Circle of Antoniazzo Romano (Rome before 1452-1508/12)

The small size and half-length format of this Madonna and Child identify it as a private devotional object, and the gilded background and animated yet somewhat flat forms hearken back to the Byzantine religious icons from which this type originated. The balustrade on which the Christ Child is poised originates from the Tuscan type and may have been indirectly influenced by relief sculpture. A similar composition of nearly identical size, fully attributed to Antoniazzo, sold at Finarte Semenzato (29 November 2002, lot 490) for 456,000 Euro ($452,380).