The Intercession of Christ and the Virgin, Attributed to
Lorenzo Monaco (Piero di Giovanni) (Italian,
Florence (?) ca. 1370–1425 Florence (?)), before 1402, Tempera on canvas,
Metropolitan Museum or Art (New York) ■
Christ and the Virgin are shown pleading with God the Father for mercy on
behalf of eight small figures, perhaps members of a prominent Florentine
family. In the tradition of hieratic scale, the divine figures are portrayed
many times larger than the mortals, who kneel in adoration and prayer. Pointing
to the wound in his side, Christ says, "My Father, let those be saved for
whom you wished me to suffer the Passion." The Virgin, holding one of her
breasts, pleads, "Dearest son, because of the milk that I gave you, have
mercy on them." The axis of God the Father, the dove of the Holy Spirit,
and the kneeling Christ also represents the Trinity. The drama of the bold
devotional image, with a geometric composition typical of Florentine painting
of the later fourteenth century, was heightened by its original placement
inside the entrance of the cathedral, where it faced the length of the vast
interior ■
