A masterpiece of Italian art, The “
Madonna of
Senigallia
” by
Piero Della Francesca
,
was exhibited in Senigallia for many centuries in the Church
Madonna Delle Grazie.
It is a small painting, painted on a walnut background, which came
to Senigallia in the final decades of the XV century due to
political events of the era.
When in 1474 Pope Sixtus IV granted the vicarage of Senigallia to
his nephew, Giovanni Della Rovere, already engaged to Giovanna,
Frederick of Montefeltro’s daughter, the painting was probably
commissioned for the occasion of his daughter’s wedding in 1478.
For centuries critics have discussed the mystery of this intriguing
figure, where Piero della Francesca manages to humanize the divine
and make the human figure divine. Nowadays the painting is housed
at the Ducal Palace in Urbino.
Approfondimenti
