Art UK has updated its cookies policy. By using this website you are agreeing to the use of cookies. To find out more read our updated Use of Cookies policy and our updated Privacy policy.

The Virgin and Child with Four Angels

Image credit: The National Gallery, London

How you can use this image

This image can be used for non-commercial research or private study purposes, and other UK exceptions to copyright permitted to users based in the United Kingdom under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, as amended and revised. Any other type of use will need to be cleared with the rights holder(s).

Review the copyright credit lines that are located underneath the image, as these indicate who manages the copyright (©) within the artwork, and the photographic rights within the image.

The collection that owns the artwork may have more information on their own website about permitted uses and image licensing options.

Review our guidance pages which explain how you can reuse images, how to credit an image and how to find images in the public domain or with a Creative Commons licence available.

Buy a print or image licence

You can purchase this reproduction

If you have any products in your basket we recommend that you complete your purchase from Art UK before you leave our site to avoid losing your purchases.

Notes

Add or edit a note on this artwork that only you can see. You can find notes again by going to the ‘Notes’ section of your account.

The Virgin is seated on a marble seat, intricately carved and decorated with multi-coloured inlay, outlined in gold. It resembles a Roman tomb, perhaps as a reminder of Christ’s future sacrifice at his Crucifixion. Here, Christ is shown as an infant, tenderly reaching to touch his mother’s face, a gesture also found in paintings by Duccio, Siena’s most renowned painter in the fourteenth century.

The fine detail, the decorative use of gold leaf and the gentle and graceful nature of the holy figures are key features of Sienese painting of this period. Ugolino da Nerio was a Sienese artist who was working at the same time as Duccio; he would have known Duccio’s work well and emulated his style. When this work was purchased, it was thought to be by Duccio but recent technical analysis of the drawing beneath the painted surface compares it more closely to documented works by Ugolino.

The National Gallery, London

London

Title

The Virgin and Child with Four Angels

Date

about 1305

Medium

Egg tempera on poplar

Measurements

H 41.2 x W 28.5 cm

Accession number

NG6386

Acquisition method

Bought with contributions from the Lewis Fund and The Art Fund (Eugene Cremetti Fund), 1968

Work type

Painting

Tags

See a tag that’s incorrect or offensive? Challenge it and notify Art UK.

Help improve Art UK. Tag artworks and verify existing tags by joining the Tagger community.

Normally on display at

The National Gallery, London

Trafalgar Square, London, Greater London WC2N 5DN England

This venue is open to the public. Not all artworks are on display. If you want to see a particular artwork, please contact the venue.
View venue