Artwork
Madonna and Child Enthroned with Saints James Minor and Lucy
Madonna and Child Enthroned with Saints James Minor and Lucy is a tempera painting by the Byzantine icon painting artist Paolo Veneziano. It is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
The painting shows the Virgin Mary holding the infant Christ on a throne, flanked by Saints James Minor and Lucy, as indicated by the work's title.
The painting shows the Virgin Mary holding the infant Christ on a throne, flanked by Saints James Minor and Lucy, as indicated by the work's title. Created in 1388 by Marco di Paolo Veneziano, the tempera panel belongs to the religious genre and was intended for devotional use in a fourteenth-century Italian context. Its iconography combines the Marian focus of the period with the intercessory role of the saints, reflecting contemporary theological emphasis on heavenly mediation.
The composition is a typical example of devotional art that sought to invoke prayer through the depicted holy figures.
Technique & Style
Created in 1388 by Marco di Paolo Veneziano, this religious work is executed in tempera on a panel support. The painting measures 31.1 cm in height and 43.8 cm in width. As a panel painting, the medium involves pigment mixed with a water-soluble binder applied to a prepared wooden surface.
The composition features the Madonna and Child enthroned, flanked by Saints James Minor and Lucy. The work is classified as a tempera painting on panel, consistent with Venetian artistic practice of the late Trecento period.
History & Provenance
The panel Madonna and Child Enthroned with Saints James Minor and Lucy was executed in 1388 by Marco di Paolo Veneziano using tempera on panel. It entered the collection of Michael Friedsam, who bequeathed the work to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where it has remained since his donation. The painting measures 31.1 × 43.8 cm and depicts the Virgin and Child enthroned with Saints James Minor and Lucy. No accession number, specific gallery location, or exhibition history is documented in the available sources.
Overview
This tempera painting, titled Madonna and Child Enthroned with Saints James Minor and Lucy, was created by the artist Paolo Veneziano in 1388. The work depicts a central religious scene flanked by two saints, characteristic of devotional art from the late medieval period. It is currently housed in The Metropolitan Museum of Art, representing a significant example of Venetian painting from the 14th century.
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Artist & collection
Artist
Paolo Veneziano, also Veneziano Paolo or Paolo da Venezia was a 14th-century painter from Venice, the "founder of the Venetian School" of painting, probably active between about 1321 and 1362.
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