Virgin and Child
Jacopo Sansovino (Italian, 1486–1570)
early 1530s
Medium
bronze
Dimensions
47.6 × 17.2 × 11.5 cm
Classification
Sculpture
Department
European Painting and Sculpture
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
John L. Severance Fund
Accession Number
1951.316
Tags
male
About this artwork
Mary’s classicizing head and the relatively rough finish are characteristic of northern Italian Renaissance sculpture. Artists rarely signed bronzes in this period, so Sansovino’s name on the base indicates this work’s importance, although the patron has yet to be identified. This sculpture was meant to be seen only from the front, typical of Renaissance sculpture in the early 1500s.