Virgin and Child with Two Angels

Virgin and Child with Two Angels

Sandro Botticelli, 1485–95

Download1686 × 1691 px View on a wall Edit

Artist: Sandro Botticelli (Italian, 1445–1510)
Medium: Tempera on panel
Size: Diam.: 34.4 cm (13 1/2 in.); Framed: 6.4 × 44.5 cm (2 1/2 × 17 1/2 in.)
Museum: Art Institute of Chicago
Rights: CC0 — no rights reserved

Sandro Botticelli’s works mark the culmination of a mystical religious tradition in the art of early Renaissance Florence, from the paintings of Lorenzo Monaco and Fra Angelico through those of Fra Filippo Lippi, Botticelli’s teacher. In this lyrical late work by Botticelli, two angels draw back curtains to reveal the Virgin and Child, who are framed by slender trees in a setting suggesting a throne. The intimate presentation of the holy figures and Christ’s gesture of blessing suggest that this small painting served a private devotional function. This supposition is supported by the choice of format, since a Florentine patron would have typically commissioned a circular painting, or tondo, for use in a bedchamber.

Text: Art Institute of Chicago, CC BY 4.0.

More by Sandro Botticelli

Madonna and Child

Madonna and Child

Sandro Botticelli, c. 1470

Lamentation over the Dead Christ

Lamentation over the Dead Christ

Sandro Botticelli, c. 1490–1495

Virgin and Child with an Angel

Virgin and Child with an Angel

Sandro Botticelli, 1470–1474

The Adoration of the Magi

The Adoration of the Magi

Sandro Botticelli, c. 1478/1482

The Story of Lucretia

The Story of Lucretia

Sandro Botticelli, 1500

Virgin and Child with the Infant John the Baptist

Virgin and Child with the Infant John the Baptist

Sandro Botticelli, c. 1490s

Last Miracle and the Death of Saint Zenobius

Last Miracle and the Death of Saint Zenobius

Sandro Botticelli, c. 1500

Madonna Bardi

Sandro Botticelli, 1485

Portrait of a Youth

Portrait of a Youth

Sandro Botticelli, c. 1482/1485

Mystic Crucifixion

Mystic Crucifixion

Sandro Botticelli, c. 1500

Giuliano de' Medici

Giuliano de' Medici

Sandro Botticelli, c. 1478/1480

The Mystical Nativity

The Mystical Nativity

Sandro Botticelli, 1500

Visually similar

Virgin and Child with the Young Saint John the Baptist

Virgin and Child with the Young Saint John the Baptist

Sandro Botticelli, c. 1490

Madonna Bardi

Sandro Botticelli, 1485

Madonna and Child with St. John the Baptist

Madonna and Child with St. John the Baptist

Sandro Botticelli, 1490s

The Virgin Adoring the Child with John the Baptist as a Child and two Angels

The Virgin Adoring the Child with John the Baptist as a Child and two Angels

Pietro Perugino, 1500

Madonna and Child

Madonna and Child

Sandro Botticelli, c. 1470

Virgin and Child with an Angel

Virgin and Child with an Angel

Sandro Botticelli, 1475–85

Virgin and Child with John the Baptist and Angels

Virgin and Child with John the Baptist and Angels

Pietro del Donzello, c. 1500

Madonna and Child with SS. John the Evangelist,John the Baptist, James of Compostela and Nicholas of Bari

Madonna and Child with SS. John the Evangelist,John the Baptist, James of Compostela and Nicholas of Bari

Agnolo Gaddi, c. 1388

Madonna and Child

Madonna and Child

Luca Signorelli, ca. 1505–7

The Virgin Adoring the Child

The Virgin Adoring the Child

Sandro Botticelli, 1480/1490

Madonna and Child with the Young Saint John the Baptist

Madonna and Child with the Young Saint John the Baptist

Cosimo Rosselli, ca. 1490

Mary with the Child and Singing Angels

Mary with the Child and Singing Angels

Sandro Botticelli, c. 1478