Virgin and child enthroned, surrounded by angels.

This work, the largest 13th-century painting on wood known to date, was commissioned from the Sienese painter Duccio di Buoninsegna in 1285 by the Florentine confraternity Compagnia dei Laudesi, a community that met in the church of Santa Maria Novella in Florence. to sing Praises of the Virgin.

Mary sits on a richly carved wooden throne, her shoulders covered by a banner, symbolizing her honor and status. On her knees sits the Baby Jesus, dressed in traditional ancient robes, with a rich red cloth, woven with gold, around his hips. He is giving a blessing with his right hand. The throne is supported by six kneeling angels who appear to be suspended in the void, giving the impression that this is a sudden appearance of the sacred image before the worshipers. The shortened representation of the throne and the slightly lateral position of the Virgin are elements frequently used by 13th century painters to add a certain spatial depth to the compositions. The frame of the painting is decorated with roundels containing small figures of saints. At the bottom it is possible to recognize, thanks to the black and white dress of the Dominican friars, the founder of the Dominican order and Saint Peter the Martyr, as well as the Dominican saints who officiated over the church of Santa Maria Novella.

This is one of the oldest and best-known works by Duccio di Buoninsegna who, in the early 1280s, probably worked alongside the Florentine painter Cimabue. Along with formal elements taken from Byzantine traditions, such as the gold letters on the cloak of the Baby Jesus and the signs used to construct the anatomies of the faces, Duccio also reveals his sensitivity to the naturalism and elegance of Gothic art, as can be seen. see in the distribution of light and shadows, in the draped fabrics and in the wavy and undulating movements of the edges.

The name "Rucellai Madonna", by which the painting is known, comes from the chapel in which it was hung at the end of the 16th century, owned by the Rucellai family.