The Virgin and Child
Ca. 1345. Gilded, Tempera on panel. Room 056BThe panel’s small size, making it particularly suitable for private devotion, reflects the growth of the cult of the Virgin. A typical feature of Tuscan art of this date is the use of inscriptions such as the one held here by the Christ Child: “VENITE AD ME OMNES” (Come to me all of you). Such inscriptions allowed the literate viewer to read the message of the image as well as see it, offering a double experience. This work is exceptional within the Spanish royal collections, which had no other Italian paintings dating from before 1450.