Madonna col Bambino in trono e due angeli (c.1440)

Lippi, Filippo (1406-1469)

Madonna col Bambino in trono e due angeli (Madonna and Child Enthroned with Two Angels)
c.1440
Tempera and gold on wood, transferred from wood, 122.6 x 62.9 cm
Metropolitan Museum of ArtNew York

The Virgin, known as “the rose without thorns” for having been born free of original sin, holds the symbolic flower while sitting upon the Throne of Wisdom. The scroll held by an angel reads: “Come over to me, all ye that desire me, and be filled with my fruits.” (Ecclesiasticus 24:19) The picture was originally the centerpiece of an important triptych. Lippi was the most innovative painter in Italy and was closely attentive to Netherlandish painting. Notable here is his varied study of light and the active pose of the child, perhaps inspired by the sculpture of Donatello. (MET)