Prophet Hosea

Duccio di Buoninsegna's Prophet Hosea belongs to the series of prophets depicted on the Maestà's front face predella, where the Hebrew prophets who foretold the Messiah flanked the narrative scenes of Christ's childhood. The minor prophet Hosea, whose book used the metaphor of an unfaithful wife to describe Israel's relationship with God, was one of the prophets whose writings were interpreted as prefiguring the Virgin's miraculous conception. Duccio's prophet panel, though small in scale, demonstrates his ability to give individual figures distinctive personalities within the decorative gold-ground program of the altarpiece's elaborate prophetic program.

Painted in egg tempera and gold leaf on poplar panel, the prophet is depicted in a half-length format within the narrow space of the altarpiece's upper tier. Duccio's refined linear technique and delicate color modulations give the figure a contemplative dignity within the architectural constraints of the polyptych framework.