The Virgin and Child with Saints
Artistattributed to
Meo da Siena
(Italian, active 1319, died before 1334)
Date1310–1315
Mediumegg tempera and gold leaf on panel
Dimensionspanel: 31.9 x 21.4 cm (12 9/16 x 8 7/16 in.)
ClassificationsPaintings
Credit LineMuseum Purchase
Object number1922.16
Label TextMeo was, as his name suggests, a native of Siena, but he moved to Perugia during his career. He is therefore considered important for having carried Sienese influences into Umbria. His dates are not known, but he was active in the 1320s and 1330s. This painting relates to other work attributed to Meo but shows a slight softening of style.
The depiction of a standing Virgin in such compositions is quite unusual, and the inclusion of the God the Father above the main figures is an early motif which lost favor in the fourteenth century. The gaze linking Mother and Child was a new motif at this time, however, and relates to the work of the Sienese master Pietro Lorenzetti.ProvenanceHenry Williams, Boston MAOn View
On view
