Duccio di Buoninsegna

But the Cavalli is the Met’s largest purchase since Hollein was appointed as director in 2018 and the second largest ever for the museum, after what was reported as a $45 million purchase in 2004 of an 8-by-11-inch painting called “Madonna and Child” by Duccio di Buoninsegna.

One is a starkly poignant Crucifixion from around 1315 by a follower of Duccio di Buoninsegna, in which Jesus hangs on the cross with little bird-size angels hovering around him on a gold background.

In 1977, two London art dealers bought a 13th-century “Madonna and Child” that they believed had been painted by an early-Renaissance master, Duccio di Buoninsegna.

As for the work’s attribution, Sotheby’s last year said the work “undoubtedly shares an affinity with models by Duccio di Buoninsegna” but estimated its value at $600,000 to $800,000.

Then look right, to the Italian Renaissance rooms, and you’ll find another foundational picture, the “Madonna and Child” of Duccio di Buoninsegna, painted in tempera and gold roughly a century before the van Eyck.