|
The Madonna and Child
By Botticelli (1444?-1510)
In The National Gallery, London
Not the least interesting fact to be noted in connection with Botticelli is the rise and decline of his popularity in his own day, and its rise again in the Victorian era, when artistic and literary tastes were revised by the great men of that time during what was virtually a new Renaissance.
In 1602 the Grand Duke of Tuscany issued a decree prohibiting the exportation of "the masterpieces of eminent painters." A list of these painters was given, but the name of the once popular Botticelli was not mentioned. So recently as 1867 a Botticelli was acquired at an auction for 20 pounds by D.G. Rossetti, to whom, with Burne-Jones, Ruskin, and Pater, the revival of interest in this painter was due.
Looking at the picture of "The Madonna and Child," seated at the open window, one is reminded of the youthfulness of the Madonna, and impressed, from a technical view-point, by the metallic gold of her hair and head-dress, which is an outstanding characteristic of the picture at a casual view. It is generally understood that the Virgin was fourteen years of age at the time when she gave birth to the infant Jesus; certainly she was not more than fifteen. Botticelli helps us to realise her youthfulness, and invests her with a melancholy sweetness which is most touching to the beholder. The bright gold in the picture is a peculiarity of Botticelli's work, and is due to his early training as a goldsmith. Noteworthy, also, is the careful detail of the scarf and dress.
From the book "Famous Paintings" printed in 1913.
Large files of this public domain print are available at Stock Photos at Songs of Praise
(Firefox users must click again on the large photo to see the very large image.)
Online "Name the Painting"
Alessandro Botticelli
paintings at ABC Gallery
Alessandro Botticelli
biography
Sandro Botticelli
pronunciation
Famous Paintings in this Series
M. Bompard
A Prayer to the Madonna
Botticelli
The Madonna and Child
Sir Edward Coley
Burne-Jones
King Cophetua and the Beggar Maid
Sir Edward Coley
Burne-Jones
The Mill
Jean Charles Cazin
Ishmael
John Constable
Boat-Building Near
Flatford Mill
John Crome
On the Skirts of the Forest
Pascal Adolphe Jean
Dagnan-Bouveret
The Blessed Bread
Theophile Emanuel Duverger
Alone
C.W. Furse
Diana of the Uplands
W.H. Gore
"'Listed"
Peter Graham
A Rainy Day
Jean Baptiste Greuze
The Listening Girl
Sir James Guthrie
A Highland Funeral
Frans Hals
A Man With a Glove
In His Hand
Hans Holbein the Younger
The Ambassadors
Henry Holiday
Dante and Beatrice
Sir Edwin Landseer
Suspense
Sir Edwin Landseer
A Naughty Child
H.H. La Thangue
Mowing Bracken
Sir Thomas Lawrence
Caroline of Brunswick,
Queen of George IV.
G.D. Leslie
Sun and Moon Flowers
J. Seymour Lucas
Flirtation
Jean Louis Ernest
Meissonier
The Print Collector
Jean Francois Millet
The Angelus
Jean Francois Millet
Going to Work
Sir William Quiller
Orchardson
The Farmer's Daughter
Ralph Peacock
Ethel
Rembrandt
His Own Portrait
Sir Joshua Reynolds
The Infant Samuel
Sir Joshua Reynolds
The Strawberry Girl
George Romney
The Parson's Daughter
W. Dendy Sadler
A Good Story
W. Dendy Sadler
Friday
William Small
The Last Match
J.M. Swan
On the Alert,
Lioness and Cubs
J.M.W. Turner
Peace: Burial at Sea of the
Body of Sir David Wilkie
J.M.W. Turner
Rain Steam and Speed
The Great Western Railway
Velazquez
Portrait of a Spanish Lady
"La Femme a L'Eventail"
Frederick Walker
The Vagrants
George Frederick Watts
Hope
James McNeill Whistler
My Mother
Anders Zorn
A Fisherman
Index Page
Famous Paintings