Madonna and Child

In 1423, Masolino signed a dainty Madonna and Child whose style, closely related to those of Lorenzo Monaco and Ghiberti, shows no trace of Masaccio’s brutal naturalism. The delicately modeled head of the Virgin is typical of Masolino’s female faces throughout his career, while the sweetness of the Christ Child, the tenderness with which he touches the Virgin’s neck, and the easy curvilinear flow of the drapery are all within the conventions of conservative Florentine style. Only the roundness of the modeling of the forms in light and shade suggests that Masolino too is aware of the new developments in painting.