Merry Christmas to all!

Let me share a couple of pictures of Renaissance artworks for Christmas, from Florence.

First, a sculpture for the altar of St. Anne in Orsanmichele. a life-size piece by Francesco da Sangallo from about 1526, so five centuries back. The toddler Jesus is sitting on Mary’s knee, who in turn is sitting on her mother’s knee.

Then, a painting, too: The Madonna of the stars by Fra Angelico, a smaller piece, about 34 inches tall, painted, as was typical for his style, on wood, with ample use of gold, but using mostly watercolors. The piece dates to around 1424, so about six centuries back. In modern times, it’s in Boston, but it returned briefly to Florence for an exhibition.

Enjoy the works of art, I’ll be around to chat about them in the comments.