Madonna and Child, with the Blessing Christ [middle panel]

Martino di Bartolomeo

National Gallery of Art

Shown from the hips up, a woman holds a baby up so they are cheek-to-cheek in front of a gold background in this vertical painting, which has a triangular top. Both have pale skin and pink-flushed cheeks. The woman’s body is angled slightly to our right, but she looks off to our left from the corners of her brown eyes. Her thin eyebrows are low over her almond-shaped eyes, and she has a long, straight nose and a narrow, square jaw. Her blond hair is mostly covered by a dark blue cloak, which is edged in gold and lined in leaf green. Her white dress underneath is also lined with gold along the neckline. The baby wraps one arm around her neck and grips the neckline of her dress with the other. He has a round face but with an adult-like nose and lips. His blond hair curls in short layers over his ears. He wears a pink robe tied with a white sash. The robe has scallop-edged, short sleeves over coral-red long sleeves, also edged with gold. The woman supports the baby’s bottom with one hand and holds one of his bare feet with her other. Their halos are punched into the gold background, and gilded molding creates a pointed arch over the pair. A third person, tiny in scale, is shown from the waist up in the tip of the panel. This man has long, wavy blond hair and is clean-shaven. His body and face are square to us, but he looks off to our right from the corners of his eyes. He wears a pale blue robe under a rose-pink cloak. He braces an open book so the written text on the splayed pages faces us with one hand. His other is lifted by his chest with the first two fingers raised. He also has a halo and is in front of a gold background. The gold background is rubbed in some areas to show the red layer beneath it, especially under the pointed arch.