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Madonna and Child

ca. 1470
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 956
This resplendent and well-preserved panel portrays the Virgin handing the Christ Child a pomegranate, a symbol of the Resurrection. The painting may once have belonged by Pope Pius II Piccolomini, whose coat of arms is said to have formerly appeared on the back of the panel. The acorns, clustered beneath the frame’s scroll console, may be a heraldic allusion to Pius II. The important tabernacle frame may be contemporary and original to the panel. The candelabra-decorated pilasters are characteristic of Sienese frames of the period.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Madonna and Child
  • Artist: Benvenuto di Giovanni (Italian, Siena 1436–after 1518 Siena)
  • Date: ca. 1470
  • Medium: Tempera on wood, gold ground
  • Dimensions: Overall: 27 3/4 × 18 1/8 in. (70.5 × 46 cm)
    Painted surface: 24 1/4 × 14 3/4 in. (61.6 × 37.5 cm)
  • Classification: Paintings
  • Credit Line: Robert Lehman Collection, 1975
  • Object Number: 1975.1.54
  • Curatorial Department: The Robert Lehman Collection

More Artwork

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Engaged arched cassetta frame and arched tabernacle frame, Poplar. Carved, gilt; orange-red bole, blue and white color, all over greenish tone., Sienese
Engaged arched cassetta frame and arched tabernacle frame
Sienese
ca. 1465 and 1490 (?)
Saint Bernardino, Benvenuto di Giovanni Italian, Tempera on wood, gold ground, pastiglia garland of fruit
Saint Bernardino
Benvenuto di Giovanni
possibly 1474
The Madonna of Humility, the Annunciation, the Nativity, and the Pietà, Bartolomeo Vivarini Italian, Tempera and gold on wood
The Madonna of Humility, the Annunciation, the Nativity, and the Pietà
Bartolomeo Vivarini
ca. 1465
Saint Anthony the Abbot in the Wilderness, Osservanza Master Italian, Tempera and gold on wood
Saint Anthony the Abbot in the Wilderness
Osservanza Master
ca. 1435
The Annunciation to Zacharias; (verso) The Angel of the Annunciation, Giovanni di Paolo (Giovanni di Paolo di Grazia) Italian, Tempera and gold on wood
The Annunciation to Zacharias; (verso) The Angel of the Annunciation
Giovanni di Paolo (Giovanni di Paolo di Grazia)
ca. 1455–60

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