Three Marys at the Tomb

Duccio di Buoninsegna's Three Marys at the Tomb (c. 1310) is one of the reverse narrative panels from the monumental Maestà altarpiece, the greatest commission of the Sienese school and one of the supreme achievements of Gothic painting. The Maestà was installed on the high altar of Siena Cathedral in 1311 amid a civic procession, and its back panels illustrate the Passion and post-Resurrection narratives with unprecedented dramatic power. This scene, showing the three women discovering the empty tomb, is now preserved in the Museo dell'Opera del Duomo.

Painted in egg tempera with gold leaf on panel, the scene demonstrates Duccio's mastery of spatial arrangement within a compact format, combining Byzantine compositional traditions with a new Gothic naturalism. The rocky landscape is rendered with careful attention to geological form, while the angel and Marys display the refined drapery modeling and expressive gestures that distinguish Duccio's narrative art.