North Italian, mid-15th century

Mr. R. Stora, New York
P. B. Mayer Esq.
his sale, Sotheby's London, 25 November 1963, lot 125
private collection, the Netherlands
and thence by descent to a private collection, Belgium

Detroit, Detroit Institute of Arts, Eighteenth loan exhibition of Old Masters, 1938, no. 83

Overall the condition is good with wear and dirt to the surface consistent with age. There is naturally occurring worming throughout with more excessive worming to the reverse and leading to some losses of the surface at the edges of the relief. A small section of a larger loss has been reattached at Her chest. The polychromy has several refreshed areas including to the faces. There are some areas of wear, including to the top of Her head, and flaking. There are some minor chips to the edges of the drapery, including a larger one to the white cloth at the Child’s hip. There are some flakes to the paint of the modern mount.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

This rare and superb polychromed wood Madonna and Child follows a composition known as the Verona Madonna. This famous model is thought to have been created by the celebrated Florentine Renaissance sculptor Donatello (c. 1386-1466), whilst he was working in Padua between 1443 and 1454. The composition has no surviving prototype and is known primarily through a version which remains in situ on the outside wall of a house on Vicolo dell Fogge in Verona. The influence of the Verona Madonna was such that it appears in a painting ascribed to the important Paduan 15^th-century painter Andrea Mantegna (1430-1506) (Fry, op. cit. pp. 53-54).

It is believed that the model was designed with the intention that it should be reproduced, as there are more than twenty surviving 15^th-century casts in stucco, cartapesta (papier-mâché) and terracotta. Note, in particular, the stucco example in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London (inv. no. A.1-1932), and the terracotta version in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (inv. no. 1912 (12.78)).

The present relief is exceptionally well carved and is imbued with a sense of deep emotion. The Virgin clasps the Christ Child to her bosom enveloping him in her arms. She wraps her hand around the Child's head with her finger resting on his brow. The Child has a lively engaged expression looking out to the viewer. Of a similar size to the other known stucco and terracotta versions of the Verona Madonna, the present work, being carved in wood, is deeper and much more sculptural, with pronounced undercutting and strong folds in the drapery, along with beautifully rendered curls on the Christ Child's head. Like the cartapesta versions of the composition, the present relief would have been exhibited indoors, where its fine carving could be admired at close quarters.

RELATED LITERATURE
R. Fry, 'Madonna and Child by Andrea Mantegna', The Burlington Magazine, 62, 1933, pp. 53-54; W. Valentiner (ed.), Catalogue of an exhibition of Italian Gothic and Early Renaissance Sculpture, exh. cat. Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit 1938; A. P. Darr (ed.), Italian Renaissance Sculpture in the Time of Donatello, exh. cat. Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit 1985, pp. 110-11, no. 15; C. Avery, Donatello. Catalogo completo delle opera, Florence, 1991, p. 114, no. 64; P. Curtis (ed.), Depth of Field: the place of relief in the time of Donatello, exh. cat. Henry Moore Institute, Leeds, and Victoria and Albert Museum, London, Leeds, 2005, p. 95, no. 34