Madonna and Child

Duccio di Buoninsegna Italian

Not on view

This lyrical work inaugurates the grand tradition in Italian art of envisioning the sacred figures of the Madonna and Child in terms appropriated from real life. The Christ Child gently pushes away the veil of his mother, whose sorrowful expression reflects her foreknowledge of his crucifixion. The beautifully modeled drapery enhances their three-dimensional, physical presence and the parapet connects the fictive, sacred world of the painting with the temporal one of the viewer. The bottom edge of the original frame is marked by candle burns.

#5162. Madonna and Child

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  1. 5162. Madonna and Child
  2. 2675. Investigations: Madonna and Child
Madonna and Child, Duccio di Buoninsegna (Italian, active by 1278–died 1318 Siena), Tempera and gold on wood

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