Giovanni di Marco, called Giovanni dal Ponte
Florence, 1385-1437
Madonna and Child with Angels, 1410s
Tempera and tooled gold leaf on panel.
Set against a cloth of honor held by angels and wearing a crown, the Virgin appears as the Queen of Heaven. The Christ Child's erect posture with his hand raised in benediction identifies him as a personification of the New Church, while the strand of coral and finch symbolize the Passion, the suffering he will later endure as a man. Combining aspects of the medieval - the imagery, symbolism, and technique - with the intricate ornamentation and curvilinear rhythms of the International Style, this painting is representative of currents in Florentine painting on the eve of the Renaissance.