Virgin and Child
c. 1450
Medium
Painted stucco
Dimensions
61 × 43.2 cm (24 × 17 in.); 70.5 × 53.5 cm (27 13/16 × 21 1/8 in.)
Classification
relief
Department
Painting and Sculpture of Europe
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
109584
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
Desiderio da Settignano was the most gifted Florentine sculptor of his day. He excelled at creating marble reliefs of the Virgin and Child, in which forms overlap within an extremely shallow space while conveying a profound awareness of the bond between mother and child. This painted stucco, of which at least a dozen versions are known, was cast from a marble known as the Turin Madonna (Turin, Galleria Sabauda), one of Desiderio’s most admired works. The quality of the painting and punching sugg...