MADONNAS
Enthroned Madonna and Child, c. 1250/1275
Madonna and Child on a Curved Throne, c. 1260/1280
Madonna and Child with Saint John the Baptist, Saint Peter, and Two Angels, c. 1290
Maestà (Madonna and Child with Four Angels), c. 1290
Enthroned Madonna and Child, c. 1250/1275
Madonna and Child on a Curved Throne, c. 1260/1280
Madonna and Child with Saint John the Baptist, Saint Peter, and Two Angels, c. 1290
Maestà (Madonna and Child with Four Angels), c. 1290
Enthroned Madonna and Child, c. 1250/1275
The composition of this Virgin and Child is loosely based on the Hodegetria, one of the more powerful and enduring icon types of the Orthodox Christian church. The Virgin gestures toward the child to show him as the “way” (hodos in Greek), the source of salvation. The throne and her red shoes present her as the Queen of Heaven, and the archangels in the roundels beside her hold imperial regalia, which are typical attributes of archangels. The first of this type, housed in the Hodegon monastery in Constantinople, was an active part of civic and religious life in the Byzantine capital. Said to produce miracles daily, it was taken out of the monastery every Tuesday so the public could see it. It was invoked against plague and carried by imperial armies as a talisman in battle.
Madonna and Child on a Curved Throne, c. 1260/1280
This painting and the Enthroned Madonna and Child are the oldest paintings on the National Gallery of Art’s walls. They may have been created by the same anonymous artist in Constantinople (now Istanbul, Turkey), then the capital of the Byzantine Empire. Panels such as these were highly influential in the development of Italian painting. They stand at the very beginning of the history of panel painting in Italy. Painting on wooden panel had not been common in medieval Europe as church decorations were mostly on the walls themselves, in fresco or mosaic. Painting on canvas came even later.
Madonna and Child with Saint John the Baptist, Saint Peter, and Two Angels, c. 1290
This small painting is less than 10 inches across, and it was surely made for the private devotions of the person who owned it. That the owner was of modest means is suggested not only by the painting’s size but also by the limited use of gilding. The area of the gold background is relatively small, and the frame, which is carved from the panel, is not gilded at all. Instead, it is painted red and bears a simple decoration of daisies linked in a chain. Daisies were sometimes symbolic of the blessed souls in heaven or of Christ’s Incarnation.
Maestà (Madonna and Child with Four Angels), c. 1290
The Sienese artist who made this panel is named for the town—Città di Castello— where another of his paintings, bearing another image of the Virgin and Child in “majesty” (maestà in Italian), remains today. The Maestà--especially in this tall format--was frequently commissioned for the meeting places of lay brotherhoods. In Siena, where devotion to the Virgin was particularly strong, it was a highly visible image, dominating the city’s most prominent works of art: a fresco by Simone Martini (Sienese, active from 1315; died 1344) in the town hall and Duccio’s magnificent Maestà altarpiece in the cathedral. (The National Gallery of Art is fortunate to own two panels from the latter: The Nativity with the Prophets Isaiah and Ezekiel and The Calling of the Apostles Peter and Andrew. Similarities to this artist’s style can be seen in the almond-shaped eyes and lyrical drapery folds.) The anonymous master of our Maestà was probably one of Duccio’s students, but it is likely that his painting is earlier than that of either his teacher or Simone (commissioned 1305 and 1315, respectively). It may, in fact, be the first work of the Master of Città di Castello to have survived, certainly a product of his early career.
Enthroned Madonna and Child, c. 1250/1275
The composition of this Virgin and Child is loosely based on the Hodegetria, one of the more powerful and enduring icon types of the Orthodox Christian church. The Virgin gestures toward the child to show him as the “way” (hodos in Greek), the source of salvation. The throne and her red shoes present her as the Queen of Heaven, and the archangels in the roundels beside her hold imperial regalia, which are typical attributes of archangels. The first of this type, housed in the Hodegon monastery in Constantinople, was an active part of civic and religious life in the Byzantine capital. Said to produce miracles daily, it was taken out of the monastery every Tuesday so the public could see it. It was invoked against plague and carried by imperial armies as a talisman in battle.
Madonna and Child on a Curved Throne, c. 1260/1280
This painting and the Enthroned Madonna and Child are the oldest paintings on the National Gallery of Art’s walls. They may have been created by the same anonymous artist in Constantinople (now Istanbul, Turkey), then the capital of the Byzantine Empire. Panels such as these were highly influential in the development of Italian painting. They stand at the very beginning of the history of panel painting in Italy. Painting on wooden panel had not been common in medieval Europe as church decorations were mostly on the walls themselves, in fresco or mosaic. Painting on canvas came even later.
Madonna and Child with Saint John the Baptist, Saint Peter, and Two Angels, c. 1290
This small painting is less than 10 inches across, and it was surely made for the private devotions of the person who owned it. That the owner was of modest means is suggested not only by the painting’s size but also by the limited use of gilding. The area of the gold background is relatively small, and the frame, which is carved from the panel, is not gilded at all. Instead, it is painted red and bears a simple decoration of daisies linked in a chain. Daisies were sometimes symbolic of the blessed souls in heaven or of Christ’s Incarnation.
Maestà (Madonna and Child with Four Angels), c. 1290
The Sienese artist who made this panel is named for the town—Città di Castello— where another of his paintings, bearing another image of the Virgin and Child in “majesty” (maestà in Italian), remains today. The Maestà--especially in this tall format--was frequently commissioned for the meeting places of lay brotherhoods. In Siena, where devotion to the Virgin was particularly strong, it was a highly visible image, dominating the city’s most prominent works of art: a fresco by Simone Martini (Sienese, active from 1315; died 1344) in the town hall and Duccio’s magnificent Maestà altarpiece in the cathedral. (The National Gallery of Art is fortunate to own two panels from the latter: The Nativity with the Prophets Isaiah and Ezekiel and The Calling of the Apostles Peter and Andrew. Similarities to this artist’s style can be seen in the almond-shaped eyes and lyrical drapery folds.) The anonymous master of our Maestà was probably one of Duccio’s students, but it is likely that his painting is earlier than that of either his teacher or Simone (commissioned 1305 and 1315, respectively). It may, in fact, be the first work of the Master of Città di Castello to have survived, certainly a product of his early career.