The Virgin and Child thumbnail 1
The Virgin and Child thumbnail 2
Not currently on display at the V&A

The Virgin and Child

Panel
fifteenth century (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

This marble panel is carved in relief with a three-quarter figure of the Virgin Mary, seated, with her head covered with a veil and holding the baby Jesus with her right arm. Two cherub heads are shown to the right and a third to the left above Jesus' head. The whole panel is surrounded by a moulded border cut by the wing of a cherub and the Virgin's halo.

The relief is a variant of a marble relief by Antonio Rossellino in the Morgan Library, New York. The relief is rectangular, not arched like the original, is slightly lower and somewhat wider, and differs most conspicuously in the treatment of the veil over the Virgin's head. This latter detail sugggests that it derives not from the marble but from an imperfect terracotta or stucco derivative.
Antonio Rossellino (1427-28 - 1479) was the brother of Bernardo Rossellino, from whom he possibly received his first formal training. He was of the same generation of sculptors as Desiderio da Settignano and Mino da Fiesole and his stylistic approach resembles that of those sculptors rather then that of his brother.


Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleThe Virgin and Child (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Marble, partly gilt
Brief description
Panel, relief, marble, The Virgin and Child, after Antonio Rossellino, Florence, first half of fifteenth century
Physical description
Panel. Marble, carved in relief with a three-aquarter figure of the Virgin Mary, seated and holding the infant Jesus with her right arm. Behind the Virgin are three cherub heads. The figures are partly gilt.
Dimensions
  • Height: 80.64cm
  • Width: 69.85cm
Object history
Purchased in Paris (M. Léon Gauchez, £400).
Subjects depicted
Summary
This marble panel is carved in relief with a three-quarter figure of the Virgin Mary, seated, with her head covered with a veil and holding the baby Jesus with her right arm. Two cherub heads are shown to the right and a third to the left above Jesus' head. The whole panel is surrounded by a moulded border cut by the wing of a cherub and the Virgin's halo.

The relief is a variant of a marble relief by Antonio Rossellino in the Morgan Library, New York. The relief is rectangular, not arched like the original, is slightly lower and somewhat wider, and differs most conspicuously in the treatment of the veil over the Virgin's head. This latter detail sugggests that it derives not from the marble but from an imperfect terracotta or stucco derivative.
Antonio Rossellino (1427-28 - 1479) was the brother of Bernardo Rossellino, from whom he possibly received his first formal training. He was of the same generation of sculptors as Desiderio da Settignano and Mino da Fiesole and his stylistic approach resembles that of those sculptors rather then that of his brother.
Bibliographic references
  • List of Objects in the Art Division, South Kensington Museum acquired in the Year 1878. London, 1879. p.12
  • MacLagan, E, and Longhurst, Margaret, H. Catalogue of Italian Sculpture. London: V&A, 1932, p. 39
  • Pope- Hennessy, J. 'The Altman Madonna by Antonio Rossellino' Metropolitan Museum Journal. 1970, Vol. 3, p.142, fig. 9
  • Pope-Hennessy, John. Catalogue of Italian Sculpture in the Victoria and Albert Museum London: Her Majesty's Stationary Office, 1964, p. 130
  • Bode, W. Denkmäler der Renaissance- Sculptur Toscanas. München, 1892-1905, p. 103
Collection
Accession number
108-1878

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Record createdJuly 7, 2008
Record URL
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