Opera del Duomo, while a replica occupies its former position above the cathedral choir. Unlike a painted wooden panel, this image receives its light from the building itself. As the position of the sun changes, coloured passages acquire different intensities and the figures appear transformed without any alteration to their outlines.
