Suckling Madonna

Suckling Madonna (Madonna del Latte)
Artist: Ambrogio Lorenzetti; Tempera on panel; Size: 90x48 cm; Museo Diocesano, Siena.

Suckling Madonna by Ambrogio Lorenzetti, probably painted around 1340, offers a representation of the ancient theme of the Virgin suckling the child, but with new accents. The painting is a superb example of the sensitivity with which Ambrogio Lorenzetti approaches the mother-son relationship. The naturalness of the attitudes of the two figures is striking, as is the freedom of movement granted to the Child, who sucks greedily at his mother's breast with one foot braced against her arm. The Virgin’s tender expression is subtly veined with sadness, clasps the Child affectionately, in a maternal gesture underlined by the position of her arm. By painting composition, the Virgin is not located at the center of the panel but shifted to the left from the viewpoint of the observer, so that her shoulder seems to lean against the edge of the frame. This emphasizes the centrality of the figure of the Son, true protagonist of the painting.