| Name | Value |
|---|---|
| Date of Issue | October 18, 2016 |
| Year | 2016 |
| Quantity | 300,000,000 |
| Denomination |
First-Class Mail, Forever
|
| Denomination Value | $0.47 |
| Perforation or Dimension | 0.91 x 1.19 in.⁄23.11 x 30.23 mm |
| Issue Location | Washington, DC 20002 |
| Postal Administration | United States |
On October 11, 2016, in Washington, DC, the U.S. Postal Service® will issue the Florentine Madonna and Child stamp (Forever® priced at 47 cents), in one design, in a pressure-sensitive adhesive (PSA) booklet of 20 stamps. The stamp will go on sale nationwide October 18, 2016.
This Christmas stamp features a detail of Madonna and Child, a 15th-century tempera-on-panel painting in the Widener Collection at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC. The painting is dated to circa 1470, and its anonymous artist is known only as “a Follower of Fra Filippo Lippi and Pesellino.” Art historians have speculated that the painter may have had preparatory drawings or close copies of the works of the masters he imitated, and that a relationship may have existed between those artists’ workshops and the workshop of this anonymous painter. William J. Gicker served as art director for this issuance.
This Christmas stamp features a detail of Madonna and Child, a 15th-century tempera-on-panel painting.
Clad with a white veil over her head and a red garment trimmed in gold and partially covered with a gold-trimmed blue cloak, a haloed Virgin Mary gazes downward and to the right, looking at a blond, haloed Christ Child while placing her right hand on his shoulder. Behind both figures is a hedge of pink and white roses, with blue sky visible through their thorny, leafy stalks.
Dated to circa 1470, the painting is in the Widener Collection at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. Its anonymous artist is known only as a Follower of Fra Filippo Lippi and Pesellino. The art director for this stamp was William J. Gicker.
The Florentine Madonna and Child stamp is being issued as a Forever® stamp in booklets of 20. Forever stamps are always equal in value to the current First-Class Mail one-ounce price.