Matteo di Giovanni di Bartolo, « The Madonna and Child with Saint John the Baptist and the Archangel Michael »

Matteo di Giovanni di Bartolo (Borgo San Sepolcro, actif à Sienne à partir de 1452 – Sienne, 1495)

The Madonna and Child with Saint John the Baptist and the Archangel Michael (Madone et Enfant avec Saint Jean-Baptiste et Saint Michel Archange, v. 1485-1495.

Tempéra et or sur panneau, 57,9 x 40,4 cm.

Inscriptions :

• (sur la bannière de Jean Baptiste) : « ECCE (AGNUS D)EI » [1]« Ecce agnus dei[, ecce qui tollit peccata mundi] » : « Voici l’agneau de Dieu, voici celui qui enlève le péché du monde. » (Jn 1, 29).

Provenance :

Birmingham, The Barber Institute of Fine Arts.

Christ rests his foot in the Virgin Mary’s cloak in a gesture of intimacy and comfort. The coral beads around Christ neck and wrist symbolise his blood. Behind Christ and Mary on the right, the Archangel Michael holds a set of scales, with which he measures the goodness of humanity’s deeds. He also holds a sword that reflects his warrior characterisation in the Bible.

On the left, John the Baptist holds a banner reading ‘ECCE AGNUS DEI’ (‘Behold the Lamb of God’) and points towards Christ. John’s right hand was popular in Sienese paintings of this period. In 1464, the relic (remnant) of John’s right hand had arrived in Siena Cathedral. To this day, the relic is displayed once a year between 19 June until John the Baptist’s feast day on 24 June; at all other times it is displayed in a reliquary (container for relics).

Laurence B. Kanter, ‘Matteo di Giovanni’, dans  Italian paintings, ed. John Pope-Hennessy, New York, 1987, pp. 160-62.