Madonna and Child

Abstract

This sculpture of the Enthroned Virgin and Child (c. 1330–1340), located in the Museo Nazionale del Palazzo di Venezia, depicts the Virgin Mary dressed in a blue gown adorned with circular and rhombic motifs. She sits on a low throne, supporting the Christ Child with her left arm. The Child, facing to the side, has curly hair and a round, plump face. He wears an orange tunic with a pattern that matches his mother’s design, from which his feet emerge. The Child's left hand has been damaged, while his right hand reaches up to grip the Virgin's short veil. The sculpture's iconography, especially the Christ Child's prominent smile, reflects a French Gothic influence that gained popularity in Tuscany, where the sculptor was active. Significant damage, including the Virgin's missing right arm and the Child's missing left arm, along with paint loss, has compromised the reading of the work. However, the wood carving and remaining polychromy convey the expressions of the Virgin and Child. The Christ Child’s gesture towards his mother’s veil and the Virgin’s swollen belly, emphasized by the folds of her dress, highlight their humanity. The Virgin's right breast is emphasized with gathered fabric underneath. The sculpture is carved from a single piece of wood, with polychromy likely applied using tempera in a protein binder, such as egg yolk. The wood has suffered damage from woodworms and other insects but is now stable. Most of the polychromy on the back of the throne remains intact. Above the throne, the sculpture was hollowed during carving, probably to prevent the sculpture from cracking later. At one point, the sculpture may have been fully decorated from the back so it could be viewed from all sides. Photograph(s) licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licence.