Madonna and Child

Abstract

This sculpture can be attributed to Angelo di Nalduccio and dated to c. 1370, because of the similarity in style and construction to an Annunciate angel signed "Angelo" and dated 1370 (Museo Civico e Diocesano d'Arte Sacra, Montalcino). Rather than being carved out of one log of wood, with projecting parts (such as the arms), both sculptures are made from a peculiar assemblage of pieces of poplar and walnut. The figures are also very stiff -- here with no torsion to the bodies and no realistic sense of the weight of Jesus, animated only by the slight tilt of the heads and by the polychromy. The paint, which is poorly preserved, is for the most part original, except for the repainted head, shoulders, and forearms of the baby, which were left with this colouring because the original paint does not survive in these areas. This sculpture comes from Santa Maria delle Grazie, near Montalcino, and is currently housed in the the Museo Civico e Diocesano d'Arte Sacra in Montalcino. Photograph(s) licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International.