Where can I see The Virgin and Blessing Child, Young St. John and three Angels?

The Virgin and Blessing Child, Young St. John and three Angels is held by Gemäldegalerie Berlin.

What movement is The Virgin and Blessing Child, Young St. John and three Angels?

The Virgin and Blessing Child, Young St. John and three Angels is associated with Sienese School.

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Museum-quality prints of The Virgin and Blessing Child, Young St. John and three Angels are available made-to-order from Artifact World Gallery.

Artwork

The Virgin and Blessing Child, Young St. John and three Angels

Bastiano Mainardi , 1499

The Virgin and Blessing Child, Young St. John and three Angels is a paint painting by the Sienese School artist Bastiano Mainardi. It dates from 1499 and is held in the collection of the Gemäldegalerie Berlin.

About this work

Overview

Created circa 1499 by Bastiano Mainardi, this painted panel presents a devotional scene featuring the Virgin Mary with the infant Christ, a youthful Saint John the Baptist, and three attendant angels. Executed in the late‑15th‑century Italian tradition, the work is part of the Gemäldegalerie Berlin’s collection.

Subject & Meaning

The central figure, a woman in a red gown and green mantle, cradles the Christ child, who receives a benediction. Flanking them are a young Saint John, identifiable by his distinct attire, and three angels, each marked by luminous halos. The gathering of holy figures underscores themes of intercession and divine grace.

Technique & Style

Mainardi employed tempera on panel, adhering to the compositional clarity and delicate coloration characteristic of the Sienese school. The figures are rendered with graceful linear outlines, while the background landscape, featuring distant buildings and mountains, provides a serene spatial setting that balances the intimate foreground.

History & Provenance

Born in 1466, Mainardi trained under his brother‑in‑law Domenico Ghirlandaio and contributed to fresco cycles in Florence and San Gimignano. After changing hands over the centuries, the painting entered the Gemäldegalerie Berlin, where it remains on display.

Context

The work reflects the devotional trends of the Italian Renaissance, when private patrons commissioned intimate religious images for personal contemplation. Its iconography aligns with contemporary representations of the Virgin and Child accompanied by saints and angelic attendants, a motif popular in both Florentine and Sienese workshops.