Virgin and Child with Angels

About the Artwork

This central panel from an altarpiece shows the Madonna seated on a throne with the infant Christ, surrounded by kneeling angels and six-winged seraphim. Below is an image of the dead Christ flanked by the Virgin Mary and Saint John. Above the arch is the Blessing Christ after his ascent into heaven and two more angels who gaze down on the main scene. Together these images extol the role of the Madonna in the redemption of humankind. Spinello Aretino was a painter of devotional panels, altarpieces, and frescos. His most important commissions were painted in Arezzo, Lucca, Florence, Pisa, and Siena. His concern for space and the powerful outlines of his figures reflect a greater understanding of the principles developed by Giotto and his contemporaries, yet his keen sense of decoration reveals an equal awareness of Sienese painting.

Provenance

(F. Mont, New York)

Exhibition history

Year in Review: 1977. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (December 28, 1977-January 22, 1978).

Quick Overview

Artist: Spinello Aretino (Italian, 1350/52–1410)
Date: 1405
Medium: tempera and gold on wood panel
Dimensions: Framed: 156.5 x 70.5 x 12.5 cm (61 5/8 x 27 3/4 x 4 15/16 in.); Unframed: 156.5 x 70.7 cm (61 5/8 x 27 13/16 in.)
Type: Painting
Classification: Painting
Department: Medieval Art
Credit line: Leonard C. Hanna Jr. Fund
Accession no.: 1977.145

More by Spinello Aretino in museum collections

Saint Francis before the Pope (The Approval of the Franciscan Rule)
Spinello Aretino
1390–1400 · Painting
Public collection via the Art Institute of ChicagoAT-00000705

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