DUCCIO di Buoninsegna
(b. ca. 1255, Siena, d. 1319, Siena)

Temptation on the Mountain (scene 3)

1308-11
Tempera on wood, 43 x 46 cm
Frick Collection, New York

This panel is on the back predella of the Maestà.

The Devil leads Jesus up into a high mountain and says he will give him "all the kingdoms of the world" if he will "fall down and worship" him. In the Temptation on the Mountain, the majestic grandeur of all the kingdoms of the world is depicted with superb skill. The imaginative power of the architecture, in clear and luminous shades, is extraordinary: loggias and battlements alternate with round belltowers, red-tiled roofs and Gothic windows, all protected by solid encircling walls.