duccio painted the madonna sitting on a throne with the christ child in her lap, raising his hand in blessing. around them are six kneeling angels in robes of delicate colours. the robe of the madonna is very dark blue and looks almost black; it is painted with ground-up semi precious stone called lapis lazuli. the robe of the baby looks quite transparent. duccio was one of the first painters to try to paint transparent material. one of the important parts of duccio's design is the gold border of the madonnna's robe, which seems to wander around the painting in a waving line, and frames the madonna's face in a way that holds the attention of the viewer.