Where can I see Madonna and Child with Angels Carrying Candlesticks?

Madonna and Child with Angels Carrying Candlesticks is held by Bode Museum.

What movement is Madonna and Child with Angels Carrying Candlesticks?

Madonna and Child with Angels Carrying Candlesticks is associated with Early Renaissance.

Madonna and Child with Angels Carrying Candlesticks by Sandro Botticelli (1494)

About this work

Subject & Meaning

The work was once in the collection of Lorenzo di Pierfrancesco de' Medici, reflecting Medici patronage of Botticelli’s religious output.

The painting portrays the Madonna and Child accompanied by angels who hold candlesticks, a composition indicated by its title and classified as a religious work. Mary is shown tenderly holding the infant Jesus, while the angels attend the holy pair, their candlesticks suggesting a heavenly light that accompanies the divine mother and son. As a devotional image, the scene emphasizes the sacredness of the Virgin and Child and the presence of the heavenly host.

The work was once in the collection of Lorenzo di Pierfrancesco de' Medici, reflecting Medici patronage of Botticelli’s religious output.

Technique & Style

Sandro Botticelli executed Madonna and Child with Angels Carrying Candlesticks in 1487 using tempera paint applied to a poplar panel support. This religious work, originally commissioned for Lorenzo di Pierfrancesco de' Medici, adheres to the Florentine tradition of panel painting characteristic of the late 15th century. The artwork was historically housed in the Solly Collection before entering the holdings of the Gemäldegalerie in Berlin.

The piece was lost in 1945 during the destruction of the Flak towers in Berlin where it had been stored for protection, leaving its current physical condition unknown.

History & Provenance

The altarpiece was commissioned by the Florentine merchant Lorenzo di Pierfrancesco de' Medici and executed in tempera on poplar panel around 1487. Botticelli painted the work for the Medici family before its transfer to the Bode Museum in Berlin, where it entered the Solly Collection. The painting was lost during the final months of World War II when Berlin’s Flak towers were destroyed, and it was subsequently recorded as missing from the Gemäldegalerie Berlin’s inventory. Its provenance traces a clear chain from Medici patronage to museum custody, with documented loss in 1945.

The work depicts the Virgin Mary with the infant Christ surrounded by angels bearing candlesticks, reflecting Botticelli’s devotional subject matter and use of tempera technique.

The painting was held in the Gemäldegalerie Berlin as part of the Solly Collection. It was owned at one point by Lorenzo di Pierfrancesco de' Medici. During the Second World War the panel was stored in the Flak towers in Berlin, and it is recorded as lost in 1945.

No exhibition history is documented in the available sources, and no current inventory or accession number can be cited.

Context

Created in 1487 by Sandro Botticelli, Madonna and Child with Angels Carrying Candlesticks exemplifies the artist's Late Quattrocento religious output. The work was originally commissioned for or owned by Lorenzo di Pierfrancesco de' Medici, linking it to the specific Medici patronage network that shaped Florentine art of the era. Executed in tempera on a poplar panel, the painting reflects the devotional traditions of the period while demonstrating Botticelli's mastery of line and composition.

The artwork's historical trajectory is marked by its preservation in the Solly Collection and subsequent acquisition by the Bode Museum in Berlin. Its significance was tragically interrupted when the painting was lost in 1945 during the destruction of Berlin's Flak towers, ending its physical presence in the art historical record.

Overview

Created in 1494, this tempera panel by Sandro Botticelli presents a devotional image of the Virgin Mary seated with the infant Jesus. The composition is framed by six angels who hold tall candlesticks, forming a semi‑circular backdrop. The work is part of the collection of the Gemäldegalerie in Berlin and exemplifies the artist’s late‑career religious output.