Circle of Andrea del Sarto (1486-1530)

This Madonna and Child is a superb example of early 16th century painting from Florence within the circle of Andrea del Sarto (1486-1530). While the composition of the Child Jesus brings to mind what his disciple Jacopo Pontormo (1494-1557) would paint at a later stage, the melancholic gaze and classical profile of the Virgin Mary are indebted to Raphael (1483-1520), whose influence is patent in Sarto’s art.

The colouring of the scene and the free-flowing rendering of the forms confirm how this composition had left behind the rigidity defining Italian 15th century art.

Particularly noteworthy is the sense of depth conveyed in the volume of the Virgin’s body, further accentuated by the creases of her robe. On the of her tunic are the half-erased golden letters of an inscription in which, thanks to the restoration, we can read the year the work was created, “1508”. A sense of movement is instilled in the figure of the Child Jesus through the angle of his head, turned towards the beholder, while the body is facing his mother. The white transparent veil repeated in both characters creates a movement of forms that contrasts with the flatness of the background.