Madonna del Latte - Ambrogio Lorenzetti, c. 1332
Ambrogio was Pietro’s brother. This image of the Madonna is radical for its time. Most importantly, the figures are not contained by their frame. Both Mary and Jesus’ halos extend out beyond the border, creating figures that seem to burst out of their confined space. Other artists did not do this; their compositions always stayed within the confines of the frame. Ambrogio depicts the Madonna in a very human fashion: she is breastfeeding (a remarkably baby-like, if a little big) Jesus, and her milk was seen as sacramental and an equivalent to the blood of Jesus. She is highly naturalistic and interactive with the viewer, though still deeply symbolic in nature.
