Botticelli, Sandro (c.1445-1510)
Madonna con un angelo adorante (Madonna and Child with Adoring Angel)
c.1468
Tempera on panel, 88.9 x 68 cm
Norton Simon Museum, Pasadena
Botticelli was one of the most individual and influential painters in Florence at the end of the fifteenth century. His melodic, linear designs have been greatly admired and are readily apparent in this panel. This composition is unusually sculptural for the artist. Forms are substantial and their disposition leads the eye into a space firmly defined by the stone parapet and middle ground arcade. The rounded hills of the landscape in the background complete the plasticity of the design. In this work, lyricism is bound to the description of natural data and the suggestion of human grace. The subtle combination of function and decoration in Botticelli’s use of line provides the poetry of his paintings. (NS)