Madonna and Child

Francesco Francia

1490s · Oil on wood · European Paintings

Francia’s paintings combine the subtle modeling and soft lighting found in Netherlandish practice with the idealized figure types of Italian painting. This, together with the serenity of his landscapes and the sweet delicacy of his Madonnas, made his paintings universally admired. We are told that the citizens of Bologna "thought of him as a god." The Venetian frame is not original to the picture but is of the period and, like the painting, in beautiful condition.

Artist

Francesco Francia

Date

1490s

Medium

Oil on wood

Department

European Paintings

Credit line

Gift of Lewis C. Ledyard III, Mrs. Victor Onet, and Mrs. T. F. Turner, in memory of Lewis C. Ledyard, 1982