The ''Pazzi Madonna '' is a rectangular "

stiacciato Stiacciato is a technique that allows a sculptor to create a recessed or relief sculpture with carving only millimetres deep and with mere scribing. To give the illusion of greater depth, the thickness of the carving gradually decreases from the f ...

" marble

relief Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term ''relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that the ...

sculpture by

Donatello Donato di Niccolò di Betto Bardi ( – 13 December 1466), better known as Donatello ( ), was a Republic of Florence, Florentine sculptor of the Renaissance period. Born in Republic of Florence, Florence, he studied classical sculpture and use ...

, since 1886 in the sculpture collections of the

Bode-Museum The Bode-Museum (English: ''Bode Museum''), formerly called the Kaiser-Friedrich-Museum (''Emperor Frederick Museum''), is a listed building on the Museum Island in the Mitte (locality), historic centre of Berlin. It was built from 1898 to 1904 ...

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

. Dating to around 1420 and 1425 at the beginning of Donatello's collaboration with

Michelozzo Michelozzo di Bartolomeo Michelozzi (1396 – 7 October 1472) was an Italian architect and sculptor. Considered one of the great pioneers of architecture during the Renaissance, Michelozzo was a favored Medici architect who was extensively empl ...

, it was most likely produced for private devotion and possibly commissioned by the Pazzi family for their

home A home, or domicile, is a space used as a permanent or semi-permanent residence for one or many humans, and sometimes various companion animals. It is a fully or semi sheltered space and can have both interior and exterior aspects to it. H ...

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...

.Rolf C. Wirtz, ''Donatello'', ''Masters of Italian Art'' series, Könemann, Cologne 1998. p. ??. The composition was very popular and is known in several copies. The half figure of Virgin Mary is shown in three-quarter-view, the faces of both mother and child are in profile, with her leaning towards the Christ Child and touching his forehead, her silhouette slightly obscuring his. She holds the baby with her left arm, the hand with braced fingers perspectivally foreshortened, the right hand softly pressing against its shoulder. Neither of them are shown with halos and the emphasis is instead on their tender and intense intimacy, developing themes from the Eleusa-type icon in

Byzantine art Byzantine art comprises the body of Christian Greek artistic products of the Eastern Roman Empire, as well as the nations and states that inherited culturally from the empire. Though the empire itself emerged from the decline of Rome and lasted ...

. The smiling child reaches out his arm to his mother, but their expressions often are described as melancholy, with the suggestion that the Virgin is reflecting on her son's future Passion. Donatello, Pazzi Madonna, c1422, marble, Bode Museum, Berlin.jpg, Relief in frame as displayed Donatello, Pazzi-Madonna, c1422, Bode Museum, Berlin, detail.jpg, Close-up of heads Donatello, Pazzi-Madonna, c1422, Bode Museum, Berlin lv.jpg, Detail in lateral view Donatello - La Vierge et l'Enfant (Louvre, RF 744).jpg, Copy in architectural framing all'antica, Paris,

Louvre The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is the world's most-visited museum, and an historic landmark in Paris, France. It is the home of some of the best-known works of art, including the ''Mona Lisa'' and the ''Venus de Milo''. A central l ...

(Inv. RF 744)

References

Literature

* * * {{Donatello Marble sculptures in Germany Sculptures by Donatello Sculptures in the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin Pazzi family Sculptures of the Madonna and Child