Description
Painted by Simone Martini around 1320–1325, this Madonna and Child came from the church of San Giovanni Battista in Lucignano d’Arbia and is held by the Pinacoteca Nazionale in Siena. The Virgin supports a tightly swaddled newborn and turns her calm, thoughtful face towards the viewer. Executed in tempera on wood, the panel retains a heavily worn painted surface, particularly around the figures. It was once a compartment of a polyptych, although the original arrangement cannot be securely reconstructed.
The limited number of figures does not make the image simple. Mary’s inclined head leads attention towards the infant and creates an emotional rather than ceremonial relationship. Her hands function almost like a sentence: they hold, protect and draw the child close. In a devotional picture, such quiet gestures could encourage meditation upon the human vulnerability of Christ.
