La Madonna della Rondine (The Madonna of the Swallow)

This large panel comes from an altarpiece painted in 1491 by Carlo Crivelli. It was made for the Ottoni family chapel in the Franciscan church at Matelica, in the Italian Marches.

The Virgin, to whom the chapel was dedicated, appears crowned as the Queen of Heaven, with the Christ Child on her knee. The saints on either side of her reflect the concerns of the patrons, one a churchman, the other a soldier: Saint Jerome was the patron of scholars and theologians, while Sebastian was the patron of soldiers. The swallow of the title, a symbol of Christ's Resurrection, perches above Mary's head.

This large altarpiece was painted by Carlo Crivelli in 1491 for a family chapel in the Franciscan churc...