Madonna of Senigallia

Madonna of Senigallia (Madonna di Seni Gallia)
Famous Artist: Piero della Francesca; Oil painting on panel; Size: 61x53.5cm; Galleria Nazionale delle Marche, Urbino.

Madonna of Senigallia was Painted for the church of Santa Maria delle Grazie extra Moenia at Senigallia, the panel is datable to the 1470s, during the time the painter spent in Urbino. The representation of the Virgin with the Child in her arms flanked by two angels conceals religious symbols in the depiction of its elegant Renaissance setting, a practice typical of the paintings of the period: the sunlight that filters through the window on the left is meant to signify the immaculate conception, the wicker basket on the shelf on the right is a reference to Moses as a prefiguration of Christ, while the box for the Host, located just above, alludes to the sacrifice of Jesus, as does the coral hanging around the Child's neck. The work is of great technical and stylistic interest: the use of oil as a medium testifies to Piero's exposure to Flemish art at the Montefeltro court, where Justus of Ghent (loos van Wassenhove) was active. In the art works of these years the influence of Flemish painting was not limited to the technique, but also affected his style: the light entering through the window, for instance, would not have been conceivable without the example, however indirect, of van Eyck, and the painstaking representation of the objects, almost as if they had been examined through a lens, also appears to be of Flemish derivation. Northern European art provided Piero della Francesca with the means he needed to take the research into light that had characterized his work right from the beginning to a new and unprecedented level.