The Madonna and Child with the Infant St. John (oil on wood)

copy of a lost fresco; painted for Porta a Pinti The Virgin is seated on a rocky bank. She wears a rose coloured dress and over her head is a light purple mantle; on her shoulders rests a pale green scarf, and a deep purple cloak lies in her lap. She supports the Child with both arms. Behind and to the right is the infant Saint John who is laughing; he wears a loin-cloth and holds a cross. In the background to the right is a building, and on a high wall to the left stand two doves.This is a copy of a fresco which Andrea del Sarto painted for an outdoor tabernacle just outside the Porta a Pinti in Florence, on a corner leading to the Church of the Gesuati (San Giusto alle Mura). The fresco was painted around 1520 and was about two metres high with a rounded top. This copy in oil is therefore much reduced. The original painting was situated above eye level, which explains why the holy figures look down at us. The outdoor setting meant that the fresco was reduced to a ruinous condition by the 19th century, leaving this work as an important record.