Dual purpose

Madonna and Child, St. Jerome, St. Anthony of Padua, and Two Angels

Francesco di Giorgio Martini (1439-1501)
Siena, ca. 1469-1472
Tempera on panel
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, gift of Edward Jackson Holmes, 41.921

no. 35

Starting in Italy, and then throughout Europe after about 1350, Mary was often portrayed with her Child seated, not on a throne as in earlier times, but on a cushion on the ground, or on a chair. Although she retains the sumptuous clothing of the Queen of Heaven, Mary has come closer to the lived experience of the viewer. In this fifteenth-century Sienese example, Mary is seated on a stool with hands clasped, looking at the naked Child on her lap. St. Jerome, St. Anthony of Padua, and two angels look on.

[Both St. Jerome, who lived ca. 400, and St. Anthony, who lived ca. 1200, wrote and preached about Mary and her virginity, which may be why they are depicted in this scene.]