(Borgo Sansepolcro circa 1425/1430 – documented until 1493/4)
Madonna and Child with two angels
tempera on gold ground panel, 45 x 33 cm, framed

We are grateful to Alessandro Tomei for confirming the attribution.

The present painting of the Madonna and Child with two angels, painted on a gold ground panel with punched decoration is typical of images intended for private devotion, which were very common in Siena from around the mid-fifteenth century onwards.

A number of painters dedicated themselves to this type of production and among these one of the leading exponents was Matteo di Giovanni, whose training seems to have taken place in the circle of the workshop of Lorenzo di Pietro, known as Vecchietta. Matteo di Giovanni, who was also a miniaturist, received some important commissions from the 1450s onwards, working for the Opera della Metropolitana di Siena and other major churches in the city and its surroundings (Asciano, Pienza, Sansepolcro).

The present painting is datable to around the 1470s-1480 and displays some elements which are typical of the style of this prolific artist, especially in the facial types of the Madonna and angels. It is possible to compare the present work to the altarpiece depicting the Madonna and Child enthroned, with Saints Anthony of Padua and Bernardino,in the Museo dell’Opera della Metropolitana in Siena and two panels with similar iconography to the present work: one at the Pinacoteca Nazionale di Siena (n. 400) showing the Madonna and Child enthroned, with Saints Michael and Mary Magdalene and the other in the Chigi Saracini collection in Siena.

We are grateful to Alessandro Tomei for confirming the attribution.

The present painting of the Madonna and Child with two angels, painted on a gold ground panel with punched decoration is typical of images intended for private devotion, which were very common in Siena from around the mid-fifteenth century onwards.

A number of painters dedicated themselves to this type of production and among these one of the leading exponents was Matteo di Giovanni, whose training seems to have taken place in the circle of the workshop of Lorenzo di Pietro, known as Vecchietta. Matteo di Giovanni, who was also a miniaturist, received some important commissions from the 1450s, working for the Opera della Metropolitana di Siena and other major churches in the city and its surroundings (Asciano, Pienza, Sansepolcro).

The present painting is datable to around the 1470s-1480 and displays some elements which are typical of the style of this prolific artist, especially in the facial types of the Madonna and angels. It is possible to compare the present work to the altarpiece depicting the Madonna and Child enthroned, with Saints Anthony of Padua and Bernardino, Museo dell’Opera della Metropolitana in Siena and two panels with similar iconography to the present work: one at the Pinacoteca Nazionale di Siena (n. 400) showing the Madonna and Child enthroned, with Saints Michael and Mary Magdalene and the other in the Chigi Saracini collection in Siena.