The ''Madonna di Senigallia'' is a painting by the Italian Renaissance master

Piero della Francesca Piero della Francesca (, also , ; – 12 October 1492), originally named Piero di Benedetto, was an Italian painter of the Early Renaissance. To contemporaries he was also known as a mathematician and geometer. Nowadays Piero della Francesca i ...

, finished around 1474. It is housed in the Galleria Nazionale delle Marche, in the

Ducal Palace Several palaces are named Ducal Palace (Italian: ''Palazzo Ducale'' ) because it was the seat or residence of a duke. Notable palaces with the name include: France *Palace of the Dukes of Burgundy, Dijon *Palace of the Dukes of Lorraine, Nancy *Pa ...

of Urbino.

History

From its small scale the painting was intended for private devotion. It was noticed for the first time in 1822 in the church of the Observant Franciscan convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie just outside

Senigallia Senigallia (or Sinigaglia in Old Italian, Romagnol: ''S’nigaja'') is a ''comune'' and port town on Italy's Adriatic coast. It is situated in the province of Ancona in the Marche region and lies approximately 30 kilometers north-west of the pro ...

(

Marche Marche ( , ) is one of the twenty regions of Italy. In English, the region is sometimes referred to as The Marches ( ). The region is located in the central area of the country, bordered by Emilia-Romagna and the republic of San Marino to the ...

), whence the current name. Senigallia was wrested from

Sigismondo Malatesta Sigismondo Malatesta (November 1498 – December 1553) was an Italian condottiero. Biography The son of Pandolfaccio Malatesta, Sigismondo strove for his whole life to reconquer the ancestral seat of the Malatesta seignory, Rimini, annexed by th ...

by Federico Montefeltro: both men were patrons of Piero. The commission was likely from or on behalf of Giovanni Della Rovere, betrothed in 1474 to Giovanna Montefeltro, at which time Federico made Giovanni, lord of Senigallia. Following its rediscovery the painting was taken to the

Ducal Palace, Urbino The Ducal Palace ( it, Palazzo Ducale) is a Renaissance building in the Italian city of Urbino in the Marche. One of the most important monuments in Italy, it is listed as UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1998. History The construction of the ...

. The 1990s restoration showed the high quality of Piero della Francesca's treatment of light,Lavin 2002 p290. as well as the influence of Flemish masters on it, both in its oil on panel medium and in details such as the basket with linen gauze, the coral, and the fabric covering the Madonna's head. The light, which realistically enters from the window on the left, is a symbol of the Virgin's conception. The linen in the basket is instead an allusion to her purity, while the case for hosts in the shelf and the necklace and pendant of coral worn by the infant Jesus both hint to the

Eucharist The Eucharist (; from Greek , , ), also known as Holy Communion and the Lord's Supper, is a Christian rite that is considered a sacrament in most churches, and as an ordinance in others. According to the New Testament, the rite was instit ...

sacrifice. The staring, thoughtful immobility of all the characters would be also an allusion to the latter.

References

Sources

External links

Page at artonline.it
1470s paintings Paintings by Piero della Francesca Paintings of the Madonna and Child Senigallia Collections of the Galleria Nazionale delle Marche {{15C-painting-stub