II.
Betrayed by Judas Iscariot, Jesus is Arrested

Christ Taken Prisoner
Duccio di Buoninsegna, Italian (1260?-1319?)
Tempera on wood
Museo dell'Opera del Duomo, Siena

Duccio was the first great painter to come out of Siena, Italy.  His works sum up the grave and austere beauty of centuries of Byzantine tradition and infuses with it a breath of the new humanitarian-style painting.  Often in trouble with the law, Duccio was fined many times for speaking out against the politicians of his time, for refusing military service, and for failure to pay taxes to the town.  Perhaps when the Maesta (enthroned Madonna and Christ) was commissioned by the town in 1302, it was in exchange for uncollected taxes.

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CHRIST CHURCH  Exeter, New Hampshire
The Way of the Cross 2008