Madonna and Child Enthroned with Saints
Medium
Tempera on wood, gold ground
Dimensions
Overall 13 1/4 x 8 1/2 in. (33.7 x 21.6 cm); painted surface 13 x 8 1/8 in. (33 x 20.6 cm)
Classification
Paintings
Department
European Paintings
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of George Blumenthal, 1941
Accession Number
41.100.15
Rights
Public Domain
Tags
Art Historical Context
Nestled in the European Paintings gallery of the Metropolitan Museum of, Bernardo Daddi's *Madonna and Child Enthroned with Saints* is gem of 14th-century Florentine. This intimate tempera panel on wood, measuring just 13¼ × 8½ inches,s with a lavish gold ground—a hallmark of Italian Gothic painting that evokes heavenly radiance and divine splendor. The central figures of the Virgin Mary tenderly holding the Christ Child are flanked by Saints Francis and John the Baptist, embodying a classic devotional iconography cherished in Renaissance-era households and chapels. Daddi, a leading painter in Florence after Giotto, masterfully blended graceful linearity with emotional depth, bridging Gothic elegance and emerging naturalism. His small-scale works like this one were often commissioned for personal altars, highlighting the era's fervent piety amid the Black Death's shadow. The meticulous tempera technique—layering pigments with egg yolk for luminous colors—underscores the painstaking craftsmanship of pre-Renaissance masters. Gifted to the Met in 1941 by George Blumenthal, this panel invites visitors to ponder the timeless spiritual comfort these sacred images provided, their delicate scale drawing us into a world of quiet reverence.
About the Artist
Bernardo Daddi · 1250–1360
Comment on works: religious