Virgin Adoring the Christ Child
sculptor
Matteo di Giovanni Civitali
(Lucca, Italy, 1436 - 1501, Lucca, Italy)
Dateabout 1480
Place MadeLucca, Tuscany, Italy, Europe
MediumPolychromed and gilded terracotta
Dimensions99 x 103 x 38 cm (39 x 40 9/16 x 14 15/16 in.)
ClassificationsSculpture
Credit LineIsabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston
Accession numberS27n4
eMuseum ID724028
EmbARK ObjectID12451
TMS Source ID1571
Last Updated8/22/24
Status
Not on viewWeb CommentaryThese three-dimensional, completely painted figures must have been startling in their believability. The tenderness of the Virgin Mary’s face is matched by her graceful gesture of prayer. Moreover, the infant Christ echoes this act of devotion and love.
The interaction between the Virgin and Christ Child not only has religious meaning, but also provides a model for harmonious family life. The early 15th-century Florentine theologian Fra Giovanni Dominici recommended that images of the Virgin and Child be placed in children’s rooms to provide examples of proper behavior.
The American painter Joseph Lindon Smith brought this work to Isabella Gardner’s attention in 1902. She competed with Wilhelm Bode, director of the Berlin museums and another collector of Renaissance art, to obtain it.
The interaction between the Virgin and Christ Child not only has religious meaning, but also provides a model for harmonious family life. The early 15th-century Florentine theologian Fra Giovanni Dominici recommended that images of the Virgin and Child be placed in children’s rooms to provide examples of proper behavior.
The American painter Joseph Lindon Smith brought this work to Isabella Gardner’s attention in 1902. She competed with Wilhelm Bode, director of the Berlin museums and another collector of Renaissance art, to obtain it.
BibliographyNotesCatalogue. Fenway Court. (Boston, 1903), p. 23. (as Italian, 15th century)
Wilhelm von Bode. "Alte Kunst in den Vereinigten Staaten." Die Woche, vol. 50 (16 December 1911), p. 2100, no. 50. (as by Matteo Civitali)
F. Schottmüller. "Civitali" in Ulrich Thieme, Felix Becker, et al. (eds.). Allgemeines Lexikon der bildenden Künstler von der Antike bis zur Gegenwart: Unter Mitwirkung von etwa 400 Fachgelehrten, vol. 7 (Leipzig, 1912), p. 26, no. f. (listed under the "undated... and insecurely attributed works" section)
Morris Carter. Isabella Stewart Gardner and Fenway Court (Boston, 1925; Reprint, Boston, 1972), pp. 197-98. (excerpting Joseph Lindon Smith's letter to Isabella Gardner, 15 November 1902)
Sir Eric Robert Dalrymple Maclagan. Italian Sculpture of the Renaissance: the Charles Eliot Norton lectures for the years 1927-1928 (Cambridge, 1935), pp. 158-59, fig. 72. (as probably by Civitali)
Gilbert Wendel Longstreet and Morris Carter. General Catalogue (Boston, 1935), p. 233, pl. 8. (as by Civitali)
Morris Carter. "Mrs. Gardner & The Treasures of Fenway Court" in Alfred M. Frankfurter (ed.). The Gardner Collection (New York, 1946), pp. 59-60, ill. (as by Civitali)
Corinna Lindon Smith. Interesting People (Norman, Oklahoma, 1962), p. 161. (as Italian, 15th century)
Rollin Hadley. “Notes, Records, Comments.” Gardner Museum Calendar of Events 7, no. 22 (26 Jan. 1964), p. 2. (excerpting Eric MacLagan, pp. 158-59)
George L. Stout. Treasures from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum (Boston, 1969), pp. 192-93, ill. (as by Civitali; "probable and plausible are the words frequently written to ascribe the [sculpture] to Matteo...")
Ulrich Middeldorf. Sculptures from the Samuel H. Kress Collection: European Schools, XIV-XIX Century (London, 1976), p. 49. (as acribed to Civitali)
Cornelius C. Vermeule III et al. Sculpture in the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum (Boston, 1977), pp. 110-11, no. 139. (as by Civitali, about 1480)
Rollin van N. Hadley. Museums Discovered: The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum (Boston, 1981), pp. 154-55, ill. (as by Civitali, about 1480)
Joaneath A. Spicer. "A Terracotta Joseph Attributed to Civitale: Its Authenticity Vindicated." The Journal of the Walters Art Gallery (1990), pp. 71-72, fig. 4 (as traditionally attributed to Civitali)
Dario Cimorelli et al. (eds.). Matteo Civitali e il suo Tempo: Pittori, scultori e orafi a Lucca nel tardo Quattrocento. Exh. cat. (Milan: Museo Nazionale di Villa Guinigi, 2004), pp. 70, 72-73, fig. 73; pp. 173-75, fig. 12. (as by Civitali, about 1490-1495)
Jessica Chloros, Valentine Talland et al. "Italian Renaissance Polychrome Terracotta Sculpture in the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum." ICOM Committee for Conservation in association with the Corning Museum of Glass (2010), pp. 210-12, figs. 1-2. (as by Civitali, about 1480)
Linda J. Docherty. "Translating Dante: Isabella Stewart Gardner's Museum as Paradiso." Religion and the Arts (2018), p. 213, fig. 9.
Wilhelm von Bode. "Alte Kunst in den Vereinigten Staaten." Die Woche, vol. 50 (16 December 1911), p. 2100, no. 50. (as by Matteo Civitali)
F. Schottmüller. "Civitali" in Ulrich Thieme, Felix Becker, et al. (eds.). Allgemeines Lexikon der bildenden Künstler von der Antike bis zur Gegenwart: Unter Mitwirkung von etwa 400 Fachgelehrten, vol. 7 (Leipzig, 1912), p. 26, no. f. (listed under the "undated... and insecurely attributed works" section)
Morris Carter. Isabella Stewart Gardner and Fenway Court (Boston, 1925; Reprint, Boston, 1972), pp. 197-98. (excerpting Joseph Lindon Smith's letter to Isabella Gardner, 15 November 1902)
Sir Eric Robert Dalrymple Maclagan. Italian Sculpture of the Renaissance: the Charles Eliot Norton lectures for the years 1927-1928 (Cambridge, 1935), pp. 158-59, fig. 72. (as probably by Civitali)
Gilbert Wendel Longstreet and Morris Carter. General Catalogue (Boston, 1935), p. 233, pl. 8. (as by Civitali)
Morris Carter. "Mrs. Gardner & The Treasures of Fenway Court" in Alfred M. Frankfurter (ed.). The Gardner Collection (New York, 1946), pp. 59-60, ill. (as by Civitali)
Corinna Lindon Smith. Interesting People (Norman, Oklahoma, 1962), p. 161. (as Italian, 15th century)
Rollin Hadley. “Notes, Records, Comments.” Gardner Museum Calendar of Events 7, no. 22 (26 Jan. 1964), p. 2. (excerpting Eric MacLagan, pp. 158-59)
George L. Stout. Treasures from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum (Boston, 1969), pp. 192-93, ill. (as by Civitali; "probable and plausible are the words frequently written to ascribe the [sculpture] to Matteo...")
Ulrich Middeldorf. Sculptures from the Samuel H. Kress Collection: European Schools, XIV-XIX Century (London, 1976), p. 49. (as acribed to Civitali)
Cornelius C. Vermeule III et al. Sculpture in the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum (Boston, 1977), pp. 110-11, no. 139. (as by Civitali, about 1480)
Rollin van N. Hadley. Museums Discovered: The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum (Boston, 1981), pp. 154-55, ill. (as by Civitali, about 1480)
Joaneath A. Spicer. "A Terracotta Joseph Attributed to Civitale: Its Authenticity Vindicated." The Journal of the Walters Art Gallery (1990), pp. 71-72, fig. 4 (as traditionally attributed to Civitali)
Dario Cimorelli et al. (eds.). Matteo Civitali e il suo Tempo: Pittori, scultori e orafi a Lucca nel tardo Quattrocento. Exh. cat. (Milan: Museo Nazionale di Villa Guinigi, 2004), pp. 70, 72-73, fig. 73; pp. 173-75, fig. 12. (as by Civitali, about 1490-1495)
Jessica Chloros, Valentine Talland et al. "Italian Renaissance Polychrome Terracotta Sculpture in the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum." ICOM Committee for Conservation in association with the Corning Museum of Glass (2010), pp. 210-12, figs. 1-2. (as by Civitali, about 1480)
Linda J. Docherty. "Translating Dante: Isabella Stewart Gardner's Museum as Paradiso." Religion and the Arts (2018), p. 213, fig. 9.
ProvenanceNotesPurchased by Isabella Stewart Gardner from the antique dealer Attilio Simonetti (1843–1925), Rome for $5,000 in December 1902, through the painter Joseph Lindon Smith (1863-1950).
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