Madonna in trono con Gesù Bambino, Agostino e Santi

Artist: Benvenuto di Giovanni
Year: 1475
Current location:
Original location: San Michele Arcangelo a Montepertuso

DESCRIPTIVE INFORMATION

Tempera on panel, 3.25 x 2.72 meters.

This is a large polyptych painted by Benvenuto di Giovanni in his Sienese workshop in 1475. Among the saints depicted in the altarpiece is Saint Michael the Archangel, to whom the church is dedicated. In 1895, the triptych was in storage at the Pinacoteca di Siena, but in 1916 it was returned to the parish of Montepertuso. It was later moved, in the 1970s, to the church of San Fortunato in Vescovado di Murlo.

For security reasons, only one copy of the work remains in Montepertuso. The polyptych is divided into three sections, with the central section depicting the Madonna seated on a throne, holding the Baby Jesus, seated on a cushion, on her left knee.

The Child holds a scroll in his hands bearing the inscription EGO SVM; the Virgin holds a book in her right hand. Behind the Virgin and Child, two angels appear, placing a crown on the Madonna's head, while four other angels play instruments.

The right section depicts Saint Lucy, holding a basin in her left hand and raising the palm of martyrdom in her right. At her side stands the imposing and hieratic figure of Saint Augustine, holding a book in his left hand and a pastoral staff in his right.

Above Augustine's head is the head of a Seraph, with a face that is anything but childlike. Popular tradition holds that this is a self-portrait of the painter.

The left panel features images of two other saints: the first is Saint Catherine of Alexandria, who holds the palm of martyrdom in her right hand and two books in her left. The second saint is Michael the Archangel, depicted trampling the devil in the guise of a dragon. Interspersed above the altarpieces are two heads of prophets painted within circular panels.

In the small pillars are four figures of saints, on both the right and left: Peter, Christopher, Monica, and Ursula. On the right, we find John, Anthony of Padua, Louis of France, and Catherine of Siena.

In the central trefoil cusps is a blessing Christ, while on his sides are depicted Saint Lawrence and Saint Ansanus.

Of the five compartments of the predella, one has been lost, while the others are painted with scenes from the Life of the Virgin. These include the Annunciation, the Visitation, the Birth of Mary, the Presentation of Mary in the Temple, and the Birth. Finally, at the base of the pillars are the images of Saint Sebastian and Saint Mary Magdalene.