Senja di Bonaventura

Senja was the son of Bonaventure, the brother of the famous Siena painter Duccio , that is, he was the last nephew, so he probably learned the basics of painting craft in the workshop of his uncle. All the works on which there is his signature, are in line with the manner of Duccio. Researchers unanimously believe that Senja worked in the botteg, that is, in the workshop of Duccio, and well studied his style and creative secrets. This is supported by the fact that after the death of Duccio, which began in 1319 , Seigner was entrusted with the restoration of the altar painting “Maest”, created by his great relative in 1302 for Capella Nine (Council of Nine was the highest government body of Siena; this “Maestà "Not preserved; according to the documents - it was the first altar picture with the predella ). The restoration of this altarpiece, Seña di Bonaventura, was engaged between 1319 and 1321 years .

In the Siena archival documents, the name of Segni is mentioned several times from 1298 to 1326, but the researchers do not have complete confidence that all the records are about the same Senier. Payment documents repeatedly report payments of money to a certain “Segna” for painting book covers, as well as a booklet for the Siena treasury, Bikkern, in 1298, 1306, 1311, 1322, but it is impossible to determine that it is Senja di Bonaventure today. In 1317, for work on the altar picture for the Augustinian fraternity in Lecceto, near Siena, he receives a payment of 4 florins. In 1316 and 1318, his name appears as a resident attributed to the parish church of San Pietro Ovile, Siena, and in 1319 a resident of Arezzo . In the same year of 1319, he received a payment of 8 liras for the renewal of the figure of Our Lady in the Siena Palazzo Pubblico (City Hall). The document from 1321 also reports the payment of Seigne, this time a small amount of 1 lira and 11 soldiers for the inscription on the picture for Palazzo Pubblico.

Segny di Bonaventura had two sons who became artists - Niccolò di Seña and Francesco di Seña . Of these, Niccolò is the most famous, having adopted his father’s manner, and began an independent career between 1325 and 1330. Francesco is known only from archival documents, although researchers are making efforts to determine the peculiarities of his creative manner and the range of his possible works.

Senja di Bonaventura was not a rich man. According to the document dated 1318, his condition was estimated at no more than 50 lire. Perhaps his labors did not bring a large income, and he left a very modest inheritance to his sons. Usually, the year 1331 is called the date of death of the artist: from the document from 1332, it can be understood that by that time Segni was no longer alive.

Only four artist-signed works have reached our days. This is the "Painted Cross" from the Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts. Pushkin, Moscow; Maesta of Castiglion Fiorentino (Arezzo); Polyptych, created in the 1320s, four parts of which are stored in the Metropolitan Museum, New York and in the Museum of San Francesco, Assisi; four pieces of polyptych from Pinakothek, Siena. The fifth work, almost indisputable with regard to Seigni’s authorship, is considered to be “Madonna and Child” from the Episcopal Seminary of the City of Siena (the researchers identified this work with an icon ordered by the Brotherhood of Augustinians from Lecceto, for which the artist received a fee in December 1317; this was recorded in the archives ).

The Maesta of Castiglion Fiorentino (1306) is a replica of the Maestà Duccio from 1302. The artist depicted Madonna and Child on the throne, John the Baptist , of sv. Gregory, six angels, and four donators at the foot of the throne of the Virgin. The shape of the throne is in the style of the works of the Cosmati family, and the size of the donator figures emphasize the greatness of the divine powers of the Madonna and the insignificance of man. Perhaps this work is the best of the surviving works of the artist.

In addition to the four signed works, a number of unsigned works are attributed to the artist by stylistic features. Among them, first of all, we should mention another version of the magnification of the Virgin Mary - “Madonna with Saints”, which is now kept in the collection of the Monto dei Pasca Foundation in Siena. As in the first version, the master depicted the Virgin and Child on the throne, but changed her retinue. This time it is the saints Bartholomew and Ansenias (St. Ansenias is among the patrons of Siena), and at the foot of the throne of the Virgin one donator knelt. Experts believe that the picture was most likely created for the parish church, perhaps for a convent, as evidenced by the figure of the customer nun in the lower right corner. Approximate dating of the work - 1320 year.

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  Senja di Bonaventura. Cross. Museum of Fine Arts. Pushkin, Moscow.

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  Senja di Bonaventura. Cross. 1310-1315 Siena, Pinacoteca.

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  Senja di Bonaventura. Cross number 21, Siena, Pinacoteca.

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  Senja di Bonaventura. Cross. OK. 1319 c. La Badia, Arezzo.

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  Senja di Bonaventura. Cross number 567, London, National Gallery.

In addition to the Moscow painted cross, Senier di Bonaventura is attributed to several more such works. The largest of the crosses (5.5 x 3.5 meters) is located in the church of La Badia (Badia di Santa Flora e Lucilla) in the city of Arezzo. In 2005 it was carefully restored, and these works confirmed the authorship of Segni. The other “Cross” is kept in the Siena Pinakothek, it is half the size of the Aretin (2.47 x 1.86 meters). Both crosses were created during the period when Senja continued to work in the workshop of Duccio. Various researchers attributed Seigne to several more painted crosses: Cross No. 21 from the Siena Pinakothek, Cross No. 567 from the National Gallery, London (Torriti attribution, 1990; more often it is designated “in the style of Segny di Bonaventura”), Cross from the Museum of Religious Art in Chianciano ( attribution to Van Marle), the Cross from the District Museum of the City of Pienza, and the Cross in the parish church of St. Bishop Cherbone, Massa Marittima.

The production of images of the Madonna was a special article in Siena painting. In addition to the majestic glorification of Our Lady in the form of "Maestas", where the Madonna was depicted on the throne with the retinue of angels and saints, other, more intimate images of Our Lady were also popular. On these icons, it is usually written to the waist, and the baby Christ takes a more touching and playful image. Cenier di Bonaventura is attributed to a variety of such images. The earliest dates back to the years 1300-1310 (Asciano, Museum of Religious Art; Minneapolis, Institute of the Arts). In the “Madonna and Child” of 1319 (Siena, c. Santa Maria dei Servi) one can still see a strong Byzantine influence, which affects, in particular, the gilding of the folds of the clothes of the Mother of God. However, in later works with this theme, researchers see an increase in the influence of Gothic artistic culture. This is partly manifested in the image of the more natural folds of the clothes of Our Lady without gold overlapping: “Madonna and Child” from the collection of the University of North Carolina, Raleigh (1320-30), “Madonna and Child” from the Honolulu Academy of Art (1325-30).

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  Senja. Madonna and Child. 1305-1310 Aschano, Museum of Religious Art.

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  Senja. Madonna and Child. OK. 1310g. Minneapolis , Institute of the Arts.

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  Senja. Madonna and Child. 1319 c. Santa Maria dei Servi, Siena.

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  Senja. Madonna and Child. 1320-30gg. Collection of the University of North Carolina, Reilly.

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  Madonna and Child. 1325-1330 Honolulu, Academy of Art.

Among the crucifixes and Madonn Segna, the “Last Judgment” painting (1300-1305, Angers , Museum of Fine Arts) stands somewhat apart. Her story is taken from the " Apocalypse " by John the Divine . The artist depicted Christ in the mandorle, surrounded by ten angels, with two lower trumpets trumpet, heralding the approach of the Doomsday. Below them, near the altar, is an empty cross - a reminder of the martyrdom of Christ and the miracle of his resurrection. Below to the right of Christ, the righteous rise from the graves; Among them can be seen the king, two popes, three bishops, three Franciscan monks and two Benedictines - their righteousness in the system of the then ideas was not questioned. To the left of Christ, the devil is depicted, which prevents those who wish to get to Heavenly Jerusalem, plunging people into the depths of hell (this part of the picture has significant losses in the paint layer). Christ is seated on a certain likeness of the heavenly throne; with one hand he blesses the righteous, with the other, down, he condemns sinners. Despite all the symbolism of the scene, Christ has a humane, sad face. The picture was the central panel of the polyptych, the rest of which is unknown.

In the City Museum of Montalcino polyptych is stored, which is also attributed to the brush of Segni. It depicts the Madonna and Child, John the Theologian. St. Elizabeth , Holy Evangelist, and Holy Bishop.

Senja di Bonaventura was not as outstanding as his relative Duccio or his contemporary Simone Martini . He was the successor of the family artistic tradition, and, moreover, quite conservative (some experts believe that he turned the art of Duccio into a kind of "academic canon"). In his work, researchers see only a soft, far from radical, penetration of gothic influence, and modest attempts to update the contemporary artistic language, largely determined in his time by the works of Simone Martini. Nevertheless, the art of Segni has found its quite successful continuation in the works of his sons - Niccolò and Francesco .

• F. Zeri. “Un polittico di Segna di Buonaventura” in Paragone. 1958. 103.
• James H. Stubblebine. Duccio Di Buoninsegna and His School. Princeton Univercity Press. 1979
• Giulietta Chelazzi Dini et al. Five Centuries of Sienese Painting. From Duccio to the Birth of Baroque. Thames and Hudson, London, 1998, p. 34
• Hayden BJ Maginnis. World of the Sienese Painter. Pennsylvania State University Press 2003.
• A.Bagnoli, R. Bartalini, L. Bellosi, M. Laclotte. Duccio. Siena fra tradizione bizantina e mondo gotico. Silvana Editoriale, Milano, 2003, pp. 340–351
• L. Cateni, Maria PL Mazzieri. Duccio, Simone, Pietro, Ambrogio e la grande stagione della pittura senese. Betti Editrice, 2012, pp. 82–87, 192-193

• Cross of the Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts, Moscow http://www.italian-art.ru/canvas/8-14_century/s/segna_di_bonaventura/the_crucifixion/index.php
• On artcyclopedia.com
• On aiwaz.net (inaccessible link)