Artwork
Madonna and Child with Saints Jerome and Francis
Madonna and Child with Saints Jerome and Francis is a tempera painting. It dates from 1600 and is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. This tempera painting depicts a central group of four figures.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
This tempera painting depicts a sacred assembly centered on the Madonna and Child, flanked by Saints Jerome and Francis of Assisi.
This tempera painting depicts a sacred assembly centered on the Madonna and Child, flanked by Saints Jerome and Francis of Assisi. The composition adheres to the religious genre, presenting the Virgin Mary and the Christ Child as the main subjects. Saint Jerome is identified by the presence of a lion, a traditional attribute alluding to the legend in which he removed a thorn from the animal's paw and symbolizing his penitence in the wilderness.
Saint Francis of Assisi represents his role as a founder of a religious order and his devotion to poverty. The grouping of these holy figures creates a devotional image intended for contemplation, merging the heavenly presence of Mother and Son with the earthly sanctity of the two saints, and functioning as a visual representation of intercession within the Christian tradition.
Technique & Style
Created around 1600 by an Umbrian artist, this religious work is executed in tempera on a wooden panel. The painting measures 60 cm in height and 40.3 cm in width. Stylistically, the composition features the Madonna and Child accompanied by Saints Jerome and Francis, with Jerome associated with a lion in iconography.
The use of tempera on panel reflects traditional techniques prevalent in Italian religious art of the period. While specific details regarding the current condition or surface handling are not explicitly recorded, the medium and support define its material character as a small-scale devotional image.
History & Provenance
Madonna and Child with Saints Jerome and Francis is a tempera-on-panel painting dated to 1600, attributed to an Italian Umbrian artist. It measures approximately 60 × 40.3 cm and depicts the Virgin Mary with the Christ Child, Saint Jerome, and Saint Francis. The work passed through the collections of Eugène Kraemer and Michael Friedsam before entering the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where it remains.
Overview
This tempera painting depicts a central group of four figures. The Virgin Mary cradles the infant Christ on her lap, flanked by two older male saints. The composition emphasizes their close proximity, with the figures arranged in a seated formation.
The work is characterized by its serene portrayal of the Madonna and the tender interaction between mother and child, observed by the solemn saints.
Artist & collection
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