
Virgin and Child with Sts. Louis of Toulouse and Michael
Luca di Tommè·1362
Historical Context
Luca di Tommè's Virgin and Child with Saints Louis of Toulouse and Michael, painted around 1362, reflects the Sienese Gothic tradition at a moment when the city's painters were consolidating the elegant style inherited from Simone Martini and the Lorenzetti brothers. The inclusion of Saint Louis of Toulouse — a Franciscan bishop-saint canonized in 1317 — points to a Franciscan commission, while the archangel Michael served as a protector figure. Luca di Tommè was a prolific Sienese master who maintained the city's refined Gothic idiom through the difficult decades following the Black Death.
Technical Analysis
Tempera and gold on panel with the graceful linear style and rich chromatic range characteristic of the post-Lorenzetti Sienese school. The saints' elaborate vestments and attributes are rendered with careful attention to textile patterns and heraldic detail.







