Madonna and child

Stroganoff Madonna (c.1300), is a masterpiece of religious art from the Trecento Sienese School of Painting. This painting is a small devotional image, painted in tempera and gilded on a wooden panel. It is one of the highlights of the permanent collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. This small panel is also known as the Stroganoff Madonna and the Stoclet Madonna. It represents the Madonna cradling the baby Jesus in her arms, and points to him as the path to Salvation; dressed as an ancient philosopher, he holds a scroll.

This masterpiece created by the genius Duccio di Buoninsegna (c.1255-1319), exemplifies the progressive yet traditional style of painting that flourished in Siena, during the Proto-Renaissance period (1290-1400), at the same time as Cimabue ( c .1240-1302) and Giotto (1270-1337) were developing a more naturalistic style in Assisi, Padua and Florence. A precursor of the International Gothic style, the image is an important milestone in the transition from medieval to Renaissance imagery and anticipates the works of artists such as Simone Martini (1284-1344), Fra Filippo Lippi (1406-69) and, ultimately , Giovanni. Bellini (1435-1516).

Duccio di Buoninsegna, (born 13th century, Siena, Republic of Siena, died 1319, Siena), one of the greatest Italian painters of the Middle Ages and founder of the Sienese school. The Sienese School of Painting flourished in Siena between the 13th and 15th centuries and for a time rivaled Florence, although it was more conservative, leaning toward the decorative beauty and graceful elegance of late Gothic art. Duccio di Buoninsegna was the most influential Sienese artist. In Duccio's art, the formality of the Italo-Byzantine tradition, reinforced by a clearer understanding of its evolution from classical roots, merges with the new spirituality of the Gothic style. The largest of all his works is the Maestà (1311), the altarpiece in the cathedral of Siena.

This painting was acquired by the Metropolitan Museum in 2004 for an undisclosed sum. There are some reports that it cost more than US$45 million.