Description
The Madonna and Child, also called the Stoclet or Stroganoff Madonna, is a small devotional panel painted by Duccio around 1290–1300. Mary holds her son as he reaches for her delicate veil. Their exchange feels intimate, while Mary's restrained sadness suggests the Passion to come. The gold background retains the timeless quality of a sacred icon.
A painted parapet brings the figures close to the viewer, making this one of the period's most striking experiments with pictorial space. The original frame bears candle burns left by worshippers. After centuries in private hands, the panel entered New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art in 2004. The small scale makes the distances within the scene especially important. Mary's hands and the Child's hands are close, but they have different purposes: hers support and protect, while his explore the edge of her veil.






