The Virgin and Child thumbnail 1
The Virgin and Child thumbnail 2
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On loan

  • On display at the National Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh

The Virgin and Child

Statuette
second quarter of 14th century (made)
Artist/Maker
Arnoldi, Alberto
Place of origin
Florence (made)

This marble statuette of the Virgin and Child is made by Alberto Arnoldi, a sculptor active in Florence between 1351 and 1364.

The name of the sculptor Arnoldi occurs in Florence in 1351. In 1357-8 he undertook work on the Cathedral, in 1361 he executed a lunette of the Virgin and Child on the outside of the Bigallo in Florence, and between 1359 and 1364 he carved a Virgin and Child with two angels for an altar in the interior of the Bigallo.

The type of Child in this statuette conforms to that employed on the altar of the chapel in the Bigallo.

Object details

Categories
Christianity
Religion
Sculpture
Object type
Statuette
TitleThe Virgin and Child (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Marble, carved
Marble
Carving
Brief description
Statuette, marble, The Virgin and Child, by Alberto Arnoldi, Florence, second quarter of 14th century
Physical description
The Virgin is represented in full length on an ocatgonal moulded base. She holds the Child on her left arm in a fold of cloak which she pulls forward with her right hand. The Child's right hand is inserted in the neck of the Virgin's robe.
Dimensions
  • Weight: 14.62kg
  • Height: 51cm
  • Diameter: 16.38cm
Object history
Purchased from the Gigli-Campana collection, £10 in 1861.
Subject depicted
Virgin and Child
Summary
This marble statuette of the Virgin and Child is made by Alberto Arnoldi, a sculptor active in Florence between 1351 and 1364.

The name of the sculptor Arnoldi occurs in Florence in 1351. In 1357-8 he undertook work on the Cathedral, in 1361 he executed a lunette of the Virgin and Child on the outside of the Bigallo in Florence, and between 1359 and 1364 he carved a Virgin and Child with two angels for an altar in the interior of the Bigallo.

The type of Child in this statuette conforms to that employed on the altar of the chapel in the Bigallo.
Bibliographic references
  • 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. 35
  • Maclagan, Eric and Longhurst, Margaret H. Catalogue of Italian Sculpture. Text. London: Victoria and Albert Museum, 1932, p. 9
  • Pope-Hennessy, John. Catalogue of Italian Sculpture in the Victoria and Albert Museum. Volume I: Text. Eighth to Fifteenth Century. London: Her Majesty's Stationery Office, 1964, p. 40, 41
  • Negri Arnoldi, Franceso, 'Scultura Italiana al Victoria and Albert Museum I&II. In: Commentari, anno XXI, June-July 1970. Fascicoli, pp. 23-24
  • Kier, H. "Eine Marmorstatuette von Alberto Arnoldi im Museo del Bigallo." In: Pantheon, XXXI, 1973, pp. 186-87, fig. 8
Collection
Sculpture Collection
Accession number
7600-1861

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Record createdMay 6, 2009
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O229945/the-virgin-and-child-statuette-arnoldi-alberto/
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