• Author: Sandro Botticelli
• Date: 1465 - 1470
• Collection: PAINTING
• Technique: Tempera on panel
• Dimensions: 98,5 x 76,2 cm (with frame)
• Inventory: Inv. 1890 n. 3166

The work is a ‘chamber painting’, intended to be displayed in a noble residence for private devotion. The depiction of the Virgin and Child surrounded by young Saint John the Baptist and angels perfectly reflects this type of work, displaying not only the religious virtue of the patrons, but also their social and economic prestige, in an era when artistic objects were regarded as sure signs of material wealth. The Virgin’s sumptuous clothes, reflecting the Florentine style of the time, also allude to this condition.
The patrons and the original destination of the painting remain unknown: the work entered the Florentine museum collections from the Hospital of Santa Maria Nuova in 1900.
This was early evidence of Sandro Botticelli’s artistic activity and its composition takes inspiration from works on the same subject by his master Filippo Lippi and by Andrea del Verrocchio.
The characters share a silent conversation through their glances, charging the scene with affectionate intimacy: the angel on the left and the child lean towards Mary, who, together with John the Baptist, gently turns her eyes towards Jesus. Only the second angel on the left looks towards the observer, inviting meditation and prayer.