Curatorial Notes
The Madonna is shown seated on the ground as she nurses the infant Christ in a style of depiction called the "Madonna (or Virgin) of Humility." This type of image shows Mary’s humility, or humilitas in Latin, sitting on the earth just with a cushion in contrast to her usual depiction with a throne. The virtue of humility was propagated especially by St. Francis of Assisi and found its way into painting since the 1350s in the wake of the Black Death.
Artwork Identification
Title Madonna of Humility
Title (PT) Madonna da Humildade
Title (ES) Virgen de la Humildad
Artist Caterino Veneziano
Artist Bio Caterino Veneziano (Italian, active 1362–82)
Date late 1370s
Work Type Painting
Location & Collection
Institution Cleveland Museum of Art
Source View Museum Page
License Creative Commons Public Domain Mark 1.0
