The Madonna and Child with Saints Peter and Catherine of Siena and a Carthusian Donor
This little painting for private devotion was almost certainly painted for the Olivetan monk who is being presented to the Virgin Mary and infant Christ by Saint Peter. Saint Catherine of Siena stands on the Virgin's left. The two little keys hanging just below the monk's elbow are cleverly echoed in the larger keys to heaven held by Saint Peter and may refer to a particular responsibility enjoyed by the monk. Traditionally, Olivetan monks carry keys to the monastery with them at all times.
The Virgin and Child are larger in this painting than the saints to either side of them and recall types from altarpieces by the fourteenth-century Sienese painters Duccio (1255-1319) and Simone Martini (12 ...
The Virgin and Child are larger in this painting than the saints to either side of them and recall types from altarpieces by the fourteenth-century Sienese painters Duccio (1255-1319) and Simone Martini (12 ...
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probably c. 1525-35
Oil on wood
48.9 x 37.8cm
NG1144
Image and text © The National Gallery, London, 2023