Relief, marble, The Virgin and Child, by Francesco di Simone Ferrucci, Italy (Florence), third quarter of the fifteenth century.

The Virgin and Child, relief in brown flecked marble. The Virgin is seen half-length in a small room with a coffered ceiling; the Child, on her left side, is holding a bird with both hands.

This relief was probably made by Francesco di Simone Ferrucci, perhaps in the late 1460s or early 1470s. Between 1460 and 1466 Francesco worked on decorative carvings for the Badia at Fiesole from drawings by Desiderio da Settignano (1430-1464), whose influence can be seen in many of Francesco's sculptures from this period (for example the Virgin and Child on the monument to Barbara Manfredi [d. 1467]). The present relief may be among this group, so could be dated somewhere between 1460-75.

The relief shows the Virgin and Child in a room with a recessed coffered ceiling. Despite this use of perspective, the figures seem somewhat divorced from the space behind them: rather than appearing to be within the room, they seem to be floating in front of it. This effect is further complicated by the way that the Child's foot rests on the lower edge of the composition. This device may have been employed to suggest that the figures are occupying the same space as the viewer.

This relief was probably made by Francesco di Simone Ferrucci, perhaps in the late 1460s or early 1470s. Between 1460 and 1466 Francesco worked on decorative carvings for the Badia at Fiesole from drawings by Desiderio da Settignano (1430-1464), whose influence can be seen in many of Francesco's sculptures from this period.

This relief is closely related to a relief of the Virgin and Child on the Barbara Manfredi (d. 1467) monument, formerly in San Biagio at Forlì. The sculptor has used linear perspective to suggest the depth of a room, but the figures are placed in front of the space rather than within it.

7631-1861