Madonna of Humility

About the Artwork

The Madonna is shown seated on the ground as she nurses the infant Christ in a style of depiction called the "Madonna (or Virgin) of Humility." This type of image shows Mary’s humility, or humilitas in Latin, sitting on the earth just with a cushion in contrast to her usual depiction with a throne. The virtue of humility was propagated especially by St. Francis of Assisi and found its way into painting since the 1350s in the wake of the Black Death.

Inscriptions

SCA. MARIA. DE VM LITATE

Provenance

Private Collection, Italy (Information supplied by Heinemann-- once cited as Prince Umberto of Italy) by 1930: Baron Thyssen, Schloss Rohoncz, Lugano, Switzerland (1930 collection catalogue) -1963: Rudolf J. Heinemann (1901-1975), New York, NY, gifted to the Cleveland Museum of Art 1963-: The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH

Exhibition history

Year in Review (1963). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (November 27, 1963-January 5, 1964).

Quick Overview

Artist: Caterino Veneziano (Italian, active 1362–82)
Date: late 1370s
Medium: tempera and gold on wood panel
Dimensions: Framed: 91.5 x 70 x 4 cm (36 x 27 9/16 x 1 9/16 in.); Unframed: 79.6 x 54.6 cm (31 5/16 x 21 1/2 in.)
Type: Painting
Classification: Painting
Department: Medieval Art
Credit line: Gift of Dr. Rudolf J. Heinemann
Accession no.: 1963.500

Data retrieved from the Cleveland Museum of Art on October 8, 2026. The museum may have updated its record since.