Madonna and Child Enthroned with Saints
ca. 1340
Medium
Tempera on wood, gold ground
Dimensions
Overall 43 1/4 x 90 1/8 in. (109.9 x 228.9 cm); Lawrence 43 1/4 x 15 1/2 in. (109.9 x 39.4 cm); John 43 1/4 x 13 1/2 in. (109.9 x 34.3 cm); Madonna and Child 43 1/4 x 28 1/2 in. (109.9 x 72.4 cm); James 43 1/4 x 15 3/4 in. (109.9 x 40 cm); Stephen 43 1/4 x 16 3/4 in. (109.9 x 42.5 cm)
Classification
Paintings
Department
European Paintings
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Rogers Fund, 1910
Accession Number
10.97
Tags
Art Historical Context
Taddeo Gaddi, a leading Florentine painter and pupil of Giotto, created this elegant altarpiece around 0. The central panel shows the Madonna and Child enthroned in majesty, flanked by Saints Lawrence, John the Evangelist, James, and Stephen. This arrangement reflects the devotional needs of 14th-century worshippers, who sought the intercession of these holy figures through richly gilded images placed above church altars. Painted in tempera on wood with a luminous gold ground, the work exemplifies the refined techniques of the Trecento period. The gold background lifts the sacred figures into...