Description
The Rucellai Madonna is a monumental altarpiece commissioned from Duccio di Buoninsegna in 1285 by the Florentine confraternity of the Laudesi. The Virgin sits on an elaborate throne with the Christ Child on her lap, while six angels support the seat against a radiant gold ground. Painted roundels around the original frame include saints connected with the Dominican community.
Standing four and a half metres high, it is one of the most imposing Marian paintings of the thirteenth century. Long attributed to Cimabue, it was eventually recognised as Duccio’s work through documentary and art-historical research. It is now displayed in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence. The panel’s immense size reflects its collective function: members of the Laudesi confraternity gathered before the Virgin to sing and pray together.






