Madonna and Child with the infant St John the Baptist and three angels 1486 - 1530

Fra Bartolommeo created this drawing of 'Madonna and Child with the infant St John the Baptist and three angels’ during the Italian Renaissance. As a friar, Bartolommeo lived within a religious and patriarchal society. His personal faith, combined with prevailing cultural norms, shaped his representations of the Madonna. She embodies ideals of motherhood, purity, and divine grace. Bartolommeo humanizes the Madonna by placing her in an intimate, earthly setting with the Christ Child, infant St. John, and angels. Renaissance Madonnas often served as symbols of not only religious devotion, but also civic identity, particularly in Florence. They represented communal values and the importance of family. While following the traditional subject, this artwork subtly shifts the Madonna away from an untouchable icon, towards a more approachable, maternal figure. Here, we observe not just a divine figure, but a mother surrounded by children. This is perhaps an attempt to reconcile the sacred with the everyday experiences of women in Renaissance Italy.