Description
The subject of the Madonna and Christ Child, shown close up from behind a parapet, is a very common one for a devotional painting such as this. An interesting feature in this example is the coral necklace worn by Christ. Coral was believed to keep the devil away and many babies at this time had a coral teething ring or necklace.
Schiavone was born in Dalmatia (present-day Croatia) and immigrated to northern Italy, where he studied in Padua in the workshop of Francesco Squarcione, the same painter with whom both Dario di Giovanni (37.1178-1180) and Marco Zoppo (37.544) trained. On the cartellino (little paper) in the foreground, Schiavone proudly identifies himself as the disciple of this master, known especially for encouraging an appreciation for ancient Roman art in his students. The garlands at the top, heavy with fruit, are colorful, playful versions of the ones he would have seen on Roman sarcophagi or funerary altars in Paduan collections.

Madonna and Child with Angels
Conservation
Date | Description | Narrative |
---|---|---|
12/28/1936 | Treatment | cleaned; coated; other |
1/19/1971 | Treatment | stabilized; loss compensation; examined for technical study |
1/19/1971 | Treatment | loss compensation; other |
4/09/1984 | Treatment | other |
5/31/1985 | Treatment | cleaned; stabilized; coated; loss compensation |
3/17/1987 | Treatment | loss compensation |
10/28/1993 | Treatment | stabilized; loss compensation |
9/19/2005 | Loan Consideration | examined for loan |
10/01/2005 | Treatment | cleaned; coated |
Exhibitions
- A Renaissance Gem Revealed: Petrarch's Triumphs Disbound. The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore. 2002.
Provenance
Arnold Seligmann, Rey and Co., Munich and New York, 1922 [listed in Zeri: Italian Paintings in the Walters Art Gallery: I as A. S. Drey]; Robert Lehman, New York, 1924 (?) [mode of acquisition unknown]; Arnold Seligmann, Rey and Co., New York, 1925; Henry Walters, Baltimore, 1925, by purchase; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.
Inscriptions
[Transcription] Inscribed on the paper at the bottom: .HOC. PINXIT. GEORGIVS. DALMATICVS. DIS | CIPVLVS. SQVARCIONI. S.; [Translation] Inscribed on the paper at the bottom: Giorgio Dalmaticus, pupil of Squarcione, painted this.
Credit
Acquired by Henry Walters, 1925
Creator
Period
1459-1460 (Renaissance)Accession Number
37.1026Measurements
Painted surface H: 27 3/16 x W: 22 5/16 in. (69 x 56.7 cm); Panel H: 27 9/16 x W: 22 5/16 x D: 1 in. (70 x 56.7 x 2.5 cm)Geographies
- Italy, Padua (Place of Origin)