Virgin of tenderness beginning of the quattrocento

The panel is attributed to the entourage of Michèle di Matteo, a Bolognese painter active between 1409 and 1467.
Made around 1420 with its original frame, tempera and gold on poplar.
The Virgin is represented with softness which makes it a kind of intimate portrait highlighting the strength of the bond that unites her to her Child. This closeness and mutual devotion of mother and child, stemming from the Byzantine tradition, also accords with the ideals of the Quattrocento.

On a gold background and framed at the waist, Marie is dressed in a red dress and capped with dark blue. A golden rosette adorns this dress, Her forehead is also surrounded by a crown forming a headband. Through the sleeves of her blue coat protrude those of a red dress, also adorned with golden borders. The painter creates an atmosphere giving her an expression of gentle melancholy. Her head, tilted to her left, almost as if in a kiss. The young boy, delicately supported by his mother's hand with slender fingers, the left under her buttocks, the right delicately takes her hand. Christ is represented as a real baby, the proportions justifying the small dimensions of his head. It is enveloped in a light veil.
looking up at his mother.

Michele di Matteo is a Bolognese painter active between 1409 and 1467, trained in the entourage of Giovanni da Modena. He is especially active in Bologna and mainly mentioned for various minor works of 1415 and the years that follow. In 1428 he worked in a style detaching from the Gothic with Giovanni Lianori and Pietro di Giovanni Lianori. Michele di Matteo is also the son-in-law of the Bolognese painter Jacobo de Paolo.

Painting size only: 27x18.5
Width: 26.7cm
Height: 51cm