Madonna and Child
| Support Type: | Wood Panel |
| Paint Type: | Tempera |
| Current Location: | The Metropolitan Museum of Art |
| Location History: | The painting was formerly a central panel of a five-panel portable polyptych that was probably commissioned by the civic government of Siena to be used in a governmental or civic context. This panel and its counterparts were used as the side panels of a larger altarpiece in the fifteenth century for the principal chapel of the town hall (the Palazzo Pubblico) of Siena. The five panels of the polyptych were eventually separated over the years and the pieces can now be seen in various collections: Saint Ansanus and the Madonna and Child were moved to the Robert Lehman Collection, Saint Andrew was transferred to the European Paintings collection at the Met, Saint Peter is in the Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza in Madrid, and Saint Luke was placed in the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles. The panel of the Madonna and Child was removed from its frame and is now kept at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, in the same frame that was used originally. |
Simone Martini’s Madonna and Child exemplifies the refined elegance of 14th century Sienese Gothic painting. Martini was one of the leading artists of the Sienese school and was strongly influenced by the courtly, international Gothic style. The Virgin Mary is shown holding the Christ Child, presenting a tender but solemn image of maternal affection and Christian devotion. Martini uses graceful, flowing contours, delicate facial features, elegant gestures, and a refined linear quality. The figures possess a courtly elegance rather than the heavy monumentality characteristic of earlier Italian painting. The restrained interaction between Mary and Christ combines human tenderness with religious solemnity. Their emotional connection makes the sacred subject more intimate.