Virgin and Child thumbnail 1
Virgin and Child thumbnail 2
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images
Image of Gallery in South Kensington
On display at V&A South Kensington
Medieval & Renaissance, Room 64a, The Robert H. Smith Gallery

Virgin and Child

Relief
ca.1430 - 1450 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Small, portable bronze plaquettes like this one may have been used for personal devotion in fifteenth century Italy, and were also collected by princes and scholars.

Images of the Virgin and Child were believed to have talismatic and protective properties. Some compositions, particularly those associated with miracle-working images, became very popular and were widely reproduced.

Donatello was probably responsible for the original design of this example, and this plaquette may have been made in his workshop. Other versions of the plaquette still exist, and the design was also copied in other media, including silver and terracotta. There is a stucco relief in the V&A collection (museum number A.45-1926) with the same design, which was probably cast from another, earlier version of the plaquette.


Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleVirgin and Child (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Cast bronze
Brief description
Relief, 'Virgin and Child', cast in bronze, after Donatello, Italy (Florence), ca. 1430-1450
Physical description
The Virgin and Child, bronze plaquette. The Virgin, half-length, turns her face in profile to the right, holding on her left arm the Child, who is baring her breast with his right hand. Plain cable-like aureoles. Flat rim. Pale patina.
Dimensions
  • Height: 11.6cm
  • Width: 9.4cm
  • Depth: 0.4cm
Measured for the Medieval and Renaissance Galleries
Object history
Acquired in Rome, 1l.

Historical significance: Images of the Virgin and Child were believed to have talismatic and protective properties. Some compositions, particularly those associated with miracle-working images, became very popular and were widely reproduced.
Subjects depicted
Summary
Small, portable bronze plaquettes like this one may have been used for personal devotion in fifteenth century Italy, and were also collected by princes and scholars.

Images of the Virgin and Child were believed to have talismatic and protective properties. Some compositions, particularly those associated with miracle-working images, became very popular and were widely reproduced.

Donatello was probably responsible for the original design of this example, and this plaquette may have been made in his workshop. Other versions of the plaquette still exist, and the design was also copied in other media, including silver and terracotta. There is a stucco relief in the V&A collection (museum number A.45-1926) with the same design, which was probably cast from another, earlier version of the plaquette.
Associated object
Bibliographic references
  • Motture, Peta, ed., Donatello: Sculpting the Renaissance, London: V&A Publishing, 2023. p. 174, cat. 2.24B, entry by Jeremy Warren, Attribution: after Donatello
  • Curtis, Penelope, Depth of Field: the place of relief in the time of Donatello, Leeds: Henry Moore Institute, 2004
  • Depth of Field: The place of relief in the time of Donatello. Catalogue of the exhibition held at the Henry Moore Institute, Leeds, 23 September 2004 - 27 March 2005. Cat. 16, p. 82.
  • Natale, M. and Ritschard, C. Falsifications Manipulations Pastiches L'art d'imiter. Images de la Renaissance Italienne au Musée d'art et d'histoire. Geneva: 1997, n. 14.
  • Avery, Charles. Donatello: An Introduction. New York: Icon Editions, 1994, p.45
  • Pope-Hennessy, John. Donatello: Sculptor. New York and London: Abbeville Press, 1993, pp. 252-3, 343 n.
  • Jolly, Anna. Madonnas by Donatello and his circle. PhD Thesis, Cambridge University, 1992, pp. 21, 33-4, 65, cat. 43.4, 125-128, pl. 83.
  • Maclagan, Eric. Catalogue of Italian Plaquettes . London: Victoria and Albert Museum, 1924, p. 16
  • Inventory of Art Objects Acquired in the Year 1861 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. 32
Collection
Accession number
7474-1861

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Record createdFebruary 18, 2004
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