Purchased by the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City in 2004 for the whopping sum of $45M, this tiny 8 x 11- inch panel painting is described by the museum as “a landmark in European painting.” Duccio depicts his subjects as both human – notice the Christ child’s extraordinary caress of Mary’s veil – but also as sacred in their formal presentation. It might be little, but this painting packs a big, beautiful punch. Buona visione!