Madonna and Child
attributed to Lippo Memmi (Italian)
c. 1350
- Medium
- tempera and gold on poplar panel
- Classification
- Painting
- Dimensions
- Framed: 71.3 x 43.8 x 5.7 cm (28 1/16 x 17 1/4 x 2 1/4 in.); Unframed: 71.3 x 44 cm (28 1/16 x 17 5/16 in.)
- Culture
- Italy, Siena
- Museum
- Cleveland Museum of Art, Medieval Art
- Credit line
- Gift of the Hanna Fund
- Rights
- Public domain (CC0), as the museum states it.
- Who can see it
- Tweens profiles and older: its subjects are known and suit older children. How works are placed
View at the Cleveland Museum of Art
About this work
On the eve of the Battle of Montaperti in 1260, the Tuscan town of Siena was dedicated to the Virgin. Siena’s miraculous victory the following day confirmed its status as the "City of the Virgin" and inspired fervent devotion among its citizens. Marian imagery flourished, and many altarpieces comprising images of the Madonna and Child flanked by saints were made for Sienese churches. This panel once formed part of such an altarpiece. Here, the infant Christ clings to his mother’s clothing. He also holds a scroll that proclaims his special destiny. Lippo Memmi was the brother-in-law of Simone Martini, an extremely influential Sienese painter. The two artists worked closely together, and this Madonna and Child reflects Simone’s aristocratic and elegant style.
