Image scanned/or photographed from transparency and color corrected by Pat Cagney.

Madonna and Child

Artist Alessandro Turchi (l'Orbetto) (Italian, 1578-1649)

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)

ClassificationsEuropean art

Credit LineGift of Walter P. Chrysler, Jr.

Object number71.681

Terms

Madonna
Infant Jesus
White
Nude
Red
Blue
Black
Dark Green
Brown

On View

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