Not on display

The Virgin and Child

Relief
ca. 1460-1470 (made)
Artist/Maker
Francesco Di Simone Ferrucci (artist)
Place of origin
Florence (made)

The relief is a contemporary stucco squeeze (or cast) from a marble relief in the Palazzo Communale at Solarolo (near Ravenna), which was originally housed in the Rocca of Solarolo. The Rocca was rebuilt by Astorgio II Manfredi (d.1468) in about 1456-1461, and the original marble relief dates from soon after this time. The lower section of the Solarolo relief is a sixteenth-century addition, and the present stucco probably reproduces the original base. Francesco di Simone Ferrucci (1437-1493) was born at Fiesole, near Florence, and trained under his father Simone. He was influenced by the work of the Florentine sculptors, Desiderio da Settignano and Verrocchio.

Object details

Categories
Christianity
Religion
Sculpture
Object type
Relief
TitleThe Virgin and Child (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Relif in stucco
Stucco
Relief
Brief description
Relief, stucco, The Virgin and Child, after Francesco Di Simone Ferrucci, Italy, Florence, ca. 1460-1470
Physical description
This relief in stucco shows a seated Virgin, turned slightly to the right in three-quarter length. In the left corner is the arm of her chair. The Child stands on a cushion on the right with his arm round her neck. In an elaborate framework with horns of plenty at the top terminating in the centre in two scrolls surmounted by a winged scallop shell; the console has two sphinx-like monsters with a flaming brazier between them, and a frieze with garlands and cherub heads.
Dimensions
  • Height: 198.1cm
  • Width: 111.8cm
Gallery label
The relief is a contemporary stucco squeeze (or cast) from a marble relief in the Palazzo Communale at Solarolo (near Ravenna), which was originally housed in the Rocca of Solarolo. The Rocca was rebuilt by Astorgio II Manfredi (d.1468) in about 1456-1461, and the marble relief dates from soon after this time. The lower section of the Solarolo relief is a sixteenth-century addition, and the present stucco probably reproduces the original base. Francesco di Simone Ferrucci was born at Fiesole, near Florence, and trained under his father Simone. He was influenced by the work of the Florentine sculptors, Desiderio da Settignano and Verrocchio.
Object history
Purchased from the Gigli-Campana Collection, £40 in 1861.
Subjects depicted
Scallop Shell
Monsters
Brazier
Cherub Head
Frieze
Virgin and Child
Summary
The relief is a contemporary stucco squeeze (or cast) from a marble relief in the Palazzo Communale at Solarolo (near Ravenna), which was originally housed in the Rocca of Solarolo. The Rocca was rebuilt by Astorgio II Manfredi (d.1468) in about 1456-1461, and the original marble relief dates from soon after this time. The lower section of the Solarolo relief is a sixteenth-century addition, and the present stucco probably reproduces the original base. Francesco di Simone Ferrucci (1437-1493) was born at Fiesole, near Florence, and trained under his father Simone. He was influenced by the work of the Florentine sculptors, Desiderio da Settignano and Verrocchio.
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. 29
  • Maclagan, Eric and Longhurst, Margaret H. Catalogue of Italian Sculpture. Text. London: Victoria and Albert Museum, 1932, p. 68
  • Kecks, Ronald G. Madonna und Kind. Das häusliche Andachtsbild im Florenz des 15. Jahrhunderts. Berlin, 1988, p. 139, pl. 72a
  • 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. 173, 174
Collection
Sculpture Collection
Accession number
7622-1861

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Record createdJune 24, 2009
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O349955/the-virgin-and-child-relief-francesco-di-simone/
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