Enthroned Madonna and Child with Saints Paul and Francis (Antoniazzo)
Enthroned Madonna and Child with Saints Paul and Francis | |
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Artist | Antoniazzo Romano |
Year | 1487 |
Medium | Oil on panel |
Dimensions | 166 cm × 165 cm (65 in × 65 in) |
Location | Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Antica, Rome |
The Enthroned Madonna and Child with Saints Paul and Francis is a painting by the Italian Renaissance painter
Since the 13th century, the monastery of San Paolo had been a
In his 1872 guide to monuments in the province of Umbria, Mariano Guardabassi takes note of this altarpiece signed Anthonatius Romanus pinxit and dated 1487 in the lower register.[1] Some two decades later it was discovered by the art historian Diego Angeli, under a pile of garbage in the convent of San Paolo. By 1898, Adolfo Venturi had the Sovrintendenza alle Bella Arti requisition the work for restoration and display. [2]
The painting follows a typical arrangement. The virgin sits on a decorative cloth laid on a pink stone throne, decorated with garlands and flower motif. The pale Virgin Mary wears a dark cloak over her brown dress; above her head is suspended a crown. She holds the child Jesus, who stands on her knee, blessing the onlooker with two fingers. Alongside and in front of Virgin stand the two saints: Paul with a sword on her right and the stigmatized Francis with his long crucifix on her left. The grouping of these two saints is not common. St Paul, dressed in finery, militantly holds his gospel almost like a shield, and gazes forward sternly. St Francis, in his simple garb, gingerly hold his gospel close, gazing upward meditatively.
References
- ^ Indice-guida dei monumenti pagani e cristiani riguardanti l'istoria e l'arte esistenti nella provincia dell'Umbria, by Mariano Guardabassi, Tipo-litografia di G. Boncompagni e C, Perugia (1872); page 249.
- ^ Bollettino della Regia Deputazione di storia patria per l'Umbria, Volume 4, Analecta Umbra, Unione Tipografia Cooperative, Perugia (1898); page 195.