The Virgin and Child with Four Angels

Ugolino di Nerio, a prominent Sienese painter and follower of Duccio di Buoninsegna, created this tender Virgin and Child with Four Angels around 1315. The composition reflects the Sienese devotional tradition of presenting the Madonna as an approachable, queenly figure surrounded by heavenly attendants. Now in the National Gallery, London, it demonstrates how Ugolino perpetuated and refined Duccio's elegant style into the second decade of the Trecento.

Painted in egg tempera on panel with extensive gold ground, the work displays Ugolino's refined handling of the Ducciesque tradition, with sinuous drapery folds and delicate facial modeling. The four flanking angels create a harmonious symmetrical composition enriched by tooled gold haloes and decorative punch-work.