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Virgin and Child with Two Cherub Heads thumbnail 2
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Virgin and Child with Two Cherub Heads

Relief
ca. 1855 (made)
Artist/Maker
Bastianini, Giovanni (sculptor)
Place of origin
Florence (made)

Formerly property of Giovanni Freppa of Florence, a Florentine dealer for whom Bastianini worked as a forger. The child is based on the Child in a fragmentary Madonna relief in 'pietra serena' discovered by Freppa around 1850 and now in the Musée de Lyon. A variant of the present composition in marble exists in the church at Aston, Sheffield, and, other versions in marble and bronze are known.

Object details

Categories
Sculpture
Religion
Christianity
Object type
Relief
Titles
  • Virgin and Child with Two Cherub Heads (generic title)
  • The Virgin and Child (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Relief in marble
Marble
Relief
Brief description
Relief 'Virgin and Child with Two Cherub Heads', marble, by Giovanni Bastianini, Florence, ca. 1855
Physical description
Relief in marble shows the Virgin seen half-length, supporting on her left arm the Child, who nestles against her, holding her veil in His hands; above on either side two cherub heads.
Dimensions
  • Overall width: 44.5cm
  • Height: 66.7cm
  • Overall depth: 3.5cm (approximately) (Note: The depth varies by about 2cm across the relief )
Marks and inscriptions
Relief in marble shows the Virgin seen half-length, supporting on her left arm the Child, who nestles against her, holding her veil in His hands; above on either side two cherub heads.
Object history
Acquired in Paris.
Formerly property of Giovanni Freppa of Florence, a Florentine dealer for whom Bastiani worked as a forger. The child is based on the Child in a fragmentary Madonna relief in 'pietra serena' discovered by Freppa around 1850 and now in the Musée de Lyon. A variant of the present composition in marble exists in the church at Aston, Sheffield, and, other versions in marble and bronze are known.
Subjects depicted
Putti
Cherub
Mary (Virgin Mary)
Jesus
Summary
Formerly property of Giovanni Freppa of Florence, a Florentine dealer for whom Bastianini worked as a forger. The child is based on the Child in a fragmentary Madonna relief in 'pietra serena' discovered by Freppa around 1850 and now in the Musée de Lyon. A variant of the present composition in marble exists in the church at Aston, Sheffield, and, other versions in marble and bronze are known.
Bibliographic references
  • Motture, Peta, ed., Donatello: Sculpting the Renaissance, London: V&A Publishing, 2023. p. 256, cat. 6.25, entry by Whitney Kerr-Lewis
  • Warren, Jeremy. 'Forgery in Risorgimento Florence: Bastianini's Giovanni delle Bande Nere in the Wallace Collection.' In: Burlington Magazine, CXLVII, November 2005, p.732, fig. 12.
  • Jones, Mark (ed.), Fake? : The Art of Deception, Berkeley, University of California Press, 1990
  • Pope-Hennessy, John.. The Study of Criticism of Italian Sculpture. New York, 1980
  • Clark, K. 'Forgeries'. In: History Today, November 1979, pp. 724-733
  • Pope-Hennessy, John. Catalogue of Italian Sculpture in the Victoria and Albert Museum. Volume II: Text. Sixteenth to Twentieth Century. London: Her Majesty's Stationery Office, 1964, pp, 682, 683.
  • Schüller, S. Forgers, Dealers, Experts. Adventures in the Twilight of Art Forgery. London, 1960, p. 34
  • Maclagan, Eric and Longhurst, Margaret H. Catalogue of Italian Sculpture. Text. London: Victoria and Albert Museum, 1932, p. 169
  • Inventory of Art Objects Acquired in the Year 1857. 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. 30.
Collection
Sculpture Collection
Accession number
4233-1857

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Record createdFebruary 13, 2004
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O93030/virgin-and-child-with-two-relief-bastianini-giovanni/
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