Madonna and Child in a Niche
1524
unspecified
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
1524
unspecified
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
Dominant colour
Madonna and Child in a Niche is a 1524 unspecified by Antonio del Ceraiolo, a Mannerism work, held at Cleveland Museum of Art.
The painting shows the Madonna holding the Christ Child on her lap in a niche. It's an image of a mother and child, with the Madonna looking gentle. The Christ Child's genitalia were originally exposed, but a cloth was added later to cover them, and this change was reversed in 1941. To learn more about this style, look up the technique of sfumato.
This image of Madonna with the Christ Child on her lap has been extensively altered by restoration. During the Renaissance, it was important that the Christ Child's genitalia be exposed, for it declared that Christ is the humanization of God, that he experienced temptation, and that in his exposure, he was without shame. When it was repainted, a cloth was added to the image to cover the Christ Child's genitalia. In 1941 the removal of old overpaint returned the painting more closely to its original state.
Read the full account in the museum source.
Antonio del Ceraiolo, also known as Antonio di Arcangelo (the nickname "Ceraiolo" derives from the profession of his father, a ceraiolo, or candle maker), was an Italian Renaissance painter active in his native Florence between 1518 and 1538.
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