Madonna Litta
c. 1490 · Tempera on canvas, transferred from panel · State Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg
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About this work
- Artist
- Leonardo da Vinci (1452–1519)
- Year
- c. 1490
- Medium
- Tempera on canvas, transferred from panel
- Original size
- 42 × 33 cm
- Collection
- State Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg
- Movement
- Renaissance
The Virgin, in a red dress and blue mantle, feeds the Child, who turns his head to look out at the viewer while holding a goldfinch in his hand; two arched windows behind them open onto a mountain landscape. The small devotional picture was painted in Milan around 1490 and takes its name from the Litta family, from whom Tsar Alexander II bought it in 1865 for the Hermitage. A preparatory drawing of the Virgin's head in the Louvre is certainly Leonardo's, but the painting itself is argued over: the Hermitage holds to Leonardo, while many scholars give the execution to his Milanese pupil Boltraffio working from the master's design. The tenderness of the group and the Child's outward glance have made it one of the most loved of all Madonnas regardless.
This print reproduces the whole work, uncropped, from a high-resolution scan of the original. The original is in the public domain.
Where it works
A Madonna in red and blue nursing a child against two arched windows, for a bedroom, hallway or quiet corner at 24×36 in natural wood. Cream, soft blue or warm grey walls suit it; pair it with The Baptism of Christ.
Style, size & framing detail
- Style
- Renaissance painting
- Era
- 15th century (c. 1490)
- Orientation
- Portrait
- Mood
- grand
- Rooms
- bedroom, hallway or entryway, living room, dining room
- Good gift for
- housewarming, art lovers
Size. We'd hang this one at 24×36. Prints at 12×18, 16×24, 24×36 in — 12×18 for a shelf, desk or a gallery-wall grid; 16×24 above a desk, console or in a hallway; 24×36 as the statement piece above a sofa or bed.
Framing. The gallery ground is part of the print, so frame it without a mat — black suits the deep tones of this period; natural wood lightens it.
Pairing. Pairs as a set of three with other famous painting prints (10% off three or more).
Details & materials
Shipping & returns
Is this the whole painting, or a crop?
Is Madonna Litta in the public domain?
What is it printed on?
When was Madonna Litta painted, and in what medium?
What size works above a sofa or bed?
About this design
The Madten promise
An exhibition poster
The same artwork as a gallery exhibition poster — title, artist & date typeset beneath the image on a soft ground.
