Madonna mit Kind

This Madonna and Child by Bernardo Daddi, dating to around 1335, exemplifies the refined devotional panels that made him Florence's most sought-after painter of private altarpieces in the second quarter of the Trecento. Daddi tempered Giotto's monumental gravity with a gentler, more lyrical approach that appealed to both religious houses and wealthy Florentine families. The work's presence in the Pinacoteca Vaticana attests to its enduring importance.

Painted in tempera on gold ground panel, the work demonstrates Daddi's hallmark synthesis of Giottesque modeling with the decorative elegance of Sienese art. The Virgin's softly modeled face and the Child's naturalistic gestures show an artist at the height of his refined, intimate manner.