The Story
Piero di Cosimo was known as one of the most unorthodox artists in Renaissance Florence. His paintings enliven traditional themes through imaginative inventions. Here, John the Baptist offers plums to the infant Jesus, who eagerly devours one while another lies half-eaten on the ground. At right, Saint Cecilia, patron of musicians, sings from a book of music, while wingless angels look on in the background.
The shadowed effect in the figures surrounding the Virgin and Child indicate that Piero altered his plans for the composition after he had begun painting: He added them on top of the dark background color, which shows through the thin layers of paint on the surface.
Executed in Oil on panel, measuring Diam.: 75 cm (29 9/16 in.); Framed: Diam.: 104.2 cm (41 in.), the surface rewards close looking. Piero di Cosimo builds the composition through layered glazes and a tightly controlled palette, letting cool shadows recede so that the warm, lit passages step forward. The brushwork shifts from the precise to the almost dissolved — a hallmark of mature Renaissance practice.
“A silence so complete it becomes its own witness.”
