Madonna and Child

This Madonna and Child is a tempera on panel usually dated to about 1445-1450, painted by the Italian artist Domenico Veneziano, who worked in Florence. The Virgin appears as a half-length figure, and behind her stands a background of roses, a motif typical of mid-fifteenth-century Florentine painting. The Child rises before her, one leg resting on a cushion, and leans in to embrace her. The white and pink of the flowers evoke, respectively, Mary's purity and the blood of Christ's Passion. The palette is soft and delicate, unusual next to the strong colours of his Florentine contemporaries. According to the sources consulted, the artist added more oil to the tempera, which allowed subtle gradations of colour; this technique is linked to his nearby work, the Santa Lucia de' Magnoli altarpiece, where sunlight is painted rather than rendered in gold. The influence of Fra Angelico is visible in the luminosity, while the solidity of the figures recalls Masaccio and Donatello. The perspective haloes are a device also used by Piero della Francesca, a pupil of Domenico.

Painter

Domenico Veneziano

Date

1445

Medium

tempera, panel

Dimensions

83 × 57 cm

Museum

Samuel H. Kress Collection

Genre

religious art

Depicts

boy, Mary, woman, mother, Christ Child

Share:FacebookWhatsApp