The Virgin and Child
Relief
1460-1480 (made)
1460-1480 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
The relief is based on an original in gilded marbleof the Virgin and Child with Angels now attributed to Matteo Civitali, an important sculptor from Lucca, and dated to around 1460-61. The marble has been in the church of San Vincenzo Ferrer and Santa Caterina de' Ricci in Prato since the beginning of the 20th century.
A number of close variants cast in stucco and terracotta survive, of which this painted version is one - here reproducing just the Virgin and Child without a background. Reliefs of the Virgin and Child were extremely popular in the late fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. They would have been displayed in the home not just as objects of devotion, but also as exemplars of the ideal mother and child. They could also be found on street corners as neighbourhood protectors, as well as in religious settings. This one was bought in Florence in 1911 from the dealer and collector, Stefano Bardini, whose house is now a magnificent museum.
A number of close variants cast in stucco and terracotta survive, of which this painted version is one - here reproducing just the Virgin and Child without a background. Reliefs of the Virgin and Child were extremely popular in the late fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. They would have been displayed in the home not just as objects of devotion, but also as exemplars of the ideal mother and child. They could also be found on street corners as neighbourhood protectors, as well as in religious settings. This one was bought in Florence in 1911 from the dealer and collector, Stefano Bardini, whose house is now a magnificent museum.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | The Virgin and Child (generic title) |
| Materials and techniques | Relief in painted stucco |
| Brief description | Relief, painted stucco, the Virgin and Child, after Matteo Civitali, Italy (Florence), c.1460-80. |
| Physical description | The Virgin is shown to the knees turning slightly to her left with both arms around the child who rests on a red tasselled cushion on her lap. She is seated in a chair one arm of which terminated in a rosette, is seen at her right side. She wears a red robe and a blue cloak fastened on the breast by a brooch. The child wears a broad striped girdle on a long coral necklace. |
| Dimensions |
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| Object history | Purchased in Florence from Stefano Bardini. |
| Subject depicted | |
| Summary | The relief is based on an original in gilded marbleof the Virgin and Child with Angels now attributed to Matteo Civitali, an important sculptor from Lucca, and dated to around 1460-61. The marble has been in the church of San Vincenzo Ferrer and Santa Caterina de' Ricci in Prato since the beginning of the 20th century. A number of close variants cast in stucco and terracotta survive, of which this painted version is one - here reproducing just the Virgin and Child without a background. Reliefs of the Virgin and Child were extremely popular in the late fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. They would have been displayed in the home not just as objects of devotion, but also as exemplars of the ideal mother and child. They could also be found on street corners as neighbourhood protectors, as well as in religious settings. This one was bought in Florence in 1911 from the dealer and collector, Stefano Bardini, whose house is now a magnificent museum. |
| Bibliographic references |
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| Other number | |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | A.14-1911 |
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| Record created | June 24, 2009 |
| Record URL |
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