Virgin and Child

Art Historical Context

This exquisite plaquette, *Virgin and Child*, is a 19th-century cast from a model by the renowned Florentine sculptor Antonio Rossellino dated around 1475. Crafted in copper alloy with delicate gilding, it just 14.9 x 10.2 cm and nearly 448 grams. The reverse is hollow—a common technique in Renaissance metalwork for lightweight reliefs—while a piercing at the top suggests it was designed to be suspended, perhaps as a devotional pendant or altar ornament. Rossellino, a key figure in 15th-century Italian Renaissance sculpture, brought humanistic warmth and refined detail to his works, influenced by contemporaries like Donatello. This small-scale Madonna tenderly cradles the Christ Child, embodying the era's devotional iconography that humanized sacred figures for personal piety. Plaquettes like this were prized collectibles among Renaissance elites, blending artistry with portability. Housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Robert Lehman Collection since 1975, it captures the spiritual elegance of quattrocento Florence, where gold-gilded bronze evoked divine radiance. A charming window into Renaissance faith and craftsmanship!

About the Artist

Antonio Rossellino · 1427–1479

Comment on works: sculptor