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Source Description
This “tondo” (circular painting) shows two lily-bearing angels striding toward the Madonna and crowning her as Queen of Heaven. The Madonna raises her hands in adoration of the Infant Christ. Reclining on an embroidered pillow in her lap, the child raises his right hand in a gesture of blessing. The mixed animal, human, and plant forms decorating the architecture behind the figures are called "grotesques" (“grotteschi” in Italian). They were inspired by the similar wall decorations discovered in the 1490s in the grottoes and chambers buried beneath ancient Roman houses.Formerly attributed to an anonymous artist called the Master of Santo Spirito, the painting has been convincingly linked to the documented works of the late 15th-century Florentine workshop led by Agnolo di Domenico del Mazziere and his brother Donnino. The carefully described landscape—with a view of a church at the left and a castle at the right—and emphasis on precious details, such as the Madonna's brooch and crown and the Christ Child’s pillow, reflect the brothers’ keen interest in contemporary Netherlandish painting, which was highly coveted in Renaissance Florence.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
33090
label
Madonna and Child with Two Angels
core
obj
dtoType
drawing
citationUrl
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
33090
sourceUrl
contentType
drawing
stage
normalized
title
Madonna and Child with Two Angels
description
This “tondo” (circular painting) shows two lily-bearing angels striding toward the Madonna and crowning her as Queen of Heaven. The Madonna raises her hands in adoration of the Infant Christ. Reclining on an embroidered pillow in her lap, the child raises his right hand in a gesture of blessing. The mixed animal, human, and plant forms decorating the architecture behind the figures are called "grotesques" (“grotteschi” in Italian). They were inspired by the similar wall decorations discovered in the 1490s in the grottoes and chambers buried beneath ancient Roman houses.Formerly attributed to an anonymous artist called the Master of Santo Spirito, the painting has been convincingly linked to the documented works of the late 15th-century Florentine workshop led by Agnolo di Domenico del Mazziere and his brother Donnino. The carefully described landscape—with a view of a church at the left and a castle at the right—and emphasis on precious details, such as the Madonna's brooch and crown and the Christ Child’s pillow, reflect the brothers’ keen interest in contemporary Netherlandish painting, which was highly coveted in Renaissance Florence.
provenance
Don Marcello Massarenti Collection, Rome [date and mode of acqusition unknown] [1897 catalogue: no. 147, as Lorenzo di Credi]; Henry Walters, Baltimore, 1902, by purchase; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.
date
ca. 1500 (Renaissance)
citationUrl
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
genreSpecific
Painting & Drawing
tondi
imageCount
1
pageCount
1
source
import
dimensions
units
cm
width
109.7
height
107.7
depth
1.6
dimensionsRaw
Painted surface H: 43 3/16 x W: 42 3/8 x D excluding cradle: 5/8 in. (109.7 x 107.7 x 1.6 cm)
Source extras
med
oil on wood panel
creator_ids
5041
35001
collection_ids
REN
exhibition_ids
97
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
208bfe30aa30f6bb