Madonna and Child

Benvenuto di Giovanni

ca. 1470 · Tempera on wood, gold ground · Robert Lehman Collection

This resplendent and well-preserved panel portrays the Virgin handing the Christ Child a pomegranate, a symbol of the Resurrection. The painting may once have belonged by Pope Pius II Piccolomini, whose coat of arms is said to have formerly appeared on the back of the panel. The acorns, clustered beneath the frame’s scroll console, may be a heraldic allusion to Pius II. The important tabernacle frame may be contemporary and original to the panel. The candelabra-decorated pilasters are characteristic of Sienese frames of the period.

Artist

Benvenuto di Giovanni

Date

ca. 1470

Medium

Tempera on wood, gold ground

Department

Robert Lehman Collection

Credit line

Robert Lehman Collection, 1975