Arcadópolis
Madonna of the Magnificat
Sandro Botticelli, c. 1483
What you see
The Virgin, just right of center, holds the Child on her lap as she writes in an open book. Five young angels crowd around her: two in front hold the book and the inkwell, and two above raise a golden crown over her head. Between them opens a distant landscape of hills and a river. The Child gazes upward.
The colors look intense: dark blue in the mantle, pink and red on the sleeves, orange on one of the angels. A golden radiance pours down from the top. Don’t miss the quill in the Virgin’s hand, beside the inkwell, and what appears to be a red pomegranate that the Child holds together with his mother.
About Sandro Botticelli
Sandro Botticelli worked in Florence for the powerful Medici family. His elegant figures, with hair that seems to float in the wind, brought ancient myths to life as never before. He also painted in the Sistine Chapel, years before Michelangelo.
More by Sandro Botticelli
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