Not currently on display at the V&A

Virgin & Child with the Young Baptist and Two Cherubs

Relief
Late 15th century (made)
Place of origin
Florence (made)

This relief depicts the Virgin Mary holding the baby Jesus in her ams and with St John the Baptist on the left. In the centre of the foreground there is an open book with an illegible inscription. In the upper corners of the relief there are two winged cherub heads and a large cherub head appears below.

Versions of this composition with a cherub head below are not uncommon.


Object details

Object type
Relief
TitleVirgin & Child with the Young Baptist and Two Cherubs
Materials and techniques
Painted stucco
Stucco
Brief description
Relief in stucco, 'Virgin & Child with the Young Baptist & Two Cherubs', after Benedetto da Majano, Late 15th century, Italian
Physical description
The Virgin, turned to the left holds the Child in arms. He lifts his right hand to bless the young St John who is seen in profile in half-length on the left. In the centre foreground is an open book. The upper corners of the relief contain two cherubs heads and a large cherub head appears below. The relief is recessed with a border.
There are remains of blue paint in the background, which may be original. The flesh parts are painted naturalistically, which is largely renewed.
Dimensions
  • Height: 70.8cm
  • Width: 49.1cm
  • Weight: 29kg
Object history
This relief is one of several versions of a design which must depend on an original by Benedetto da Majano, which would have been executed ca. 1490. Purchased in Florence (E. Constantine £7 15s 10d )
Production
After the sculptor Benedetto da Majano
Subjects depicted
Leaves
Virgin Mary
Jesus Christ
John (Saint John the Baptist)
Summary
This relief depicts the Virgin Mary holding the baby Jesus in her ams and with St John the Baptist on the left. In the centre of the foreground there is an open book with an illegible inscription. In the upper corners of the relief there are two winged cherub heads and a large cherub head appears below.

Versions of this composition with a cherub head below are not uncommon.
Bibliographic references
  • Religion als Motiv. 1997, pp. 32-33. Catalogue of the exhibition held at the Kunstmuseum, Magdeburg, 1997
  • List of Objects in the Art Division South Kensington Museum acquired during the Year 1891. Arranged according to the dates of acquisition, with appendix and indices. London: Eyre and Spottiswoode, 1892. pp. 132
  • Pope Hennessey, John. Catalogue of Italian Sculpture in the Victoria and Albert Museum. London: Her Majesty's Stationery Office, 1964. pp.162, cat. no. 137
  • Kecks, Ronald G. Madonna und Kind. Das häusliche Andachtsbild in Florenz des 15. Jahrhunderts. berlin. 1988. pp. 140, pl. 50a.
  • cf. Catalogue of a Collection of Italian Sculpture and other Plastic Art of the Renaissance. 1913. No. 9. pp. 34-5.
Collection
Sculpture Collection
Accession number
860-1891

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Record createdOctober 30, 2002
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O68927/virgin--child-with-the-relief/
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