Virgin and Child thumbnail 1
Not currently on display at the V&A

Virgin and Child

Relief
last quarter of 15th century (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

This relief showing the Virgin and Child is made after Domenico Rosselli, in the last quarter of the 15th century in Florence.

Images of the Virgin and Child were found in virtually every noble household in 15th-century Florence. They acted as a focus for personal devotion and were thought to protect the family from harm.


Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleVirgin and Child (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Relief in stucco
Brief description
Relief, stucco, the Virgin and Child, after Domenico Rosselli, Italy, last quarter of 15th century
Physical description
This relief, representing the Virgin and Child, sits in a contemporary frame of gilt and painted wood. The Virgin, turned to the right, is seen in half-length behind a parapet, and supports the Child, who steps forward to the right. She lifts up his right hand in benediction, In the gable of the frame is a painted dove.
Dimensions
  • Height: 45.7cm
  • Width: 27.9cm
Object history
Comparison with a version of the composition in pigmented stucco in Berlin shows that the left side of the Virgin's face has been removed and that her left eye and cheek are restorations. Other examples in stucco are known. The lost prototype seems to have been executed by Domenico Rosselli at the same time as the lunette in San Fransecco at Fossombrone (1480-90).
Subjects depicted
Summary
This relief showing the Virgin and Child is made after Domenico Rosselli, in the last quarter of the 15th century in Florence.

Images of the Virgin and Child were found in virtually every noble household in 15th-century Florence. They acted as a focus for personal devotion and were thought to protect the family from harm.
Bibliographic references
  • 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, pp. 150, 151
  • Inventory of Art Objects Acquired in the Year 1860. 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. 31
  • Maclagan, Eric and Longhurst, Margaret H. Catalogue of Italian Sculpture. Text. London: Victoria and Albert Museum, 1932, p. 27
  • Raggio, Olga. Catalogue of Italian Sculpture in the Victoria and Albert Museum. Art Bulletin. Vol. L, 1968, p. 100
Collection
Accession number
7396-1860

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Record createdJune 24, 2009
Record URL
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