madonna col bambino in un giardino

Created around 1450, this religious painting is attributed to the Italian artist Cosimo Tura. The work, which depicts the Virgin Mary and the Christ Child, was executed during the mid-15th century. While specific details regarding its original commission or early ownership history are not provided in the available records, the piece is currently held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. The gallery serves as its present location and custodian, having acquired the panel at some point prior to its current cataloging.

The dating of the inception to approximately 1450 places the creation of the work firmly within Tura's early career period.

Cosimo Tura’s ‘Madonna col Bambino in un giardino’ (c. 1450) exemplifies early Quattrocento religious painting in Italy. The work, classified as a religious genre piece, depicts the Virgin Mary with the infant Christ within a garden setting and is part of the National Gallery of Art’s collection in Washington, D.C.. As one of Tura’s documented paintings from the mid‑15th century, it reflects the stylistic transition from Gothic devotional imagery toward more naturalistic forms characteristic of the Renaissance.

Scholarship on Tura’s corpus situates this painting within his broader development of altarpieces and small‑scale devotional works, underscoring his role in the evolution of sacred imagery in Italian art.

Cosimo Tura, a pivotal artist in the Italian early Renaissance and a founder of the School of Ferrara, created Madonna col Bambino in un giardino around 1450. This painting, depicting the Virgin Mary and Christ Child, exemplifies the Quattrocento style prevalent in Northern Italy. It is currently part of the collection at the National Gallery of Art in Washington.

This painting showcases the distinctive Quattrocento style characteristic of Northern Italy during the early Renaissance. Tura's approach to form and detail, combined with the rich, decorative elements such as the elaborate gold frames and foliage, reflects the aesthetic principles of the Ferrarese school. His work was instrumental in shaping the regional artistic traditions that emerged during this period.

Tura's artistic output, including this depiction of the Madonna and Child, profoundly impacted the evolving art scene in Ferrara. His distinct interpretation of early Renaissance aesthetics helped establish the identity of the Ferrarese school, influencing subsequent generations of artists and securing his place within the broader history of Italian art.