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The Virgin attended by three holy women
(c. 1530)
Medium
earthenware
Measurements
43.2 × 70.5 × 46.2 cm (overall)
Credit Line
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Felton Bequest, 1971
Gallery location
Not on display
About this work
A dramatic focus of many Crucifixion scenes is the collapse of the sorrowing Mary at the foot of the cross. This delicately energetic sculpture of the Virgin attended by three holy women is a bozetto (study) for a much larger sculptural composition of the Deposition of Christ. Working principally in his hometown of Modena, Antonio Begarelli became renowned for monumental terracotta sculptures of religious subjects. The movement and expressivity that Begarelli achieved in the fragile medium of clay once caused Michelangelo to exclaim, ‘If this clay could become marble, woe to antique statuary!’
Artwork Details
Accession Number
E3-1971
Department
International Sculpture
This digital record has been made available on NGV Collection Online through the generous support of Digitisation Champion Ms Carol Grigor through Metal Manufactures Limited