Madonna Enthroned

The Madonna is said to have come from Borgo San Sepolcro. It is also possible, however, that she was meant for the church of San Frediano in Pisa. The haloes (the Christ Child’s was lost in the years following the Second World War) are made of wood, as is the base bearing the inscription MATER GRATIAE (“mother of grace”). In some places, the old coloration was retouched at a later date. Despite both the detailed attention given to individual portions and the closeness of the hands, the grand conception of the Madonna’s body and robes prefigure the calm and monumentality of High Renaissance sculpture. It is not least the delicately worked, true-to-life facial features of both the Virgin Mary and the baby Jesus that make this statue one of the most appealing Madonnas in Italian art.