Madonna and Child

Abstract

This painted terracotta relief is one of many half-length images of the Madonna and Child that were made for domestic devotion in the fifteenth century. This intimate composition, with the Jesus nestled against his mother, his legs and her hands intertwined, was particularly popular, reproduced in dozens of terracotta and stucco sculptures (relatively inexpensive media that could be used for reproductions with molds, which may have been the method here). The works could then be individually painted according to the client's wishes. The original from which these copies derive (currently housed in the Museo Bandini in Fiesole) has been attributed to Lorenzo Ghiberti, Filippo Brunelleschi or Nanni di Banco. This smaller and less complex version is housed in the Museo d'Arte Sacra in San Gimignano. Photograph(s) licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.