Giuliano Bugiardini
Italian painter, 1475-1554
Madonna and Child with Saint John
1523/25
Oil on panel
44 1/2 x 32 3/16 inches (113 x 81.76 centimeters)
Samuel H. Kress Collection
1960.010.000 KB

In this painting by the Florentine artist Giuliano Bugiardini, the Christ child stands on a raised outcropping and hands a date plucked from a palm tree toward his cousin, John the Baptist, the patron saint of Florence. The Virgin Mary kneels between the two, ready to pass the fruit to John, possibly representing the role of the Virgin as mediator between her divine son and mankind.