Madonna and Child Enthroned
1350
unspecified
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
1350
unspecified
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
Madonna and Child Enthroned is a 1350 unspecified by Master of San Lucchese, a Italo Byzantine work, held at Cleveland Museum of Art.
A woman in a blue robe sits on a gold throne, holding a baby on her lap. The baby looks straight at you while she gazes down at him. A small bird with red spots perches beside them. This artist is unknown—just called the Master of San Lucchese after a church in Italy. The bird is a goldfinch, tied to old stories about Christ’s suffering. Its red marks were said to come from his blood. Look up other paintings of *Italy* to see how artists showed holy scenes like this.
Seated on an elaborate throne, the Madonna’s weighty majesty emphasizes her role as the Queen of Heaven as she gazes at her infant son. The child, in turn, stares at the viewer. To Christ’s right is a fluttering goldfinch, a bird that was believed to nest in thorny trees and, according to legend, removed a painful spine from Christ’s crown of thorns. At that moment, a drop of his blood fell onto the goldfinch, forever giving it red markings. The precise identity of this artist has not yet been discovered, and little is known about his training or career. He receives his name after an…
Read the full account in the museum source.
This 14th-century Italian painter made small wooden panels glowing with gold leaf and jewel-bright colors.
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