Madonna Col Bambino 

Desiderio da Settignano carved this Madonna and Child in Florence in the mid-fifteenth century. This type of image was extremely popular at the time and usually commissioned for private devotion, decorating family homes. The tender expression of the Virgin and the nakedness of the Christ Child were meant to humanize these figures. The virgin appears as a refined and wealthy Florentine woman. During this time, Florence was a Republic, but families like the Medici exerted huge political and economic influence, and they invested heavily in art and architecture to promote their status. Artists depended on this patronage. The art market flourished as never before. The art historian has to consider the network of social relations and the economic structures in which the artist was working. Primary sources, such as merchant’s letters and family records, are essential to understand the artistic production of the Italian Renaissance.