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Daddi, Bernardo

1 work

A woman cradling a baby boy sits on an arched throne, which is surrounded by twenty men, women, and winged angels against a glimmering gold background in this vertical painting. The panel on which it is painted comes to a pointed arch at the top, and a gold, carved, twisting column frames the scene to each side. Most the people have pale skin faintly tinged with green and all have bright gold, plate-like halos. The woman, Mary, wears a forest-green, gold-edged robe covering her head, shoulders, and body over a peach-colored dress, which is decorated with gold, geometric designs. She has wavy, strawberry-blond hair, a straight nose, wide, narrowed eyes, and her pink lips are closed. Her body faces us but she looks down and to our right, toward a pair of women on that side of the throne. The baby looks in the same direction, and has short, blond, curly hair, pudgy cheeks, a wide, bare chest, and scrawny arms. The fabric wrapped around his waist and legs shimmers from canary yellow to sky blue, and is crimson red on the underside. He reaches one arm across his body to our right, toward a small gray bird held by one of two women standing next to the throne. Those women and the others around the throne are smaller in scale than Mary. Their bodies face the throne, and most look up toward it. They all wear gold-trimmed robes in ultramarine blue, ruby red, emerald green, pale pink, fawn brown, ivory white, or golden yellow. Each person holds one object, including a palm frond, flute, ring, ointment jar, wooden cross, sword, lamb, or a book. One man, to our lower left, wears a furry garment under his robe and holds a red cross and a scroll. Another man, to our right, holds a book and a large, gold skeleton key. Even smaller in scale, two winged angels play instruments in the lower center, at the base of the throne. Finally, to each side of the throne, over the saints surrounding it, there are two pairs of two angels. In each of that final pair of angels, one is painted entirely in cobalt blue and the other entirely in scarlet red. Crimson-red fabric embellished with gold, stylized leaf patterns hangs behind Mary, on the throne.

Madonna and Child with Saints and Angels

Daddi, Bernardo