2016 “Florentine Madonna and Child” Forever Stamps 100pcs

The 2016 “Florentine Madonna and Child” Forever Stamp was issued by the United States Postal Service (USPS) on October 11, 2016, in Washington, D.C. This stamp features a detail from a 15th-century tempera-on-panel painting housed in the Widener Collection at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. The painting, dated circa 1470, is attributed to an anonymous artist referred to as “a Follower of Fra Filippo Lippi and Pesellino.”

🎨 Design and Artistic Background

The stamp showcases the Virgin Mary, adorned with a white veil and a red garment trimmed in gold, partially covered by a gold-trimmed blue cloak. She gazes downward at the Christ Child, who looks directly at the viewer. Behind them is a hedge of pink and white roses with blue sky visible through the foliage. ​

Art historians believe the painting on the stamp is based on a work by Pesellino, now in the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Lyon in France, which depicts a similar Madonna and Child against a different background.