Madonna with Angels 1410

Gentile da Fabriano created this ‘Madonna with Angels’ sometime in the early fifteenth century, using tempera on a wooden panel. It’s a devotional image, designed to encourage prayer and contemplation, but its meanings would have varied according to social status. Painted in Italy, the picture reflects the wealth and religious culture of the time. The gold background signifies divinity, while the Madonna's serene expression conveys purity. Wealthy patrons would have enjoyed the expensive pigments and the refined details, signs of their own status. Poorer audiences might have focused on the figures themselves, their clothes and expressions, perhaps identifying with their humility. To truly understand this artwork, one must research the history of the Catholic Church and the patronage system in Renaissance Italy, delving into details like the types of guilds operating in the region and who belonged to them. Only then can we appreciate the complex social and institutional forces that shaped its creation and reception.