Italian school (XIX) - Madonna con bambino - NO RESERVE
01
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16
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38
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42
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Current bid
€ 52
No reserve price
Expert
Selected by Caterina Maffeis
Master in early Renaissance Italian painting with internship at Sotheby’s and 15 years' experience.
Estimate € 500 - € 600
 | €52 | |
|---|---|---|
 | €47 | |
| €44 | |
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‘Madonna con bambino’ is a signed 19th-century work by the Italian School, made in mixed media on textile and presented in a frame.
AI-assisted summary
Description from the seller
Italian manufacture, 19th century
“Madonna and Child”
Measurements: 45 x 38.5 cm (30 x 24 cm)
Mixed media on fabric or textile support: drawing/painting and multicolored silk-thread embroidery, with graphic and painted details for the flesh tones and extensive use of embroidery in the garments, hair, halos and ornamental details.
Subject and description
The work depicts the Virgin and Child in an intimate, affectionate pose. Mary gently inclines her head toward Jesus, while the Child, seated on her lap, brings his face close to his mother’s and rests one hand on the Virgin’s chest.
The composition draws on models of Renaissance Marian devotion, reinterpreted through a particularly refined craft technique. The faces, characterized by delicate chiaroscuro and careful drawing, deliberately contrast with the more textured garments.
The use of embroidery is particularly striking: very fine colored threads follow the folds and give three-dimensional form to the Virgin’s blue mantle, the red garment, the Child’s green-and-gold drapery and numerous details. The alternation between drawn and embroidered surfaces gives the image an almost three-dimensional quality.
Iconography
The composition derives from the tradition of Italian Renaissance Madonnas, later widely revisited in 19th-century devotional art.
Art-historical considerations
In the 19th century, alongside the revival of interest in medieval and Renaissance art, devotional works made using mixed techniques and applied arts became particularly popular.
In this example, the most interesting aspect is the attempt to turn embroidery into painting: the direction and density of the threads are varied to suggest drapery, shadows, hair and ornamentation. It is therefore not simply a decorated textile, but a work conceived as a true figurative image in embroidery.
Condition report
Based on the photographs, the work appears to be in good overall condition, taking into account the particular delicacy of the technique and its presumed age.
The embroidery remains clearly legible and its colors are still appreciable, with natural variations and possible fading due to age. Minor alterations and surface irregularities consistent with an antique textile are visible. The support cannot be fully inspected because the reverse is protected by a panel.
Given the nature of the work, prolonged exposure to direct sunlight, humidity and significant fluctuations in temperature and humidity should be avoided.
Frame
The work is presented in a gilt wooden frame in a historicist style, with a carved inner band and repeated ornamental motifs. The frame shows normal signs of age, minor abrasions and wear to the gilding, and is well suited to the devotional character of the image.
*** Note on the photographs
Some of the photographs accompanying this listing were professionally taken using controlled artificial lighting and a studio spotlight, in order to ensure better legibility of the work and enable more precise observation of the painted surface, figurative details and colors.
The frame shown is included as a courtesy
- Certificate of lawful provenance and expert appraisal
- Insured shipping and electronic invoicing
Seller's Story
Magnolia Arte
Auctions · Works of Art · Expertise
Magnolia Arte was born from a passion for art and from the experience gained in study, selection and enhancement of works destined for collecting.
The auction house and gallery operates in the art market with particular attention to antique, modern and contemporary painting, offering carefully selected works for historical-artistic interest, quality and collectible value.
Each work is presented through a path of in-depth study that, where applicable, considers historical and stylistic context, attribution, condition, provenance and bibliographic and comparative references. For works that require it, studies, expertise and diagnostic deepening can also be prepared.
COLLECTING WITH DISCERNMENT
For Magnolia Arte, purchasing a work means entering into a relationship with a unique object, a witness of an era, of a culture and of the artist’s sensibility.
For this reason we accompany the collector not only in the choice, but also in the understanding and valorizations of the work, offering a direct, confidential and professional relationship.
Translated by Google TranslateItalian manufacture, 19th century
“Madonna and Child”
Measurements: 45 x 38.5 cm (30 x 24 cm)
Mixed media on fabric or textile support: drawing/painting and multicolored silk-thread embroidery, with graphic and painted details for the flesh tones and extensive use of embroidery in the garments, hair, halos and ornamental details.
Subject and description
The work depicts the Virgin and Child in an intimate, affectionate pose. Mary gently inclines her head toward Jesus, while the Child, seated on her lap, brings his face close to his mother’s and rests one hand on the Virgin’s chest.
The composition draws on models of Renaissance Marian devotion, reinterpreted through a particularly refined craft technique. The faces, characterized by delicate chiaroscuro and careful drawing, deliberately contrast with the more textured garments.
The use of embroidery is particularly striking: very fine colored threads follow the folds and give three-dimensional form to the Virgin’s blue mantle, the red garment, the Child’s green-and-gold drapery and numerous details. The alternation between drawn and embroidered surfaces gives the image an almost three-dimensional quality.
Iconography
The composition derives from the tradition of Italian Renaissance Madonnas, later widely revisited in 19th-century devotional art.
Art-historical considerations
In the 19th century, alongside the revival of interest in medieval and Renaissance art, devotional works made using mixed techniques and applied arts became particularly popular.
In this example, the most interesting aspect is the attempt to turn embroidery into painting: the direction and density of the threads are varied to suggest drapery, shadows, hair and ornamentation. It is therefore not simply a decorated textile, but a work conceived as a true figurative image in embroidery.
Condition report
Based on the photographs, the work appears to be in good overall condition, taking into account the particular delicacy of the technique and its presumed age.
The embroidery remains clearly legible and its colors are still appreciable, with natural variations and possible fading due to age. Minor alterations and surface irregularities consistent with an antique textile are visible. The support cannot be fully inspected because the reverse is protected by a panel.
Given the nature of the work, prolonged exposure to direct sunlight, humidity and significant fluctuations in temperature and humidity should be avoided.
Frame
The work is presented in a gilt wooden frame in a historicist style, with a carved inner band and repeated ornamental motifs. The frame shows normal signs of age, minor abrasions and wear to the gilding, and is well suited to the devotional character of the image.
*** Note on the photographs
Some of the photographs accompanying this listing were professionally taken using controlled artificial lighting and a studio spotlight, in order to ensure better legibility of the work and enable more precise observation of the painted surface, figurative details and colors.
The frame shown is included as a courtesy
- Certificate of lawful provenance and expert appraisal
- Insured shipping and electronic invoicing
Seller's Story
Magnolia Arte
Auctions · Works of Art · Expertise
Magnolia Arte was born from a passion for art and from the experience gained in study, selection and enhancement of works destined for collecting.
The auction house and gallery operates in the art market with particular attention to antique, modern and contemporary painting, offering carefully selected works for historical-artistic interest, quality and collectible value.
Each work is presented through a path of in-depth study that, where applicable, considers historical and stylistic context, attribution, condition, provenance and bibliographic and comparative references. For works that require it, studies, expertise and diagnostic deepening can also be prepared.
COLLECTING WITH DISCERNMENT
For Magnolia Arte, purchasing a work means entering into a relationship with a unique object, a witness of an era, of a culture and of the artist’s sensibility.
For this reason we accompany the collector not only in the choice, but also in the understanding and valorizations of the work, offering a direct, confidential and professional relationship.
Translated by Google TranslateDetails
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