Madonna and Child with Saints Catherine and John the Baptist

About the Artwork

The Madonna is seated beneath a Gothic-arched canopy flanked by Saints Catherine and John the Baptist. A rectangular frame encloses the group. Most likely from a Sienese church interior, the work is probably a fragment of a larger sculptural program such as a tomb. An authentic Gothic style in sculpture appeared in Tuscany from the mid 1200s through about 1350 elucidated by the work of Giovanni di Agostino, Nicola and Giovanni Pisano, and others who were active on Siena Cathedral’s sculptural program. Agostino’s work suggests an awareness of Gothic sculpture and the decorative arts in France from which he borrowed freely. This relief was probably completed just before the plague of 1348, an event which altered the degree and character of Sienese art.

Provenance

(Durlacher Brothers, 1928); George S. and Harry D. Kendrick, Cleveland.

Exhibition history

Sacred Gifts and Worldly Treasures: Medieval Masterworks from the Cleveland Museum of Art. National Museum of Bavaria, Munich, Germany (May 10-September 16, 2007); J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles, CA (October 30, 2007-January 20, 2008); Frist Art Museum, Nashville, TN (February 13-June 7, 2009). Siena: The Rise of Painting, 1300–1350. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY (organizer) (October 7, 2024-January 26, 2025) https://www.metmuseum.org/exhibitions/siena-the-rise-of-painting-1300-1350; National Gallery, London, London, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (March 8-June 22, 2025).

Quick Overview

Artist: Giovanni di Agostino (Italian, c. 1310–1370)
Date: c. 1340–50
Medium: marble with traces of polychromy and gilding
Dimensions: Overall: 70.5 x 52.5 x 5.9 cm (27 3/4 x 20 11/16 x 2 5/16 in.)
Type: Sculpture
Classification: Sculpture
Department: Medieval Art
Credit line: In memory of Henry G. Dalton by his nephews, George S. Kendrick and Harry D. Kendrick
Accession no.: 1942.1162

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