Madonna and Child with Saints

Giovanni di Paolo (Giovanni di Paolo di Grazia) Italian

Not on view

This multi-panel altarpiece (polyptych) was painted to decorate a chapel in a church belonging to the Augustinian order, possibly in Cortona. Saint Nicholas of Tolentino was canonized in 1446 and wears the Augustinian habit. The altarpiece would have been completed with five pinnacles showing the evangelists and Christ, a base (predella) showing the history of Saint John the Baptist, and pilasters with small figures of saints. The archaizing style, with highly stylized figures on a gold background, is indicative of Giovanni di Paolo's preference for the work of his great fourteenth-century forebears. For more information about this painting, including a reconstruction of the altarpiece, visit metmuseum.org.

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#5197. Madonna and Child with Saints

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Madonna and Child with Saints, Giovanni di Paolo (Giovanni di Paolo di Grazia) (Italian, Siena 1398–1482 Siena), Tempera on wood, gold ground

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