MATTEO DI GIOVANNI (BORGO SANSEPOLCRO C. 1430-1495 SIENA)

The depiction of the Madonna and Child within a tightly cropped space had been popularised in Siena by Sano di Pietro, whose influence can be seen in the intimate relationship between the two figures in the present work. Above the figures is inscribed ‘·REGINA·CELI·LETARE’ or ‘Queen of Heaven, rejoice!’, referencing the Madonna’s eventual place of divine pre-eminence, while also possibly referring to the Regina caeli hymn, typically sung during the Easter liturgy between Easter Sunday and Pentecost. Its Paschal associations heighten the devotional interest of the work which, while the innocent Christ, held in his mother’s arms, invites the viewer to contemplate His future suffering and Passion, as well as His triumph over death. While the panel has been subject to extensive restoration, passages of the work still retain the painter’s characteristic strong modelling of form and bold use of contour, which typify his mature oeuvre, a period when he was working as one of the most significant painters in Siena.