| Madonna and Child | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Artist | Duccio |
| Year | c. 1300 |
| Medium | Tempera |
| Dimensions | 27.9 cm× 21 cm(11.0 in× 8.3 in) |
| Location | Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York |
Madonna and Child is a depiction of the Virgin and Child painted by Duccio di Buoninsegna, one of the most influential artists of the late 13th and early 14th centuries. The work is celebrated for stylistic innovations that introduced realism into Italian depictions of this subject. [1] [2]
Compared to frescoes and to larger, grander altarpieces, the Madonna and Child—a compact work measuring 11×81⁄8 inches—is understood to be an tranquil devotional image. Intimations of this reading appear in the burnt edges at the bottom of the original engaged frame, likely caused by lit candles positioned directly underneath. [3]
Looking past the terse simplicity of the image, one can begin to understand the changes Duccio was applying to the depiction of religious figures during the early 14th century. Guided by innovative Italian artists of the time such as Giotto, Duccio moved beyond the purely iconic Byzantine and Italo-Byzantine canon in order to create a more tangible connection between viewer and subject. We see this in the parapet set at the bottom of the painting, which serves to beguile the viewer into looking past itself and into the space occupied by the Virgin and the Christ Child. Commentators have also likened the parapet to a barrier between the vernacular world and the sacred. [3]
The emergent spirit of humanism enlivens this painting in several places—the luminous colors applied to the garments, the gentle folds of the fabric, the fine details showing on the underside of the Virgin's veil, and the childish reach of the hand of Christ to the Virgin's face, whose sorrowful gaze anticipates His grim future. [4] It is these qualities that would shape the sensibility of later Sienese painting, and that give Duccio's Madonna and Child such worthy attention and credibility in the history of art. Other details found in this image are ones that stay behind in Byzantine tradition and characterize earlier works of Duccio, while the more innovative qualities prosper over time. The tooled details in the gold ground are minute and difficult to notice at a far glance but add an important element to the image. Punched designs were employed for the halos and the border design, all of which were hand inscribed. [3]
As is common for duecento and trecento paintings, the ownership and location of the Madonna and Child before the mid 19th century is unknown. The earliest known owner of the painting was the Russian Count Gregori Stroganoff (1829–1910), who reported having found it, unattributed, in a dealer's shop. In 1904 he lent it to an exhibition at the Palazzo Pubblico of Siena (Mostra d’arte antica senese). He kept it in his palazzo in Rome. [5]
In her review of the 1904 Mostra d’art senese exhibition, art historian Mary Logan Berenson placed this work among Duccio's “most perfect” pieces. [4] It is not surprising, then, that the painting inspired awe in art enthusiasts. Upon Stroganoff's death in 1910, the Duccio joined the collection of Adolphe Stoclet (1871–1949), thus earning its designation as TheStoclet Madonna. Stoclet was understood to treat his extensive collection of art with the utmost attention, preserving it under ideal conditions to protect its many fragile pieces. The Duccio was shown at several exhibitions in 1930 and 1935 and to select guests at Stoclet's home.
Following the deaths, in 1949, of Adolph Stoclet and his wife, the collection passed to their children, thus Duccio's Madonna and Child remained in the family. Although the work was of interest to scholars, it could only be viewed in photographs taken before and after its restoration and minor retouching. [3] The painting was, amid much fanfare, acquired in the autumn of 2004 by the Metropolitan Museum of Art for an estimated 45 million USD. [6] [7] [8] This acquisition was immensely valuable both for its venerable place in the history of art and for its rarity—there are only 13 known paintings by Duccio in the world. [6]
The chronology of Duccio's Madonna and Child is subject to ongoing scholarly debate. There is a gap of more than 20 years in the artist's life during which no works by Duccio have been found, making the estimated date of the Madonna and Child—around 1300—questionable, though fairly reliable. [3] The dissensus is further complicated by the Byzantine qualities of the painting—the oval shape of the Virgin's face, her elegantly long nose, and the “miniature man” nature of Christ Child. [6] But, there are of course many innovative elements to the painting which align it appropriately to the time now acknowledged to be most accurate. Along with the elegant draping and the humanistic qualities of the two figures, the marble parapet is a telling detail of the intentions of the painting, serving as a invitation to engage more emotionally with the image. This idea would continue on in a myriad paintings succeeding this one.
The late James Beck, Professor of Art History at Columbia University in New York, believed that Duccio's Madonna and Child, which the Met dates to 1300, is the work of a 19th-century artist and possibly a forger. This claim was based on stylistic analysis. He pointed to what he considered to be the low quality of the painting and to details that, he claimed, had not yet appeared in art of the alleged period, writing: "We are asked to believe that the modest little picture represents a leap into the future of Western painting by establishing a plane in front of Mary and the Child. This feature, a characteristic of Renaissance not Medieval pictures, occurs only a hundred years after the presumptive date of the picture ...". Beck's conclusions were published in 2007 in his book, From Duccio to Raphael: Connoisseurship in Crisis in which he also disputes the attribution of the National Gallery of London's painting Madonna of the Pinks to Raphael.
Keith Christiansen, the Met's curator of European paintings, disagrees with Beck's contention. Christiansen has noted that, in addition to stylistic analysis of the painting in relation to Duccio's oeuvre, the museum conducted a thorough material examination which included the wooden panel's construction, the painting's underdrawing, and pigment composition. These features were found to be consistent with an attribution to Duccio and a date of around 1300. Christiansen said: "What everyone else sees as a sign of quality and innovation, Beck sees as weakness. There is no reason to doubt the period and authenticity of the picture." [9]
| External videos | |
|---|---|
 Duccio's Madonna and Child, Smarthistory [10] |
Media related to Stroganoff Madonna (Duccio) at Wikimedia Commons