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Virgin and Child thumbnail 2
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Image of Gallery in South Kensington
On display at V&A South Kensington
Ceramic Staircase

Virgin and Child

Relief
1450-98 (made)
Artist/Maker
Rosselli, Domenico (attributed to)
Place of origin
Florence (made)

This relief of a Virgin and Child is attributed to Domenico Rosselli, made in ca. 1450-98 in Florence and is related to a stucco in the Palazzo Ducale in Urbino, where Rosselli was working after 1476. Its compositions reminiscent of reliefs by Antonio Rossellino, in whose workshop Rosselli appears to have received his training.

This Italian Renaissance relief has been in the V&A's collection since 1861. Henry Moore copied the head of the Virgin during his time as a student at the nearby Royal College of Art.


Object details

Categories
Christianity
Sculpture
Religion
Object type
Relief
TitleVirgin and Child (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Carved marble in high relief and low relief, partly gilded
Marble
Gilt
Carving
High Relief
Gilding
Low Relief
Brief description
Relief, marble, partly gilded, the Virgin and Child with three cherub heads, attributed to Domenico Rosselli, Florence, 1450-98
Physical description
Marble relief, partly gilded. The Virging is shown in three-quarter length facing to the (proper) left, on a seat part of which is visible in the lower (proper) right corner of the relief. She holds the Christ child on her left knee. His right hand is raised in benediction. Three winged cherub heads are carved above the Virgin's head in front of a cloudy sky.
Dimensions
  • Height: 104cm
  • Width: 65.5cm
  • Depth: 14.5cm
  • Weight: 144kg
Gallery label
  • This Italian Renaissance relief has been in the V&A's collection since 1861. Henry Moore copied the head of the Virgin during his time as a student at the nearby Royal College of Art. His version can be seen alongside.(March 2007)
  • The relief is related to a stucco in the Palazzo Ducale, Urbino, where Rosselli was working after 1476. Its composition is reminiscent of reliefs by Antonio Rossellino, in whose shop Rosselli appears to have received his training.(July 1999)
Object history
Purchased from the Gigli-Campana Collection, £200.
Historical context
Henry Moore copied the head of the Virgin during his time as a student at the nearby Royal College of Art.
The relief is related to a stucco in the Palazzo Ducale in Urbino, where Rosselli was working after 1476. Its compositions reminiscent of reliefs by Antonio Rossellino, in whose workshop Rosselli appears to have received his training.
Subjects depicted
Cherubs
Wings
Virgin and Child
Summary
This relief of a Virgin and Child is attributed to Domenico Rosselli, made in ca. 1450-98 in Florence and is related to a stucco in the Palazzo Ducale in Urbino, where Rosselli was working after 1476. Its compositions reminiscent of reliefs by Antonio Rossellino, in whose workshop Rosselli appears to have received his training.

This Italian Renaissance relief has been in the V&A's collection since 1861. Henry Moore copied the head of the Virgin during his time as a student at the nearby Royal College of Art.
Associated object
LOAN:HENRY MOORE FOUNDATION.1-2006
Bibliographic references
  • Inventory of Art Objects Acquired in the Year 1861 In: Inventory of the Objects in the Art Division of the Museum at South Kensington, Arranged According to the Dates of their Acquisition. Vol I. London: Printed by George E. Eyre and William Spottiswoode for H.M.S.O., 1868, p. 28
  • Maclagan, Eric and Longhurst, Margaret H. Catalogue of Italian Sculpture. Text. London: Victoria and Albert Museum, 1932, p. 46
  • Röll, Johannes. Giovanni Dalmata. Worms, 1994, p. 119, n.. 356
  • Pope-Hennessy, John. Catalogue of Italian Sculpture in the Victoria and Albert Museum. Volume I: Text. Eighth to Fifteenth Century. London: Her Majesty's Stationery Office, 1964, p. 148, 149
  • Curtis, Penelope, Depth of Field: the place of relief in the time of Donatello, Leeds: Henry Moore Institute, 2004
  • Garrould, Ann et al., Henry Moore : early carvings 1920-1940, Leeds : Leeds City Art Galleries, 1982 II, p. 44
Collection
Sculpture Collection
Accession number
7591-1861

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Record createdJuly 17, 2007
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O137490/virgin-and-child-relief-rosselli-domenico/
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