The artwork entitled “Appearance of Christ to the Apostles (Fragment)” was created by the artist Duccio between the years 1308 and 1311. Executed using tempera on wood, this piece belongs to the Proto Renaissance art movement and typifies the genre of religious painting. It is part of a larger series known as the Maestà.
In this fragment, the scene is set in an intimate, richly colored environment, where Jesus Christ, identified by his haloed head and authoritative gestures, appears before his apostles. His expressive countenance and the apostles’ reverent, attentive postures underscore the sacred nature of the moment depicted. The composition is marked by detailed, gold-threaded garments and a carefully rendered spatial perspective, reflecting Duccio’s skillful application of tempera on wood. The apostles’ halos and the arched background further enhance the sense of divine presence within this artwork. The piece artfully conveys the moment of reunion and revelation with a profound religious significance, typical of the Proto Renaissance’s narrative and stylistic tendencies.
