Madonna della Clemenza

The Madonna della Clemenza is a panel painting in encaustic (with later over-painting), variously dated between the 6th and 9th century,[1] in the Basilica Santa Maria in Trastevere, Rome, Italy.

[2] While most scholars believe that the painting was always intended for Santa Maria in Trastevere, where it appears to be documented in the reign of Pope Gregory IV (828–844), others suggest this was not its original home.

It may instead have been commissioned for a new palace John VII began in the Greek quarter around Santa Maria Antiqua, which was never finished in his short reign.

[2] In 1593, during the Counter-Reformation, the Icon was reframed and placed on the central Capella Altemps inside the Basilica Santa Maria di Trastevere as a means to display the power of this Marian cult image.

[3] The idea behind the re-framing, was that if you framed an Icon, it would be transformed from a divine object into a piece of art, thereby removing the stigma of it being considered a false idol.