Madonna and Child. Artist: Workshop of Sano di Pietro (Ansano di Pietro di Mencio) (Italian, Siena 1405-1481 Siena). Dimensions: Overall 24 7/8 x 17 5/8 in. (63.2 x 44.8 cm); painted surface 21 5/8 x 14 1/8 in. (54.9 x 35.9 cm). Date: ca. 1448-60.With their faces gently pressed together, the interaction between the Virgin and Christ Child evokes a tender intimacy. This compositional motif appears in numerous works by Sano di Pietro and his workshop (for example, in another painting in the Lehman Collection, 1975.1.51). Sano was a popular and highly prolific Sienese painter and illuminator, whose workshop produced numerous devotional images of the Madonna and Child, frequently shown in bust-length. The close stylistic affinities between works attributed to Sano and the enigmatic Sienese artist known as the Osservanza Master may indicate that they represent a single artistic identity. It is also possible that the paintings attributed to the Osservanza Master are the product of a collabor