Madonna and Child with Saints 1454

Giovanni di Paolo painted this altarpiece of the Madonna and Child with Saints in the Sienese School style, likely during the 1420-80s. The placement of the Madonna in the center emphasizes the importance of the church in social life at the time. The symmetry and balance, as well as the iconographic language would have resonated with the religious order that commissioned it. Although it is difficult to determine the exact date, the painting shows the influence of International Gothic, suggesting it may have been made for a church with conservative tastes. This was a time when the rising merchant class of Siena began commissioning art for their own homes. The religious iconography in such works spoke to the growing status of the individual patron. To better understand this painting, one might research the commissioning patterns of religious orders, the biographies of the saints represented here, and the political history of Siena in this period.