Virgin and Child thumbnail 1
On display
Image of Gallery in South Kensington

Virgin and Child

Relief
ca.1455 (made)
Artist/Maker
Desiderio Da Settignano (After)
Place of origin
Florence (made)

This relief is probably a contemporary squeeze (or cast) from the marble relief by Desiderio da Settignano in the Pinacoteca at Turin. The Turin Madonna was carved about 1450-53 and a large number of stucco derivatives from it are known. The paint surface of the present example is substantially original.

Object details

Categories
Religion
Christianity
Sculpture
Object type
Relief
TitleVirgin and Child (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Painted and gilded stucco
Stucco
Gilding
Brief description
Virgin and Child, painted and gilded stucco relief, after Desiderio da Settignano, Italy (Florence), ca. 1455
Physical description
Relief of the Virgin and Child in painted and gilded stucco. The Virgin is shown in half-length, embracing the Child who stands in front of her with one foot resting on the ledge at the bottom of the image. There is gilding on the haloes, on parts of the Virgin's dress, and on a garland shown suspended behind the pair. The upper part of the relief shows signs of having been broken and repaired.
Dimensions
  • Height: 66cm
  • Width: 40.9cm
  • Depth: 5cm
  • Weight: 13kg
Measured for the Medieval and Renaissance Galleries
Marks and inscriptions
Remains of an inscription along the bottom of the relief: '...ENA GLORI...'
Gallery label
(2020)
THE VIRGIN AND CHILD
About 1455
After Desiderio da Settignano (1430–64)

This popular composition was made in several stucco versions. The one displayed here was possibly cast from a marble now in the Pinacoteca Sabauda, Turin. The painting was probably contracted out. According to his workbook, the painter Neri di Bicci painted similar stucco reliefs for Desiderio.

Italy, Florence
Painted and gilded stucco

Museum no. 5767-1859
Object history
Purchased in Florence.
The relief is probably a contemporary squeeze (or cast) from the marble relief by Desiderio da Settignano in the Pinacoteca at Turin. The Turin Madonna was carved about 1450-53 and a large number of stucco derivatives are known.
Subjects depicted
Mary (Virgin Mary)
The Christ Child
Summary
This relief is probably a contemporary squeeze (or cast) from the marble relief by Desiderio da Settignano in the Pinacoteca at Turin. The Turin Madonna was carved about 1450-53 and a large number of stucco derivatives from it are known. The paint surface of the present example is substantially original.
Bibliographic references
  • Cardellini, Ida. Desiderio da Settignano, Milan 1962, pp. 286-288, figs 368-374 (Turin Madonna); fig. 371 for V&A version.
  • Kecks, Ronald G. Madonna und Kind. Das hausliche Andachtsbild in Florenz des 15. Jahrhunderts, Berlin 1988, pp. 138, 144, pl. 69a.
  • Curtis, Penelope, Depth of Field: the place of relief in the time of Donatello, Leeds: Henry Moore Institute, 2004
  • Inventory of Art Objects Acquired in the Year 1859 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. 39
  • Maclagan, Eric and Longhurst, Margaret H. Catalogue of Italian Sculpture. Text. London: Victoria and Albert Museum, 1932, p. 44
  • 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. 141
  • Arnoldi, Franceso Negri, 'Scultura Italiana al Victoria and Albert Museum I&II. In: Commentari, anno XXI, June-July 1970. Fascicoli, pp. 209-211
  • Bormand, Marc; Paolozzi Strozzi, Beatrice; Penny, Nicolas. Desiderio da Settignano. Sculptor of Renaissance Florence. Exhibiton Catalogue, Musée du Louvre, Paris; Museo Nazionale del Bargello, Florence; National Art Gallery, Washington, 2007, pp. 30, 32, 80-1, fig. 52 on p. 81, p. 208
  • Bellardi, Alfredo. 'Uno stemma di Desiderio da Settignano'. Nuovi Studi, 4. II. 1977, p. 35, fig 48 for reference to a similar version
Collection
Sculpture Collection
Accession number
5767-1859

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Record createdFebruary 25, 2004
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O93870/virgin-and-child-relief-desiderio-da-settignano/
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