BEAUTIFUL MADONNA
Madonna Enthroned
Bohemian, c. 1380
The figures known as Schöne Madonnen (Beautiful Madonnas) are probably the best-known pieces of the ‘International Gothic style’ which emerged around 1400. Natural grace and aesthetic sophistication are united in these works in an admirable synthesis. This sumptuously clad figure, who reaches a lofty level of refinement, is seated on a throne, alike the Virgin in a Beautiful Vesperbild. Despite its small size, it appears massive, strongly physical and absolutely monumental like few other sculptures of that time. One can admire nowadays this beautiful Madonna at the Bode Museum in Berlin.