The Virgin of Humility Crowned by Two Angels

One of the most important figures of Sienese painting, Sassetta combined the elongated, stylized figures and rich ornamentation of the Gothic style with the naturalism of the budding Florentine Renaissance. In the Frick’s "Virgin of Humility", for example, the elegant, sinuous Madonna, while surrounded by heavenly gold, sits on a cushion placed on a tile floor rendered in perspective to create a sense of space. The faces and gestures of the Madonna and child also portray a more natural solemn tenderness.