Madonna and Child

This sweet Madonna originally hung in the villa designed by the Florentine architect Jacopo Sansovino for the Venetian nobleman Alvise Garzoni at Pontecasale (Padua). Passing into the estate of the Donà dalle Rose family, it was taken to Venice after 1926 and later auctioned (1934) along with other items from the family collection. On that occasion the work was bought by Count Gaetano Marzotto, who later gave it as a gift to the Gallery in 1967, in memory of his wife Margherita Lampertico from Vicenza.

It is made of terracotta covered with a reddish coloured glazed plaster, created by Sansovino around 1555, in the full flood of that mannerism of which, as a sculptor, the artist was one of the most significant exponents. Sweetness and fineness blend here in an image of extraordinary emotional intensity which “in a serenely balanced masterpiece, brings together warmth of sentiments and refined elegance of forms” (Avagnina).

The Madonna tenderly embraces her Son, clasping him with her left arm and gently holding his bent knee; the Child, with extremely realistic features and movements, faces his Mother, leaning back his head and engaging in an intense mute dialogue with her, formed by the meeting of their eyes.

By bringing together and adopting the most varied influences, from Donatello to Luca della Robbia, from Titian to Michelangelo, the artist produces a masterpiece which calls to mind the great models of classic art.