Madonna and Child

Abstract

This painted wood sculpture of the Madonna and Child stands on what looks to be an integral base, on which an inscription identifies her as Mary "Bentornata" (more or less "welcome back"). Mary smiles, as her child tickles her chin, an intimate exchange that derives from Byzantine icons, though here Mary does not turn to look at her baby but instead stares outward at devotees. The sculpture is currently housed in a glass case surrounded by later offerings in San Lorenzo in Florence. It has been attributed to the fourteenth-century sculptor Giovanni Fetti (active 1355-86) and dated to c. 1382-4, just before Fetti sculpted the Virtues for the Loggia dei Priori . Photograph(s) licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.