Madonna with the Child and angels

This Madonna with the Child and Angels, painted around 1625 and held in the Capitoline Museums in Rome, dates from early in Cortona's career when he was establishing himself in the Roman art world. The subject — the Virgin and Child attended by angels — was among the most traditional in Italian painting, and Cortona's treatment brings a new dynamic energy to the familiar theme. The Capitoline Museums, the world's oldest public museums, house significant works from the papal and civic collections of Rome.

Cortona infuses the traditional Madonna composition with Baroque dynamism, the surrounding angels creating a swirl of movement around the serene central group. His warm, Venetian-influenced palette and fluid brushwork animate the draperies and wings with characteristic energy.