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This panel gives a highly elegant and decorative form to one of the most important early devotional images dedicated to the Virgin Mary. That of the Madonna della Misericordia or 'Madonna of Mercy' was especially widespread in Italy between the thirteenth and the sixteenth centuries, particularly in the art associated with the monastic orders. The cloak was a symbol of protection dating back to Antiquity, and beneath it the diminutive penitents seek the Madonna's protection against misfortune and her intercession for divine judgement. The presence of a friar and nun at the forefront hints at a possible Dominican commission.
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