Doni Tondo

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Doni Tondo (Doni Madonna)
Michelangelo, circa 1503
Oil and tempera on panel
120 cm diameter , 47 ½ in diameter
Uffizi, Florence

The Doni Tondo or Doni Madonna is a painting by the Italian Renaissance master Michelangelo Buonarroti (c. 1503), the only known preserved panel picture by the Florentine artist. It is preserved in the Uffizi of Florence in its original frame, designed by Michelangelo himself. The painting was most likely commissioned by Angelo Doni, a wealthy weaver, to commemorate his marriage to Maddalena Strozzi, the daughter of a famous banking family. The painting is in the form of a tondo, or round frame, which is frequently associated with marriage in the Renaissance.

Michelangelo employed two media for this work, tempera and oil. By applying the oils in successive glazes from intense color to the lightest value, in the manner of tempera painting taught to him as an apprentice, Michelangelo created a quite different coloristic effect to that of Flemish painters at the time. Flemish painters used the opposite oil painting technique of shading from highlights down to darker tones of pigment. Michelangelo’s changing coloristic effect is called cangianti and is typical of his painting style.

The painting depicts the Christ child being presented to the viewer by his mother Mary and father Joseph. This composition of presentation may be referring to the patron of the piece’s name Doni, in Italian "gifts", and helps to solidify its patronage. Behind the main figures, several nude male figures are painted in the background. The meaning of this addition of nude male figures is debated for it has no obvious relation or biblical precedents to the scene in the foreground. The inclusion of these nude figures is by no means unusual in Michelangelo’s work, however, as can be seen in his other works, including the famous ceiling of the Sistine Chapel.

Although Michelangelo did not consider himself a painter (and often it appears he complained of the medium), the Doni Tondo is a beautifully rendered work. The drapery is sharply modeled with brilliant colors. The monumental figures appear to be sculpted with paint rather than marble, his preferred medium, and as such they appear to have true weight.