Terms and conditions of use
Virgin and Child
(1455-1460)
Medium
polychromed and gilt stucco, wood
Measurements
62.3 × 40.7 × 4.6 cm
Credit Line
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Bequest of Howard Spensley, 1939
Gallery location
14th - 16th Century Gallery - Painting & Decorative Arts
Level 1, NGV International
About this work
Antonio Rossellino was one of the most gifted sculptors of the generation after the great Renaissance master, Donatello. He took devotional relief sculpture to a new height of elegance, discernible even in cast copies made from his marble prototypes, such as the stucco cast seen here. This configuration of the Virgin and Child flanked by two winged seraphim is a variant of an exceptionally refined group of marble relief carvings accented with gold. Here, paint and gilt are deployed as harmonious polychrome surfaces to compensate for the pearly luster of expensive marble. Such casts were typically for domestic use, hung in the bedroom for protection and as models of virtue.
Artwork Details
Place/s of Execution
Italy
Accession Number
4109-D3
Department
International Sculpture
This digital record has been made available on NGV Collection Online through the generous support of Digitisation Champion Dame Carol Colburn-Grigor CBE through Metal Manufactures Limited