Artwork
Madonna and Child; Saint John the Baptist; Saint Jerome
Madonna and Child; Saint John the Baptist; Saint Jerome is a tempera painting by the Sienese School artist Sano di Pietro. It dates from 1450 and is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
About this work
Three scenes share one frame. At the center a woman holds her baby close, faces nearly touching. A man in a red robe stands to the left with a book and glowing halo, and an older man in white kneels by a rock at the right, looking up from his reading.
The mother and child sit framed like a jewel, the saints in plainer spaces. Sano di Pietro, tempera, around 1450.
Subject & Meaning
The painting shows the Virgin Mary holding the infant Christ, flanked by the youthful figure of Saint John the Baptist and the elderly scholar Saint Jerome.
The painting shows the Virgin Mary holding the infant Christ, flanked by the youthful figure of Saint John the Baptist and the elderly scholar Saint Jerome. This composition brings together three saintly interlocutors in a single devotional image, a format frequently encountered in fifteenth‑century Italian altarpieces. Mary and the Child embody the theological theme of the Incarnation, while John the Baptist functions as the herald of Christ, and Jerome is presented as a model of contemplative scholarship and penitence. Together they convey a narrative of redemption that aligns with contemporary devotional practices.
Technique & Style
Created in 1450, this religious painting by Sano di Pietro is executed in tempera on a panel support. The work depicts the Madonna and Child alongside Saint John the Baptist and Saint Jerome, adhering to the conventions of mid-15th-century Sienese religious art. As a panel painting, the medium allows for the precise application of tempera, a technique characteristic of the artist's era and region.
The piece is currently part of the collection at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where it is classified as a painting within the genre of religious art. The formal composition centers on the Madonna and Child, integrating the two saints into a unified devotional scene typical of the period's stylistic approach to sacred figures.
History & Provenance
The work Madonna and Child; Saint John the Baptist; Saint Jerome by Sano di Pietro is part of the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. The painting is listed in the museum's catalogue but no accession or inventory number is given in the available documentation. Its exhibition record is not detailed in the sources consulted, so no specific exhibitions can be cited.
The work remains in the museum's European paintings galleries, where it is displayed alongside other 15th‑century religious panels.
Overview
This tempera painting, created by Sano di Pietro around 1450, is titled Madonna and Child; Saint John the Baptist; Saint Jerome. It presents a devotional scene featuring the Virgin Mary holding the Christ Child, accompanied by Saint John the Baptist and Saint Jerome. The artwork is currently part of the collection at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, offering a glimpse into mid-15th century Italian religious art.
Artist & collection
Artist
Sano di Pietro or Ansano di Pietro di Mencio (1405–1481) was an Italian painter of the Sienese school of painting.
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![Madonna and Child, with the Blessing Christ [middle panel], by Pietro Lorenzetti](https://artifactworldgallery.com/img/pietro-lorenzetti--madonna-and-child-with-the-blessing-christ-middle-panel--02357aa6ff04175b-w320.webp)
