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Virgin and Child

A work made of pigmented terracotta.
CC0 Public Domain Designation

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  • A work made of pigmented terracotta.

Date:

c. 1500

Artist:

Central Italian

About this artwork

Although frequently described as a humble and austere medium, clay was perennially popular during the Italian Renaissance and could be modeled with notable sophistication. Clay was especially acceptable for finished works of art made in areas where marble or bronze was prohibitively expensive. Once completed, this sculpture was sliced with fine wire into at least four sections, and extremities like the Virgin’s head and hands and the Christ Child were fired separately. After firing, these elements were reassembled and painted. The Virgin and Child appears to be the work of an artist trained in Tuscany with some knowledge of the sculpture of Donatello and his partner Michelozzo.

Status

On View, Gallery 205

Department

Painting and Sculpture of Europe

Artist

Italian

Title

Virgin and Child

Place

Central Italy (Artist's nationality:)

Date  Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

1495–1505

Medium

Pigmented terracotta

Dimensions

H.: 146.7 cm (57 3/4 in.)

Credit Line

Mr. and Mrs. Martin A. Ryerson Collection

Reference Number

1933.1303

IIIF Manifest  The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world.

Learn more.

https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/16959/manifest.json

Extended information about this artwork

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

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