Madonna and Child Enthroned
The Madonna and Child enthroned under a fruit garland above a checkered marble floor: a 1.4-meter altar panel in the manner of Crivelli by a painter from the Marche. Full commentary ↓
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Madonna and Child Enthroned is a tempera and gold painting by Nicola di Maestro Antonio d'Ancona (possibly ca. 1487) in the collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art. It measures 141 × 59.4 cm.
In the pictureOn a round-topped panel, Mary, in a gold robe with an ornate pattern, sits on a throne holding the Child. Above hangs a garland with apples and pears, and below the throne spreads a black-and-white checkered marble floor. The Child wears red and holds his mother's hand.
BackgroundNicola di Maestro Antonio was a painter from Ancona on Italy's east coast, strongly influenced by Carlo Crivelli, who worked in the same region. The fruit garland, the patterned gold robe and the crisp outlines reflect that influence. This panel, 1.4 meters high, probably formed the center of a large altarpiece together with several panels of saints.
Puzzle tipThe checkered floor pieces have a clear direction and are good to fit first, and the fruit pieces of the garland are the reference point at the top. Fill in Mary's face, the Child and the patterned pieces of the gold robe in turn. The image is tall, so it is easiest to work from top to bottom. 100 pieces is a good fit.
- Artist
- Italian, Marchigian, active by 1472–died 1510/11
- Classification
- Paintings
- Medium
- Tempera on wood, gold ground
- Dimensions
- 141 x 59.4 cm
- Credit line
- Robert Lehman Collection, 1975
Source: The Metropolitan Museum of Art ↗
Stories about this work
- From Florence to Ancona: Italian Painting Styles in Four Enthroned Madonnas
Compare four paintings of the enthroned Madonna and Child by painters from Florence, Venice and Ancona. See how style changed over 150 years while you put them together as puzzles.
- Why Early Renaissance Altarpieces Have Gold Backgrounds: Reading the Lehman Panels
Why is the background of every gold-ground panel in the Robert Lehman Collection gold? Early Renaissance painting, explored by putting the panels together as puzzles.
- Why Are There So Many Madonna and Child Paintings? Painting the Same Scene for Centuries
This site alone has 12 paintings of the Madonna and Child. Why the same scene was repeated for centuries, and how to find the differences within it.
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