The Madonnina, commonly known as the Madonna of the Streets, was a painting created by Roberto Ferruzzi (1854-1934) and first publicly exhibited in 1897 at an art exhibition in Venice

Venice

Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...

. The models for this painting were Angelina Cian (age 11) and her younger brother. Although not originally painted as a religious picture, this painting was received by the public as a beautiful image of the Virgin Mary holding her Infant Son, and has become the most renowned of Ferruzzi's works.

Fate of the original painting

The original painting made its first appearance at an art exhibition in Venice

Venice

Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...

 in 1897. John George Alexander Leishman

John George Alexander Leishman

John George Alexander Leishman was an American businessman and diplomat. He worked in various executive positions at Carnegie Steel Company and later served as an ambassador for the United States.-Biography:...

, steel millionaire and diplomat, who died in 1924 in France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

, bought the painting but not the reproduction rights; he is the last owner of which this article's editors are currently certain. It is possible that the image became part of a private art collection in Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...

 the 1950s, but the current location of the original is unknown to the editors of this article.

A second possibility is that it was lost at sea in the Atlantic Ocean on a voyage from Europe to the United States.

An oil painting appeared recently that may be the original painting, but it has not been guaranteed by the agency possessing it.

Popular usage

Although the original has disappeared, it has not hindered the great popularity and usage of the image. Copies of the original are frequently featured on holycards, portraits, and greeting cards.

The following are several notable uses of the image:

• The Madonna of the Streets is featured as a mosaic
  Mosaic
  Mosaic is the art of creating images with an assemblage of small pieces of colored glass, stone, or other materials. It may be a technique of decorative art, an aspect of interior decoration, or of cultural and spiritual significance as in a cathedral...
  
   in Sts. Peter and Paul Church, San Francisco, California
  California
  California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
  
  .
• Members of the Sisters of Life receive a medal of the Madonna of the Streets at their first profession.