Vintage Florentine Icon - Madonna by Pietro Perugino - 5x7
{HISTORY}
Known as Madonna and Saints Adoring the Child Jesus by Italian Renaissance painter Pietro Perugino (est 1446-1523), this vintage Florentine-style icon contains a gorgeous array of colors and textures. Throughout his life, Pietro painted different styles of this one scene featuring Mary with tenderly gazing down at her infant son. In almost all scenes he paints her wearing a red dress, which was unusual for the subject matter since red is the color of passion and not often associated with the purity that Mary herself represented.
Similar paintings by Pietro were titled The Virgin with Two Angels Adoring the Child, Madonna and Child, and the Virgin and Child with an Angel, these variations on a theme contained additional subjects including images of the baby Jesus and one to three angels standing next to or on each side of Mary or floating in the air above her head. This version is estimated to be painted around 1500.
Pietro was one of the best painters in Florence in the late 1400s. He was commissioned to paint varus scenes, altarpieces and frescos for various churches and monasteries around Italy including the Sistine Chapel. Throughout his life, Pietro continued with his repetitive variations even into retirement. Currently, his work is held in collections around the world including the National Gallery of Art in Washington DC, and the National Gallery in London.
This vintage wood icon was most likely made in Florence for the tourist trade. It contains a beautifully textured golden edge surrounding the image which has become chippy with age, thus producing a lovely aesthetic of time-worn elegance.
Here in the Vintage Kitchen, we always love to display an icon or two in the kitchen. Tucked in between a stack of plates or perched on a cupboard shelf, vintage icons add a little protective symbolism and good luck as they watch over cooks and eaters.
{SPECIAL FEATURES}
- mounted on wood
- Hanger attached on back for easy hanging
- Colors include teal, rust red, gold, gold, grey, fawn and almond
{CONDITION}
In gorgeous vintage condition. Please see photos regarding chippy areas around the edges of the wood panel.
{SIZE}
Measures 5.5" inches (width) x7" inches (length) x .35" inches (thickness) and weighs 5oz.