Abstract:
This paper delves into the Maestà as an Image Type. The article exposes the Maestà iconography origins and this
term meaning. It has been established that for the first time the Madonna figure in the Maestà Italian iconographic type
was painted under the influence of Virgin Hodegetria Byzantine iconography. The word “maestà” is a contraction of the
Latin “maiestas” or “in majesty”. This iconographic type was particularly popular in Siena. The Italian Maestà always
represents the Madonna on a throne, an image which goes back to the popular Romanesque type of “sedes sapientiae”
(throne of wisdom) and Maria Regina as the image of Madonna as a queen originated in Rome. The Ducento Sienese
maestàs may have been influenced by the much earlier Roman pictures as a category of object.
The term “maestà” appeared for the first time in the Biccherna record dated June 7, 1291 in Siena. This term
was introduced into scientific literature by Robert Langton Douglas, who in 1902 gave this name to the Duccio di
Buoninsegna’s altar in the Siena Cathedral. Since then, the term “maestà” has been used to refer to images of the
Virgin and Child enthroned, both with and without accompanying figures. Nowadays, art historians use this term to
define the two main iconographic options in Protorenaissance painting. The first one is large panels where the enthroned
Madonna is accompanied by angels. The second option is represented by a small group of Sienese panels, polyptychs
and monumental paintings depicting the Madonna as the city patroness, often accompanied by other patrons of the city,
angels and saints. The discussion continues with a nuanced analysis of the iconography and formal characteristics of
the Maestà. This iconographic type is imbued with an important political subtext, which tradition is connected with the
Sienese Ghibellines’ victory over the Florentine Guelphs in the bloody Battle of Montaperti on September 4, 1260. As the
Sienese believed, the Mother of God had helped them and protected their native city from enemies. Their victory played
an important role in the veneration of the Madonna, it started in Europe the custom of appointing Our Lady Maria as the
patroness of political entities. As a result, the Virgin Mary began to be painted in a crown, her clothes and shoes became
secular in accordance with the fashion of that time.
