Madonna and Child

Abstract

This marble relief was previously in the Loggia dei Mercani in Lucca and is now housed in the Museo di Villa Guinigi in Lucca. It not documented before 1809, and so the original patron, location, and purpose are unknown, but from the dimensions the work was likely made for domestic devotion or possibly for a small chapel or confraterniy. In a later document, Civitali attests that he will make a "picture in relief" either of terracotta or marble and have it painted and gilded, so that it can be kept in a private room. Analogously, this work was likely made for a private space, was originally at least partially polychromed and gilded, and is known in both this marble and two other terracotta versions (the better preserved of which is also housed in the Museo di Villa Guinigi). Traces of azzurite, gilding, and paint in the eyes (of which the pupils and irises are not sculpted) are all that remain of the original colours here, whereas the terracotta version in the same museum has more of the polychromy surviving. Photograph(s) licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.