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Madonna and Child

ca. 1448–60
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 956
With their faces gently pressed together, the interaction between the Virgin and Christ Child evokes a tender intimacy. This compositional motif appears in numerous works by Sano di Pietro and his workshop (for example, in another painting in the Lehman Collection, 1975.1.51). Sano was a popular and highly prolific Sienese painter and illuminator, whose workshop produced numerous devotional images of the Madonna and Child, frequently shown in bust-length. The close stylistic affinities between works attributed to Sano and the enigmatic Sienese artist known as the Osservanza Master may indicate that they represent a single artistic identity. It is also possible that the paintings attributed to the Osservanza Master are the product of a collaborative workshop to which these artists belonged. It has been suggested that the present panel may have been painted by one of Sano’s pupil’s, the Sienese artist Francesco di Giorgio, following the compositional model of his master.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Madonna and Child
  • Artist: Workshop of Sano di Pietro (Ansano di Pietro di Mencio) (Italian, Siena 1405–1481 Siena)
  • Date: ca. 1448–60
  • Medium: Tempera on wood, gold ground
  • Dimensions: Overall: 24 7/8 × 17 5/8 in. (63.2 × 44.8 cm)
    Painted surface: 21 5/8 × 14 1/8 in. (54.9 × 35.9 cm)
  • Classification: Paintings
  • Credit Line: Robert Lehman Collection, 1975
  • Object Number: 1975.1.39
  • Curatorial Department: The Robert Lehman Collection

More Artwork

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Martyrdom of Saint Agatha in an Initial D, Sano di Pietro (Ansano di Pietro di Mencio) Italian, Tempera and gold on parchment
Martyrdom of Saint Agatha in an Initial D
Sano di Pietro (Ansano di Pietro di Mencio)
ca. 1470–73
Saint Bernardino, Sano di Pietro (Ansano di Pietro di Mencio) Italian, Tempera and gold on wood (panel: 20 mm thick with vertical grain; cut along all four sides)
Saint Bernardino
Sano di Pietro (Ansano di Pietro di Mencio)
ca. 1460–70
Madonna and Child with Saints Jerome, Bernardino, John the Baptist, and Anthony of Padua and Two Angels, Sano di Pietro (Ansano di Pietro di Mencio) Italian, Tempera on wood, gold ground
Madonna and Child with Saints Jerome, Bernardino, John the Baptist, and Anthony of Padua and Two Angels
Sano di Pietro (Ansano di Pietro di Mencio)
ca. 1465–70
Madonna and Child, Sano di Pietro (Ansano di Pietro di Mencio) Italian, Tempera on wood, gold ground
Madonna and Child
Sano di Pietro (Ansano di Pietro di Mencio)
about 1450
Saint Francis, Sano di Pietro (Ansano di Pietro di Mencio) Italian, Tempera on wood, gold ground
Saint Francis
Sano di Pietro (Ansano di Pietro di Mencio)
1450s

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