Madonna and Child
Artist
Alessandro Turchi (l'Orbetto)
(Italian, 1578-1649)
CultureItalian
Dateafter 1625
MediumOil on canvas
Dimensions45 x 37 1/2 in. (114.3 x 95.3 cm)
Overall, Frame: 54 x 46 1/2 x 3 1/2 in. (137.2 x 118.1 x 8.9 cm)
Overall, Frame: 54 x 46 1/2 x 3 1/2 in. (137.2 x 118.1 x 8.9 cm)
Credit LineGift of Walter P. Chrysler, Jr.
Object number71.681
Not on view
DescriptionThis is an oil on canvas painting. In the foreground, the Madonna holds the Christ child as he sits on her right knee, nursing. She wears a red dress with a white frock underneath; a blue fabric is draped over her but has fallen off her right shoulder. The child is naked. A dark green drapery hangs above the mother's head. Austere looking buildings are seen in the background.Label TextAlessandro Turchi, called l’Orbetto Italian, 1578–1649 Madonna and Child, after 1625 Oil on canvas In Alessandro Turchi’s hushed vision of the Virgin and Child, Mary is shown suckling her son, an intimate act of maternal devotion. The Virgin’s tenderness symbolizes her role as mater omnium, the nourishing mother of all humankind, while the subtle hints of sorrow on her face foreshadow her tragic sacrifice. Protestant reformers had rejected the Catholic devotion to the Virgin Mary, but when the Catholic Church emerged triumphantly in the 1600s, such heartfelt images of the Mother and Child flourished. Gift of Walter P. Chrysler, Jr. 71.681 ProvenanceCollection of Julius Weitzner, New York; Collection of Walter P. Chrysler, Jr.; Gift of Walter P. Chrysler, Jr., to the Chrysler Museum, 1971. Exhibition History"France in the Golden Age: 17th-Century French Paintings from American Collections," Palais du Louvre, Paris, Jan. 29 - April 26, 1982; The Metropolitan Museum of Art, May 26 - August 22, 1982; Art Institute of Chicago, Sept. 18 - Nov. 28, 1982. "Come Together, Right Now: The Art of Gathering," Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, VA, October 11, 2020 - January 3, 2021.Published ReferencesExhibition catalogue. _France in the Golden Age: Seventeenth-Century French Paintings in American Collections_. Paris: Grand Palais. 1982: p. 365, no. 5. *Stated as the work of Pierre Mignard (?)* Erich Schleier. "Le Peinture française...France in the Golden Age," _Kunstchronik_. 36. 05/1983:pp. 227, 233, 237; illus. 1-b. *This painting was reattributed to Turchi in this article* Colin B. Bailey, editor. _The First Painters of the King: French Royal Taste from Louis XIV to the Revolution_. New York: Stair, Sainty, Matthiesen. 1985:p. 133, ill. #72a. Jefferson C. Harrison. "Italian Art of the Seventeenth Century," _The Chrysler Museum Gallery Guide_. Norfolk, VA: Chrysler Museum Gallery Guide. 1987: No. 1. Daniela Scaglietti Kelescian, a cura di. _Alessandro Turchi l'Orbetto 1578-1649_. Milano: Electa. 1999: pp. 178-179.
14th century
