Artwork
Virgin and Child
Virgin and Child is an unspecified painting by the Early Renaissance artist Fiorenzo di Lorenzo. It dates from 1500 and is held in the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
The painting depicts the Madonna and Child, a devotional image of the Virgin Mary holding the infant Christ, identified as the work's main subject.
The painting depicts the Madonna and Child, a devotional image of the Virgin Mary holding the infant Christ, identified as the work's main subject. Rendered as religious art, the composition draws on a long-established Christian iconographic tradition in which Mary is shown in maternal intimacy with her son, emphasizing themes of divine incarnation, maternal tenderness, and the humanity of Christ. Such images functioned both as objects of personal devotion and as visual meditations on the mystery of the Incarnation, presenting the sacred through the accessible language of mother and child.
The work belongs to the broader genre of Marian imagery that flourished in Italian painting, where the Virgin's role as the Mother of God and intercessor for humanity is central to the image's spiritual meaning.
History & Provenance
The Virgin and Child by Fiorenzo di Lorenzo is dated to 1500, aligning with the artist’s mature period. The painting entered the Cleveland Museum of Art in 1979 as accession number 1979.140, following an acquisition that expanded the museum’s holdings in Italian Renaissance religious works. Its subject, Mary and the Christ Child, follows a conventional iconography of late fifteenth-century Umbrian devotion, executed in a format suited to private or devotional use.
The work’s provenance prior to 1979 remains undocumented in the cited sources, which confirm only its presence in the Cleveland collection from the date of acquisition onward.
The painting Virgin and Child by Fiorenzo di Lorenzo, dated to 1500, is held in the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art. The institution assigns the work the accession number 1979.140, indicating its entry into the museum's holdings in that year. While the provided records confirm its current location and classification as a religious painting depicting the Madonna and Child, no specific details regarding past exhibitions or a broader provenance history prior to its 1979 accession are available in the current documentation.
Overview
This painting, titled Virgin and Child, was created by the artist Fiorenzo di Lorenzo around the year 1500. It depicts a common religious theme in Christian art: Mary, the mother of Jesus, holding the Christ Child. The work is currently part of the collection at The Cleveland Museum of Art, representing a late medieval or early Renaissance devotional image.
Technique & Style
Fiorenzo di Lorenzo employed gold leaf for the background, a common practice in late medieval and early Renaissance painting to evoke a celestial or sacred space. Faded green leaves are visible against this gilded surface. The painting exhibits signs of age, with the paint appearing worn and cracked in several areas, revealing the passage of time since its creation in 1500.
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Artist & collection
Artist
Fiorenzo di Lorenzo was an Italian painter, of the Umbrian school. He lived and worked at Perugia, where most of his authentic works are still preserved in the Galleria Nazionale dell'Umbria.
![Madonna and Child, with the Blessing Christ [middle panel], by Pietro Lorenzetti](https://artifactworldgallery.com/img/pietro-lorenzetti--madonna-and-child-with-the-blessing-christ-middle-panel--02357aa6ff04175b-w320.webp)
