Description
Madonna del Padiglione is a round painting by Sandro Botticelli from around 1493: under a red tent whose curtains two angels draw aside, the Virgin kneels before the Child, a third angel holds the infant upright, and between mother and son an open book rests on a low stand. The original, tempera on a panel 65 cm across, belongs to the Pinacoteca Ambrosiana in Milan. Our painter hand-paints it for you in oil on canvas, in 6 almost square sizes from 60 x 57 to 196 x 188 cm or made to measure.
| Title: | Madonna del Padiglione |
| Other titles: | Madonna and Child with Three Angels · Madonna con il Bambino e tre angeli (Italian title) |
| Painter: | Sandro Botticelli (c. 1445–1510) |
| Year painted: | c. 1493 |
| Original size: | 65 cm x 65 cm (round panel, 65 cm in diameter) |
| Original technique: | Tempera on panel |
| Painting style: | Early Renaissance |
| Located at: | Pinacoteca Ambrosiana, Milan, Italy |
| Our reproduction: | Hand-painted in oil on canvas, 6 sizes or made to measure |
Madonna del Padiglione – Sandro Botticelli
What does the Madonna del Padiglione show?
The whole scene is held inside a circle. A brick-red canopy, edged with a garland of dark leaves and red fruit, fills its upper half like a tent, and two angels, in orange on the left and white on the right, pull its hangings aside like a stage curtain.
Between the curtains you see a stone parapet and soft green hills beyond. On the right the Virgin kneels in a blue-green mantle over a pinkish gown, with a light veil over her head and a thin gold halo. She bows her head towards the Child, keeps her right hand at her breast and reaches with her left towards the open book, which lies on a small stand almost at the centre of the circle.
Lower left, a third winged angel in violet holds the naked Child, who stands on the ground and points at the book with a raised hand. White flowers grow at his feet, and a decorated two-handled vase stands in the foreground.
What do the tent, the book and the vase mean?
The Italian word padiglione means pavilion or tent, and the painting takes its name from the rich baldachin spread above the scene. It is also known as the Madonna and Child with Three Angels.
The open book is a familiar symbol of Christ, the Word made flesh (John 1:14), and the Child gestures towards it to signal who he is. In a reading quoted by the English article, the tent refers to the same verse: the Greek word for “dwelt” literally means “tented”, recalling the tabernacle of the Book of Exodus that the glory of the Lord filled.
The Virgin offers her milk to the Child, which places the work among the nursing Madonnas, a subject of private devotion. The other objects are Marian symbols too: the vase in the foreground recalls her title of mystical vessel, the white flowers stand for purity, and the red fruit of the garland, say the Italian and French articles, foreshadows the blood of the Passion.
Why does this small tondo draw so many eyes?
The Madonna del Padiglione belongs to Botticelli’s mature work. It is dated on style, by its closeness to the San Marco Altarpiece (c. 1488–1490) and to the illustrations for Dante’s Divine Comedy with Cristoforo Landino’s commentary, from the 1490s.
A recent restoration brought back the luminous, transparent colours and a refinement close to manuscript illumination.
Among the famous Botticelli paintings, many Madonnas are round. The Madonna of the Pomegranate is 143.5 cm across and the Madonna of the Magnificat 118 cm; both hang in the Uffizi in Florence. At 65 cm the Madonna del Padiglione is the smallest of the three. The English Wikipedia article, in English, explains the tent and the book.
Where is the original today, and where did it come from?
The tondo belongs to the Pinacoteca Ambrosiana in Milan. It first appears in the collection’s inventory in 1837, as a gift of the Marchesa Fiorenza Talenti, a Milanese noblewoman who died in 1813. Absent from the 1798 inventory, it may have been a bequest.
It may be the “picciol tondo” that Giorgio Vasari saw in the prior’s room at Santa Maria degli Angeli in Florence, though this is unproven.
Botticelli was born Alessandro di Mariano di Vanni Filipepi around 1445 in Florence’s Borgo Ognissanti district, the son of a tanner. Vasari says he trained first as a goldsmith, then as a painter under Filippo Lippi. He died on 17 May 1510 and lies in his parish church of Ognissanti.
The Madonna del Padiglione or another Botticelli Madonna?
The Madonna del Padiglione suits anyone who loves warm colour: the red tent wraps the whole scene, while the blue-green mantle and the pale hills behind calm it.
For the young Botticelli, see the Madonna of the Eucharist of around 1470, in which a smiling angel crowned with myrtle brings the Child a bowl of wheat ears and grapes. Also in Milan, at the Museo Poldi Pezzoli, hangs the Madonna of the Book, where the Virgin reads a book of hours with the Child on her lap.
Every Sandro Botticelli reproduction we offer, tondi included, is on the Sandro Botticelli page.
How do we hand-paint the Madonna del Padiglione?
Botticelli’s original is tempera on a round wooden panel 65 cm across. Ours is an oil painting reproduction on canvas, painted by hand, so it can be rolled, stretched or framed.
The original is round, while our canvas is square or nearly square. It carries the whole circular scene, and the corners outside the circle stay pale, exactly as the photograph on this page shows them.
The painter first draws the circle, the arch of the canopy and the figures, then lays in the red folds of the tent, the blue of the mantle and the landscape beyond the parapet. Faces and veils are built up in thin layers, the gold haloes last.
Which size of the Madonna suits which wall?
In short: 60 x 57 and 70 x 70 cm for a bedroom or hallway, 90 x 88 and 110 x 115 cm above a bed or sofa, 150 x 144 and 196 x 188 cm for a large wall.
We paint the Madonna del Padiglione in 6 sizes (width x height): 60 x 57, 70 x 70, 90 x 88, 110 x 115, 150 x 144 and 196 x 188 cm. The original is 65 cm across. The 60 x 57 cm size is a little smaller, 70 x 70 cm is about the same size as the original, and all the others are larger.
90 x 88 and 110 x 115 cm suit a double bed, a chest of drawers or a dining room. As a painting for the living room the Madonna comes into her own at 150 x 144 or 196 x 188 cm, when the red canopy fills the wall above the sofa.
Can I order the Madonna in another size, and with a frame?
Yes. In any width or height the circle with the Virgin and angels stays whole; only the empty space around it changes. Send us the size you would like and we will reply with the price and the making time.
Stretching and framing are done by our workshop in Slovenia, which also packs every canvas painting carefully for the journey. The frame is picked in our 3D app, which serves only to choose a frame; seeing the Madonna on your own wall is a separate service.
When will the Madonna del Padiglione reach you?
Your Madonna del Padiglione is ready to ship 15 to 45 working days after we confirm your order. We photograph the finished Madonna for you before packing and make any changes you ask for.
Within Slovenia and the EU the Madonna travels without customs duties, and every order is covered by our returns policy.
A Madonna with Child and angels makes a fine gift for a christening, a wedding or a new home. Unsure of the size? Give a gift voucher and let them choose.
Frequently asked questions
Where can I see the original Madonna del Padiglione?
At the Pinacoteca Ambrosiana in Milan, whose collection has recorded the tondo since 1837.
Why is Botticelli’s tondo round but your canvas square?
The original is a tondo 65 cm across. We paint the whole circle on a square canvas, and the corners around it stay pale as in the photograph.
Is it a print?
No. It is a hand-painted copy, worked by our painter with brush and oil paint on canvas.
How big is the original?
The round panel is 65 cm across; our 60 x 57 cm is slightly smaller, 70 x 70 cm about the same, and the other sizes are larger.
What does the word padiglione mean?
Pavilion or tent in Italian; the name refers to the red canopy the angels open above the Virgin.
How long does the Madonna take to paint, and how is it delivered?
15 to 45 working days; the painting travels rolled, stretched or framed, and you get a photograph before dispatch.
Is this Madonna right for a bedroom, or as a gift?
Yes: it suits a bedroom or dining room and makes a lovely christening or wedding gift.
What does the open book stand for?
It is a familiar symbol of Christ as the Word made flesh (John 1:14); the Child points to it with his hand.
- Subject: the Virgin kneels before the Child under a red tent that angels hold open; a third angel supports the Child.
- Original: tempera on panel, a round painting (tondo) 65 cm across, c. 1493, Pinacoteca Ambrosiana, Milan.
- Our painting: hand-painted in oil on canvas, 6 sizes from 60 x 57 to 196 x 188 cm or made to measure.
- Good to know: padiglione is Italian for pavilion, after the canopy.
