Madonna and Child

Mariotto Albertinelli, close friend and frequent collaborator of Fra Bartolomeo, painted this Madonna and Child around 1495 in Florence. The two artists shared a workshop and their styles are sometimes difficult to distinguish. Albertinelli's Madonnas display the warm, soft modeling that characterizes his mature work. The tempera medium required careful preparation on a gessoed panel and a disciplined layering technique that produced precise, durable surfaces suited to the intricate detail expected of devotional painting.

Oil on panel with soft, warm modeling and gentle devotional expression. Albertinelli's technique shows the influence of both Fra Bartolomeo and Leonardo's sfumato in the rendering of flesh and drapery.