Madonna and Child; Stories from the Life of St. Nicholas

Paolo Venezianoaround 1345 -

Details

Title: Madonna and Child; Stories from the Life of St. Nicholas
Creator Lifespan: documented 1333 - 1358/62
Creator Nationality: Italian
Creator Gender: Male
Creator Birth Place: Venice
Date: around 1345 -
Provenance: Alberto Crespi Collection
Physical Dimensions: w50 x h63.5 cm (with frame)
Painter: Paolo Veneziano
Description: The panel, in its original frame, depicts the Madonna and Christ Blessing under a trefoil arch. The Virgin and the Announcing Angel are shown in the spandrels above the arch. Below the central group, there are ten saints, who were once identified by inscriptions, while in the four compartments on either side of the central group, there are scenes from the life of St. Nicholas, who is also depicted in the center of the bottom row, among the other saints. The slender figures are wrapped in rigid drapery and outlined with straight lines, giving them a remarkable monumentality. The new Gothic search for naturalness in the rendering of the figures can be seen in the light that caresses the forms and accentuates their relief, as well as in the proportionate forms. These elements can be used to attribute the panel to Paolo Veneziano, and to place it in time between the Madonna of the Crespi Collection in Milan (1340) and the Madonna of Carpineta (1347), with similarities to the Pala Feriale in the Marciano Museum of Venice (1345).
Type: painting
Rights: © Archivio fotografico Museo Diocesano, Milano
Medium: tempera on wood

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