Description
Madonna of the Eucharist is an early Madonna by Sandro Botticelli, painted around 1470 and also known as the Chigi Madonna: Mary, in a blue cloak, holds the Christ Child on her lap as he raises his hand in blessing, while a smiling angel crowned with myrtle offers them a bowl of grapes and ears of wheat. The original, tempera on panel measuring 85.2 x 65 cm, is in the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston. Our painter paints it for you by hand in oil on canvas, in 8 upright sizes from 30 x 40 to 156 x 200 cm or made to measure. Before it ships, you receive a photograph of your finished Madonna.
| Title: | Madonna of the Eucharist |
| Other titles: | Madonna dell’Eucarestia (Italian title) · Virgin and Child with an Angel |
| Painter: | Sandro Botticelli (c. 1445–1510) |
| Year painted: | c. 1470 |
| Original size: | 85.2 cm x 65 cm (height x width) |
| Original technique: | Tempera on panel |
| Painting style: | Early Renaissance |
| Located at: | Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston, Massachusetts, USA |
| Our reproduction: | Hand-painted in oil on canvas, 8 sizes or made to measure |
Madonna of the Eucharist – Sandro Botticelli
What does the Madonna of the Eucharist show?
The scene is set in front of a tall grey stone wall with an arcade. Through a wide opening behind the figures you look out over rounded hills, a river winding along the valley, a tower and a church spire.
Mary sits on the right, seen in three-quarter view. Over a rose-red dress she wears a blue cloak with gold-embroidered bands, and a transparent veil lies over her fair hair. Her eyes are lowered, and with one hand she carefully takes an ear of wheat from the bowl.
On her lap lies the naked, sturdy Christ Child, half wrapped in a whitish blue cloth. His raised right hand gives a blessing and his eyes are cast down.
On the left stands a young angel with curly hair and a wreath of myrtle leaves. He wears a pale, finely pleated robe with a blue collar trimmed in gold. Smiling, he looks towards the Child and holds a shallow bowl of dark grapes from which twelve ears of wheat fan out.
What do the wheat and grapes mean?
Wheat and grapes stand for the bread and wine of the Eucharist, which in turn symbolise the body and blood of Jesus made man; since the angel offers them to mother and child, the panel is named after the Eucharist.
There are exactly twelve ears of wheat. The number possibly refers to the twelve apostles at the Last Supper.
The scene may be set in a walled garden. Such a garden, the hortus conclusus, was a symbol of Mary’s virginity in Christian art.
Why is the painting so famous?
It belongs to a series of Madonnas Botticelli painted between 1465 and 1470, as he became an independent master, and shows the influence of his teacher Filippo Lippi, above all Lippi’s Virgin and Child with Two Angels (c. 1465, Uffizi).
The Italian Wikipedia notes softer forms than in Lippi, a more complex gesture of blessing and a landscape rooted in Flemish painting. The angel’s smile is rare among his figures.
In English the Boston panel is also called Virgin and Child with an Angel. Our shop also offers Madonna and Child with an Angel, but that is a different work: a slightly earlier panel in Florence with the figures arranged differently.
For more on the work, its meaning and its sale in 1899, see the Wikipedia article, which is in English.
Where is the original today?
The original hangs in the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston, Massachusetts. The collector Isabella Stewart Gardner acquired it from Prince Chigi in 1899.
Berenson, an art historian, urged her relentlessly to buy; she hesitated at first and decided later. Before the panel travelled to Boston, it was exhibited at Colnaghi in London.
In Italy the sale caused an outcry. The press claimed it was illegal, and Prince Chigi was fined.
Botticelli, born Alessandro di Mariano di Vanni Filipepi in Florence around 1445, was a tanner’s son and a pupil of Filippo Lippi; he died in 1510. When he was rediscovered in the 19th century, interest first centred on his Madonnas.
Madonna of the Eucharist or another Botticelli?
This is a canvas painting for anyone who wants a calm, tender scene of mother and child. Its upright format suits a hallway or a reading corner.
From the same early years comes the Madonna della Loggia, in which Mary presses her cheek to the Child’s in front of the arches of a loggia. Later and round in shape are the Madonna of the Pomegranate, with six angels, and the Madonna of the Magnificat, in which Mary writes in a book.
Our Sandro Botticelli page gathers the famous Botticelli paintings we paint to order, from early Madonnas to the great mythologies.
How do we hand-paint the Madonna of the Eucharist?
The original is not an oil painting: Botticelli used tempera on a wooden panel of 85.2 x 65 cm. Ours is an oil painting reproduction, built up by hand in oil on canvas layer by layer, so it can travel rolled, stretched on a stretcher bar or framed.
First the painter transfers the drawing of the figures, the wall and the opening onto the canvas. Next come the sky, the grey stone and the landscape, then the large areas of colour: the blue cloak, the rose dress and the angel’s pale robe.
Only then does he turn to the faces, the Child’s skin and the angel’s curls. Finally he adds the finest details: the gold bands on the cloak, the transparent veil, the dots in the halos, the grapes and the twelve ears of wheat.
Which size for which wall?
In short: the smallest sizes for a bedside or a narrow wall, the middle ones above a chest of drawers or a bed, the largest for a tall wall in the living room or stairwell.
We paint the Madonna of the Eucharist in 8 upright sizes (width x height): 30 x 40, 36 x 48, 48 x 60, 60 x 81, 77 x 100, 95 x 128, 124 x 157 and 156 x 200 cm. The original measures 65 x 85.2 cm (width x height). The sizes from 30 x 40 to 48 x 60 cm are smaller than the panel, 60 x 81 cm comes close to it, and from 77 x 100 cm upwards every size is larger.
Up to 48 x 60 cm the Madonna suits a bedroom, a nursery or a home office. As a painting for the living room it comes into its own from 77 x 100 cm, when the angel’s smile and the gold details can be read from the sofa.
Can I get another size, and which frame should I choose?
Yes. If you need a different ratio, we keep all three figures and the bowl whole and adjust the sky, wall or landscape at the edges. Send us your custom size request and we will reply with the price and delivery time.
We ship the Madonna of the Eucharist rolled in a tube, stretched on a stretcher bar or framed. Stretching and framing are done by our workshop in Slovenia, which also packs every painting with care. The moulding is picked in our 3D app; a view of the Madonna on your own wall is a separate service. A slim gilded or dark wood frame suits its blue and gold.
When will your Madonna of the Eucharist arrive?
Your Madonna is ready to ship 15 to 45 working days after you confirm the order. When the painter has finished, we send you a photograph, and any changes you ask for are made before packing.
Within Slovenia and the rest of the EU it travels without customs duties; our returns policy applies to every order.
A scene of bread and wine makes a thoughtful gift for a First Communion, a confirmation or a wedding. Unsure of the recipient’s wall? A gift voucher lets them pick the painting and the size themselves.
Frequently asked questions
Where can I see the original Madonna of the Eucharist?
In the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston, where it arrived in 1899.
Why is it named after the Eucharist?
Because the angel offers wheat and grapes, signs of the bread and wine of the Eucharist.
Is this a print?
No. Each Sandro Botticelli reproduction we sell is a hand-painted copy, brushed by our painter in oil on canvas.
How big is the original panel?
85.2 x 65 cm (height x width); our 60 x 81 cm size is the closest to it.
Can you paint this Madonna in a size not listed?
Yes. Tell us the width and height of your Madonna and we will send you the price and lead time.
How many working days until my Madonna ships, and how is it packed?
15 to 45 working days until dispatch; the Madonna travels rolled, stretched or framed.
Does this Madonna suit a bedroom, or work as a gift?
Yes. Its quiet mood suits a bedroom, and it makes a lovely christening or First Communion gift.
What is the angel holding?
A bowl of dark grapes with twelve ears of wheat, which he offers to Mary and the Child.
- Subject: Mary with the blessing Child and a smiling angel holding a bowl of wheat and grapes, before an arcade that opens onto a river.
- Original: tempera on panel, c. 1470, 85.2 x 65 cm, Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston.
- Our painting: hand-painted in oil on canvas in 8 sizes from 30 x 40 to 156 x 200 cm or made to measure.
- Good to know: the 1899 sale to America caused a scandal in Italy, and Prince Chigi was fined.
