This is a plaster cast after Michrlangelo's marble original, 1504-06, in the Church of Notre-dame, Bruges, Belgium. The maker of this cast is unknown and this is probably made in Bruge, late 1871. This cast was acquired from the Belgiam government in 1872 through the international exchange scheme initiated by Henry Cole. The agreement facilitated exchange between museums across Europe of reproductions of objects in their respective countries. The document concluding this agreement, the International Convention, was signed by the fifteen crowned princes of Europe in 1867 at the Paris exhibition. With the aid of this agreement, the South Kensington Museum was able to amass a collection of casts unrivaled in its international scope and diversity.
It is probable that the surface of this cast was left unfinished to illustrate the complex network of piece molds required to make such a reproduction.
Physical description
Cast of Michelangelo's Madonna and Child (Bruges Madonna)
Place of Origin
Florence, Italy (made)
Bruges, Belgium (probably, cast)
Date
1504-6 (made)
ca. 1872 (cast)
Artist/maker
Michelangelo, born 1475 - died 1564 (after, sculptor)
Materials and Techniques
Painted plaster
Dimensions
Height: 128 cm approx., Width: 64 cm approx., Depth: 63 cm approx.
Object history note
Acquired in exchange from the Royal Belgian Commission in 1872 for £40
Historical context note
Purchased by Jean and Alexandre Mouscron, cloth merchants of Bruges with establishments in Rome and Florence. They shipped the Madonna to Bruges in 1506. There it was installed on an altar in the church of Notre Dame, and framed by a tabernacle of black and white marble designed by Jan de Heere of Ghent and his son Lucas and completed by 1571.
Descriptive line
Cast of Michelangelo's Madonna and Child (Bruges Madonna), painted plaster, probably Belgian, probably late 1871
Bibliographic References (Citation, Note/Abstract, NAL no)
Baker, Malcolm and Richardson, Brenda, eds. A Grand Design : The Art of the Victoria and Albert Museum. London: V&A Publications, 1997. 431 p., ill. ISBN 1851773088.
This plaster cast after Michelangelo's marble original, 1504-06, in the church of Notre-Dame, Bruges, Belgium, was acquired from the Belgian government in 1872 through the international exchange scheme initiated by Henry Cole. The agreement - for the ""promotion of art"" - facilitated exchange between museums across Europe of reproductions of objects in their respective countries. The document concluding this agreement, the International Convention, was signed by the fifteen crowned princes of Europe in 1867 at the Paris Exhibition. With the aid of this agreement, the South Kensington Museum was able to amass a collection of casts unrivalled in its international scope and diversity.
In 1863, in his capacity as ""Art Referee"" (advisor on acquisitions), J.C.Robinson visited Bruges. In his report to Cole, he enthused over the Madonna and Child he saw at Notre-Dame and urged that a cast be made. While not disregarding the question of the ""genuineness"" of the group as the work of Michelangelo, Robinson nonetheless went on to describe it as ""one of the most highly finished, complete and most beautiful works of the great master"", concluding, ""the great merit of the work and its importance in the history of art, would I think fully justify the outlay attending its reproduction."" The cast was not acquired by the Museum until 1872, however, when procedures for acquiring reproductions had been formalised by the International Convention. In its year of acquisition, the cast was lent to the international exhibition held in London, where it was displayed in a gallery devoted to art reproductions. In the exhibition catalogue and in the original Museum register entry, the cast is recorded as being from an original ""attributed"" to Michelangelo, illustrating once again the shift in thinking as to the authorship of the group.
The cast of the Bruges Madonna is today displayed alongside other casts of sculpture by Michelangelo in the east Cast Court, devoted entirely to reproductions of Italian works of art. It is probable that the surface of this cast was left unfinished - showing the casting seams - to illustrate the complex network of piece moulds required to make such a reproduction.
DIANE BILBEY
Trusted, Majorie. ed. The Making of Sculpture: the Materials and Techniques of European Sculpture. London: V&A Publications, 2007. p. 162. pl. 311.
Exhibition History
Precious: Objects and Changing Values (The Millennium Galleries, Sheffield 02/04/2001-24/06/2001)
Making & Meaning: the Young Michelangelo (National Gallery (London) 15/01/1995-19/10/1997)
A Grand Design - The Art of the Victoria and Albert Museum (Victoria and Albert Museum 12/10/1999-16/01/2000)
Materials
Paint; Plaster
Subjects depicted
Jesus Christ; Mary (Virgin Mary); The Christ Child; Maternity
Categories
Sculpture; Religion; Christianity
Collection code
SCP
