Madonna of Humility (Fra Angelico)

1430s painting by Fra Angelico

Madonna of Humility

Artist	Fra Angelico
Year	1433–1435
Medium	Tempera on wood
Dimensions	147 cm × 91 cm (58 in × 36 in)
Location	Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya, Barcelona

The Madonna of Humility is a tempera-on-wood painting by Fra Angelico, executed in 1433–1435, which belongs to the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum in Madrid and is conserved on loan at the National Art Museum of Catalonia.

Description

The Virgin seated on a cushion placed directly on the ground with the child standing on her lap, holds a vase in her left hand which contains roses and a lily, symbols of motherhood and purity. The Child, who is also holding a lily, rests his forehead on his mother's cheek. They are set under a cloth of honour made of gold and black embroidered brocade held by three angels, while two more angels are seated on the ground playing an organ and a lute.

The monumental figures, the splendour of the clothes, the modulated light and the use of the blue colour place this panel in the purest fifteenth-century Italian style. The work has been identified as the one described by Giorgio Vasari in 1568 in the home of the Gondi family, in Florence, where it formed part of a polyptic.

References

Guide of the Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya. MNAC, 2004. ISBN 84-8043-136-9
The artwork at MNAC's Website

External links

The artwork at Museum's website

v t e Fra Angelico
Paintings	Fiesole Altarpiece (1424–1425) The Last Judgment (1425–1430) San Pietro Martire Triptych (1428–1429) Annunciation (1430–1432) Coronation of the Virgin (c. 1432) Deposition of Christ (1432–1434) Annunciation (c. 1433–1434) Tabernacle of the Linaioli (1433–1435) Madonna of Humility (1433–1435) Coronation of the Virgin (1434–1435) Annunciation (before 1435) Crucifixion with Mourners and St Dominic (c. 1435) Madonna and Child with St Dominic and St Thomas Aquinas (c. 1435) Croce al Tempio Lamentation (1436) Cortona Triptych (1436–1437) Perugia Altarpiece (c. 1437) The Annunciation (c. 1440–1445) Presentation at the Temple (1438–1440) San Marco Altarpiece (1438–1443) Adoration of the Magi (c. 1441-1442) (with Benozzo Gozzoli) Frescoes in the Niccoline Chapel (1447–1449) Adoration of the Magi (c. 1440/1460) (with Filippo Lippi) Armadio degli Argenti (1451–1453)
Related	Virgin Reliquaries (1434) (original drawings by Fra Angelico) Benozzo Gozzoli (collaborator) Filippo Lippi (collaborator)
Museums	Museo Nazionale di San Marco

v t e Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya
Romanesque works	Altar frontal from La Seu d'Urgell or of The Apostles Southern apse from Pedret Apse of Santa Maria Àneu Apse of Sant Climent de Taüll Erill la Vall Descent from the Cross Batlló Majesty Altar frontal from Avià Paintings from Arlanza The Christ from 1147 Virgin from Ger
Gothic works	Mural paintings of the conquest of Majorca Head of Christ Virgin of the Angels Altarpiece of Saint Barbara Nativity and Saint John the Evangelist Altarpiece of the Saints John Virgin of the Consellers Saint Augustine Altarpiece Resurrection of Christ
Renaissance and Baroque works	Saint Candidus Jean-Claude Richard, abbé of Saint-Non Mural Paintings from the Herrera Chapel Saint Peter and Saint Paul Madonna of Humility Immaculate Conception Martyrdom of Saint Bartholomew Saint Paul Saint Agnes
Modern works	The Odalisque The Spanish Wedding Desolation Ramon Casas and Pere Romeu on a Tandem Confidant from the Batlló House Terraced Village Paloma Cala Forn Portrait of My Father Woman in Hat and Fur Collar Raised left hand Still life II The Corpus Christi Procession Leaving the Church of Santa Maria del Mar A Romance
See also	List of artists from the MNAC collection Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya

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