Madonna with Child

The painting has been alternatively attribuited to the scholars by the workshop of one of the greatest Sienese artist, Duccio di Buoninsegna. The recent restoration has allowed to read it, even full of losses, without the old repaintings, so that it can be insert in the master's catalogue, especially in a crucial period of turning to the new Gothic language. The ancient Byzantine elements, such as the Virgin's maphorion - a sort of scarlet cape that covered the head and shoulders - and the glaring gilded illumination of her mantle, are combined with the then-novel solid consistency of the faces and of the blessing-giving baby's chubby body, wrapped in an elegant purple robe that soften its shape.