Follower of Taddeo Gaddi (Italy, c.1300-1366) Madonna and Child Enthroned with Angels

Follower of Taddeo Gaddi (Italy, c.1300-1366) Madonna and Child Enthroned with Angels, depicting Mary sitting on a gothic throne with baby Jesus on her lap. He holds his mother's fingers with one hand and a goldfinch in the other - a recurring attribute of the infant Jesus and a symbol of the Passion of Christ. Either side are angels carrying offerings of a pyx and crown, ornaments characteristic of Mary Magdalene and Catherine of Alexandria. Below them are four kneeling angels offering flowers. Tempera and gold on shaped panel with gesso ground, 53 x 27cm, with frame 56 x 30cm

Note: a pupil of Giotto's, Gaddi executed his Madonna and Child Enthroned for the Segni family chapel at San Lucchese in Poggibonsi. The work would have been inspired by one of the most venerated Marian images in Florence, the painting of the tabernacle in Orsanmichele executed by Bernardo Daddi. It is located in the Uffizi Galleries in Florence.