The Madonna and Child Enthroned, Adored by Two Saints
c. 1709
Medium
pen and brown ink with brown washes, heightened with white, over black chalk on tinted laid paper
Dimensions
overall: 34.7 x 20.5 cm (13 11/16 x 8 1/16 in.)
Classification
Drawing
Department
CG-E
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Ailsa Mellon Bruce Fund
Accession Number
1998.48.1
Art Historical Context
Giuseppe Nicola Nasini, Sienese Baroque artist active in late 17th- and early 18th-century Italy, created *The Madonna and Child Enthed, Adored by Saints* around 1709. This exquisite drawing captures a timeless devotional scene, with the Virgin Mary and Christ Child seated majestically on a throne, and venerated by two saints—a motif rooted in Renaissance and Baroque religious art that emphasized divine intercession and piety during the Counter-Reformation. Executed in pen and brown ink with brown washes, heightened with white gouache over black chalk on tinted laid paper (34.7 x 20.5 cm), th...