Madonna and Child

In his choice of subject and its treatment, Benedetto da Maiano followed his master Antonio Rossellino and his near-contemporary Desiderio da Settignano, but his work has a particular solidity and monumentality.

The marble relief shows the characteristic motif of the Child tugging playfully on the Virgin's scarf. It may have been borrowed from Leonardo da Vinci's Madonna of the Carnation. Many copies and variations of this composition exist.