ANGELICO, Fra
(b. ca. 1400, Vicchio nell Mugello, d. 1455, Roma)

Madonna of the Star

c. 1424
Tempera and gold on panel, 84 x 51 cm
Museo di San Marco, Florence

The Madonna of the Star portrays the Virgin holding the Child on an incised, golden radiance as she embraces him tenderly. The image of the standing Virgin and Child emerged from a rich biblical and visual tradition exemplified in a marble statue by Nino Pisano in the Santa Maria Novella.