Maesta

Sean Scully says that his stripes "push out into the world, trying to be more than paintings." He thinks of color and light as expressions of life, and his multipaneled works are meant to affect the viewer physically as well as spiritually. Scully titled this oil after the famous triptych by Duccio, a Sienese painter of the thirteenth century. The power of Duccio's painting emanates from the ranks of angels, saints, and donors surrounding the Virgin, much as Scully's stripes, in contrasting lights and darks, seem to vibrate outward into the viewer's space. The thickly painted bars pushing in different directions suggest a crowd of people, making the triptych the kind of physical event the artist strived for.

Exhibition Label, Smithsonian American Art Museum, 2006