''The Virgin and Child with Two Angels'' (Italian, sometimes: ''Madonna del Latte'') is a painting by the
Italian Renaissance
The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...
painter
Andrea del Verrocchio
Andrea del Verrocchio (, , ; – 1488), born Andrea di Michele di Francesco de' Cioni, was a sculptor, Italian painter and goldsmith who was a master of an important workshop in Florence. He apparently became known as ''Verrocchio'' after the su ...
, dating from circa 1467–1469. It is in the
National Gallery, London
The National Gallery is an art museum in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, in Central London, England. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of over 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The current Director o ...
,
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
.
Description
The theme derives from
Filippo Lippi
Filippo Lippi ( – 8 October 1469), also known as Lippo Lippi, was an Italian painter of the Quattrocento (15th century) and a Carmelite Priest.
Biography
Lippi was born in Florence in 1406 to Tommaso, a butcher, and his wife. He was orp ...
's works such as the ''
Lippina'' (c. 1465), with
Mary holding the
child Jesus on her womb, with the help of two baby angels. The scene is set in a marble enclosure, a reference to the ''
hortus conclusus
''Hortus conclusus'' is a Latin term, meaning literally "enclosed garden". At their root, both of the words in ''hortus conclusus'' refer linguistically to enclosure. It describes a genre of garden that was enclosed as a practical concern, a majo ...
''. Behind it, in the background, is a stylized landscape.
Sandro Botticelli was in turn inspired by this painting (which a restoration as confirmed to be from Verrocchio), for his ''
Madonna and Child and Two Angels'' now on display in the
Capodimonte Museum of
Naples
Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...
.
External links
Page at the museum's website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Virgin and Child with Two Angels (Andrea del Verrochio)
1468 paintings
Paintings by Andrea del Verrocchio
Collections of the National Gallery, London
Paintings of the Madonna and Child
Angels in art