THE VIRGIN AND CHILD ENTHRONED

Sandro Botticelli (c. 1445–1510)

The Virgin and Child Enthroned (about 1470) by Sandro Botticelli is now on loan to the Ashmolean for three years.

It is on display in the Italian Renaissance Gallery alongside masterpieces by Paolo Uccello, Giovanni Bellini and Titian.

Imogen Tedbury and Xa Sturgis with Botticelli's painting of the Virgin and Child Enthroned, made about 1470

Botticelli's Virgin and Child Enthroned on display at the Museum, with Director Xa Sturgis and Curator Imogen Tedbury

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"We are delighted that this beautiful and intriguing painting will remain in the UK, and that visitors will have the opportunity to see it here at the Ashmolean, alongside other works from the Italian Renaissance. We are enormously grateful to The Klesch Collection for making this possible and look forward to sharing the painting with visitors over the next three years.’'

Dr Xa Sturgis CBE, Director of the Ashmolean

The Virgin and Child Enthroned depicts the Virgin Mary seated with the Christ Child. It was probably created for private devotion. Painted around 1470, when the young Botticelli was establishing himself in Florence, it reveals the artist's distinctive treatment of the human figure, particularly the delicate modelling of the Virgin's face.

Botticelli's painting of the Virgin and Child Enthroned, made about 1470

The Virgin and Child Enthroned, Sandro Botticelli, c. 1470. Tempera and gold leaf on panel. Photo: The Klesch Collection

The painting is unusual for its generous use of gold leaf. Although earlier Italian painters regularly used gold in the backgrounds of their devotional works, this was less common by Botticelli's time. Botticelli, who is thought to have trained as a goldsmith before becoming a painter, continued to explore its decorative and devotional possibilities.

The artwork underwent conservation over the summer in 2026 to remove discoloured varnish and later retouching. The treatment has revealed well-preserved details of the Virgin and Child and restored the original cooler tones. The painting has also been fitted with a new, hand-carved arched frame, inspired by 15th-century Florentine examples.

The painting joins the Ashmolean's distinguished collection of Italian Renaissance art, which includes a recently-acquired Crucifixion by Fra Angelico.

The Virgin and Child Enthroned
Sandro Botticelli (c. 1445–1510)
c. 1470
Tempera and gold leaf on panel, 83.3 x 44.9 cm

On display from 11 Nov 2026 in the Italian Renissance Gallery on Level 2

The Virgin and Child Enthroned was acquired by the UK-based Klesch Collection earlier this year following a temporary export bar imposed by the UK government in 2025. It had been at risk of leaving the country.

The painting was previously exhibited at the Ashmolean in 1934–35, when it was attributed to Botticelli's workshop. Now believed to be the work of the artist himself, it returns to the Museum with a new understanding of its authorship.

It has had a longstanding connection with Oxfordshire as it was originally part of Lady Wantage's collections of Old Master paintings at Lockinge House, near Wantage.