Description
Sant’Ambrogio Altarpiece, also known as Madonna and Child with Six Saints, is one of the first large commissions of the young Sandro Botticelli, finished around 1470. The Virgin sits on a raised marble throne with the Christ Child on her knee, flanked by Mary Magdalene, John the Baptist, Francis of Assisi and Catherine of Alexandria, while Saints Cosmas and Damian kneel in front in red cloaks. The original, tempera on panel measuring 170 x 194 cm, hangs in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence. Our painter hand-paints it for you in oil on canvas in 5 sizes from 79 x 66 to 190 x 160 cm, or to a size you choose, and before it ships you receive a photograph of the finished painting.
| Title: | Sant’Ambrogio Altarpiece |
| Other titles: | Pala di Sant’Ambrogio (Italian title) · Madonna and Child with Six Saints |
| Painter: | Sandro Botticelli (c. 1445–1510) |
| Year painted: | c. 1470 |
| Original size: | 170 cm x 194 cm (height x width) |
| Original technique: | Tempera on panel |
| Painting style: | Early Renaissance |
| Located at: | Uffizi Gallery, Florence, Italy |
| Our reproduction: | Hand-painted in oil on canvas, 5 sizes or made to measure |
Sant’Ambrogio Altarpiece – Sandro Botticelli
What does the Sant’Ambrogio Altarpiece show?
The scene is set in a tall hall with marble walls, pilasters and a semicircular niche in the middle. A black and white floor runs towards the throne.
The Virgin, in a dark blue mantle over a rose-red dress, sits high on a stone seat and looks down with a calm, slightly wistful face. With both hands she holds the Child, wrapped in white on her knee, who raises his right hand in blessing.
On the left stand Mary Magdalene with a small silver ointment jar and a gaunt John the Baptist in a brown pelt and red cloak, holding a slender cross. On the right are Francis of Assisi in his brown habit with a wooden cross and Catherine of Alexandria, crowned, with her spiked wheel.
In front of the throne kneel two young men in bright red cloaks, Saints Cosmas and Damian, whose Latin names are written along the lower edge. The left one looks straight at you; the right one, hands joined, gazes up at the Virgin.
What is the meaning of the Virgin among six saints?
Botticelli painted a sacra conversazione, a holy conversation: the Madonna and Child sit among saints who share the same space with them, as though talking quietly together.
Cosmas and Damian were the patron saints of doctors and apothecaries and of the House of Medici. Their presence suggests that the altarpiece was ordered by the Medici or by the Florentine guild of doctors and apothecaries, the Arte dei Medici e Speziali.
It is often said that the two kneeling saints are most likely portraits of members of the Medici family; Lorenzo il Magnifico and his brother Giuliano have been suggested. That is a hypothesis, not a proven fact.
Why does this altarpiece matter in Botticelli’s career?
Here the young painter first proved he could handle a major altar commission. He based the layout on Fra Angelico’s San Marco Altarpiece of about 1440: a raised throne, standing saints at the sides and two kneeling figures in front, one facing us, the other in lost profile towards the Virgin.
Mary closely resembles Botticelli’s allegory of Fortitude: the taut folds of her dress make her seem to stand before the throne rather than sit, and that likeness helped date the panel to about 1470.
The full colour and firmly modelled bodies come from his first master, Filippo Lippi, while the wet-drapery effect, clear in the Virgin’s sleeves, comes from Andrea del Verrocchio.
For more detail, read the article on English Wikipedia, which is written in English.
Where is the original today, and where did it hang before?
The original hangs in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence. It first stood in the Florentine church of Sant’Ambrogio, which gave it its name, and stayed there until the suppressions of 1808. It then went to the Galleria dell’Accademia, and when the Florentine collections were rearranged, to the Uffizi.
It is not certain that it was painted for that church, because Saint Ambrose, the church’s patron, does not appear in it.
In the 16th century the panel was repainted several times, above all the Virgin and Child, so for a long time it was given to Domenico Ghirlandaio, Andrea del Castagno or Botticelli’s school. Ulmann was the first to return it to Botticelli, and scholars now agree. A restoration in 1992 removed the later overpainting.
Botticelli, a Florentine tanner’s son born around 1445, spent his whole life in one neighbourhood. He trained with Filippo Lippi, died in 1510 and was rediscovered by the Pre-Raphaelites after a long eclipse.
The Sant’Ambrogio Altarpiece or another Botticelli Madonna?
This is a canvas painting for anyone who likes a calm, symmetrical order and plenty of strong colour: blue, red, pink and green. Its near-square format sits well above a sofa or sideboard.
Some fifteen years later Botticelli painted the enthroned Virgin again, this time with only two saints before a dense green garden: The Bardi Madonna, now in Berlin. An even larger altarpiece in the Uffizi is the Coronation of the Virgin, where angels dance in a ring above four saints.
Florentine faces in which tradition sees the Medici also fill the Adoration of the Magi. All the famous Botticelli paintings we paint to order are gathered on our Sandro Botticelli page.
How do we hand-paint the Sant’Ambrogio Altarpiece?
The original is not an oil painting: Botticelli painted it in tempera on a wooden panel measuring 170 x 194 cm. Our oil painting reproduction is made in oil on canvas, layer by layer, which is why it can be sent rolled, stretched on a stretcher bar or framed.
The painter first draws the architecture, the arched niche and the chequered floor, because the perspective of the whole scene depends on them. Then he places the eight figures and lays in the Virgin’s blue and the saints’ red, pink and violet robes.
Last come the faces, veils, gold haloes, the silver jar and the inscription along the bottom edge.
Which size suits which wall?
In short: the two smaller sizes for a bedroom or hallway, 130 x 110 cm above a sofa, and 150 x 125 or 190 x 160 cm for a large open wall.
We paint it in 5 sizes (width x height): 79 x 66, 100 x 85, 130 x 110, 150 x 125 and 190 x 160 cm. The original measures 194 x 170 cm (width x height). All sizes up to 150 x 125 cm are therefore smaller, while 190 x 160 cm comes very close to its size.
As a painting for the living room it works best from 130 x 110 cm upwards, when you can make out the saints’ faces and the pattern of the marble floor from the sofa.
If you prefer a round shape, also look at the Madonna of the Magnificat, in which Mary writes in a book with the Child on her lap.
Can I order another size, and which frame should I choose?
Yes. For a different ratio we keep all eight figures and the throne whole and adjust the walls or the floor. Send us the custom size you have in mind and we will reply with the price and lead time.
You receive the painting rolled in a tube, stretched on a stretcher bar or framed. Our framing workshop in Slovenia handles the stretcher and the frame.
Pick the moulding profile in our 3D app; a preview on your own wall is offered as a separate service. The blues and reds of this altarpiece sit well in a gilded frame or in dark wood.
When will your painting arrive?
Making it takes 15 to 45 working days from order confirmation. When the altarpiece is finished we send you a photograph of it and make any change you ask for before packing.
No customs duties apply anywhere in the EU, Slovenia included, and our returns policy protects each order.
The Virgin and Child among saints makes a fine gift for a wedding, a christening or an anniversary. Not sure which size would suit? Give a gift voucher and let the recipient choose the painting and the size.
Frequently asked questions
Where can I see the original?
In the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, where it came from the Galleria dell’Accademia.
Who are the saints around the Virgin?
Mary Magdalene, John the Baptist, Francis of Assisi, Catherine of Alexandria and, kneeling, Cosmas and Damian.
Is your painting a print?
No. It is a hand-painted copy; our painter applies every stroke with a brush.
How big is the original panel?
170 x 194 cm (height x width); our largest size, 190 x 160 cm, comes very close to it.
Could you paint this altarpiece in an unlisted size?
Yes. Tell us the width and height and we will send you the price and lead time.
How long does delivery take?
It ships after 15 to 45 working days, rolled, stretched or framed.
Does it suit a bedroom or dining room?
Yes. Its calm symmetry and warm colours sit well in any quiet room.
Are Cosmas and Damian really Medici portraits?
Possibly. They are often linked with Lorenzo il Magnifico and his brother Giuliano, but this is not proven.
- Subject: the Virgin and Child on a marble throne, four standing saints and the kneeling Cosmas and Damian on a chequered floor.
- Original: tempera on panel, c. 1470, 170 x 194 cm, Uffizi Gallery, Florence.
- Our painting: hand-painted in oil on canvas, 5 sizes from 79 x 66 to 190 x 160 cm or made to measure; a Sandro Botticelli reproduction painted to order.
- Good to know: until 1808 it stood in the Florentine church of Sant’Ambrogio, which gave it its name.
