Virgin and child thumbnail 1
Virgin and child thumbnail 2
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Image of Gallery in South Kensington
On display at V&A South Kensington
Sculpture 1300-1600, Room 27

Virgin and child

Relief
ca. 1519-1528 (made)
Artist/Maker
Siloé, Diego De (maker)
Place of origin
Burgos (made)

Diego de Sileo (c.1490-c. 1553), was one of the leading Spanish artists of the first half of the sixteenth century. An architect as well as a sculptor, he was primarily responsible for the design of Granada Cathedral. This alabaster relief is one of several known versions associated with the artist and his Italianate in style.

The Italianate features of the composition have often been remarked upon. The probable Florentine sources of the composition may be due to Diego de Siloe's stay in Italy in the years preceding his work in Burgos. Diego de Siloe, sculptor and architect, was the son of Gil de Siloe (active c. 1480- c. 1504), who came from the Netherlands, but worked in Burgos, notably at the Monastery at Miraflores during the 1480s. Diego spent some time in Italy, where he is documented in Naples around 1516, he mainly worked in Burgos from 1519 onwards and from 1528 onwards he worked in Granada.


Object details

Categories
Access_to_Images 2003
Christianity
Children & Childhood
Religion
Object type
Relief
TitleVirgin and child (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Alabaster carved in relief with traces of paint and gilding
Alabaster
Brief description
Relief, Virgin and Child, carved alabaster, Diego de Siloé, Spanish (Burgos), about 1519-1528
Physical description
Relief in alabaster with traces of paint and gilding, in metal rim, representing of the Virgin and Child.
Dimensions
  • Height: 27cm
  • Width: 20cm
  • Depth: 4cm (approximate)
Style
Renaissance
Gallery label
The Virgin and Child About 1519–28 Diego de Siloe (active after 1517 – about 1563) Spain, Burgos Alabaster, with paint and gilding Museum no. 153-1879(26/11/2010)
Object history
Acquired from the John Charles Robinson Collection in 1879.

Historical significance: The Italianate features of the composition have often been remarked upon. The probable Florentine sources of the composition may be due to Diego de Siloe's stay in Italy in the years preceding his work in Burgos. Diego de Siloe (c.1490-c. 1553), sculptor and architect, was the son of Gil de Siloe (active c. 1480- c. 1504), who came from the Netherlands, but worked in Burgos, notably at the Monastery at Miraflores during the 1480s. Diego spent some time in Italy, where he is documented in Naples around 1516, he mainly worked in Burgos from 1519 onwards and from 1528 onwards he worked in Granada
Historical context
The relief may date from the time of the artist's activity in Burgos about 1519-1528.
Subjects depicted
Mary (Virgin Mary)
Jesus Christ
Summary
Diego de Sileo (c.1490-c. 1553), was one of the leading Spanish artists of the first half of the sixteenth century. An architect as well as a sculptor, he was primarily responsible for the design of Granada Cathedral. This alabaster relief is one of several known versions associated with the artist and his Italianate in style.

The Italianate features of the composition have often been remarked upon. The probable Florentine sources of the composition may be due to Diego de Siloe's stay in Italy in the years preceding his work in Burgos. Diego de Siloe, sculptor and architect, was the son of Gil de Siloe (active c. 1480- c. 1504), who came from the Netherlands, but worked in Burgos, notably at the Monastery at Miraflores during the 1480s. Diego spent some time in Italy, where he is documented in Naples around 1516, he mainly worked in Burgos from 1519 onwards and from 1528 onwards he worked in Granada.
Bibliographic references
  • Trusted, M. Spanish sculpture : catalogue of the post-medieval Spanish sculpture in wood, terracotta, alabaster, marble, stone, lead and jet in the Victoria and Albert Museum. London : Victoria and Albert Museum, 1996, pp. 31-34, cat. no. 7
  • List of Objects in the Art Division, South Kensington Museum acquired in the Year 1879. London, 1880, p. 15
  • Wethey, Harold, E, A 'Madonna and Child by Diego de Siloe' in Art Bulletin. xxii, 1940, pp. 190-6
  • Wethey, Harold. 'The early works of Bartolome Ordonez and Diego de Siloe' in Art Bulletin. xxv, 1943, p. 336
  • Moreno, Gomez. Las Aguilas del Rinacimiento Espanol 1941, p. 51
  • South Kensington Museum: Catalogue of the Special Loan Exhibition of Spanish and Portuguese Ornamental Art London, 1881, p. 113, cat no. 704
  • Trusted, Marjorie. Spanish Sculpture. Catalogue of the Post-Medieval Spanish Sculpture in Wood, Terracotta, Alabaster, Marble, Stone, Lead and Jet in the Victoria and Albert Museum. London: V&A Publications. pp. 31-34, cat. No 7
  • Reyes y Mecenas, Toledo, Museo de Santa Cruz, 1992, pp. 340-1, cat. 72
  • Elorza, Juan Carlos, ed. Tesoros de la Catedral de Burgos: El arte al servicio del culto. Madrid, Banco Bilbao-Vizcaya, 1995, pp. 136-7
  • Debaene, Marjan (ed.). Alabaster Sculpture in Europe 1300-1650. London/Turnhout: Harvey Miller/Brepols, 2022, p. 230, cat. no 88 (Marjorie Trusted)
Collection
Sculpture Collection
Accession number
153-1879

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Record createdJanuary 5, 2004
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O88441/virgin-and-child-relief-siloé-diego-de/
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