Madonna and Child

Guiduccio Palmerucci's Madonna and Child (1334) is a devotional panel by this Umbrian painter active in Gubbio during the first half of the fourteenth century. Palmerucci was the leading painter of his generation in Gubbio, executing frescoes and panel paintings for the town's churches that synthesized influences from the Sienese school with the robust Umbrian tradition. His work documents the spread of Trecento Tuscan innovations to the smaller artistic centers of central Italy.

Painted in egg tempera on gold ground panel, the Madonna and Child display Palmerucci's blend of Sienese elegance and provincial directness. The modeling is clear and solid, with warm flesh tones over green earth preparation and simplified drapery folds.