The Virgin and Child with Angels and Cherubs

Label

These low-relief images depict important religious narrative scenes and Christian figures. Representations of Christ’s descent from the cross and his burial were especially popular subjects because they visualized the physical nature of Christ’s death and resurrection; other scenes allowed viewers to meditate on specific saints or biblical stories. Devotional plaquettes had many uses and were commonly owned in Italy at the turn of the 16th century. Framed and attached to a handle, they could become a pax for use during the Mass. They could also be set into boxes or cabinet doors or pierced and hung on a wall in a private space. Small-scale plaquettes could even be kept in a pocket. The addition of a family’s coat of arms allowed patrons to further personalize a plaquette. While they were mass produced, plaquettes were often used for personal devotion, as suggested by the patterns of wear on the surface of these reliefs, which indicate repeated touching. This selection of plaquettes suggests the diversity of sculptural production for religious use in this period.

From the 2024 exhibition Living with Sculpture: Presence and Power in Europe, 1400–1750, curated by Elizabeth Rice Mattison, Andrew W. Mellon Curator of Academic Programming and Curator of European Art, and Ashley Offill, Curator of Collections

Course History

ARTH 27.02, Living Stone: Sculpture in Early Modern Italy, Elizabeth Kassler-Taub, Winter 2022

HIST 43.02, European Intellectual History 1400-1800, Darrin McMahon, Fall 2022

Exhibition History

Living with Sculpture: Presence and Power in Europe, 1400–1750, Citrin Family Gallery and Engles Family Gallery, Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, March 23, 2024–March 22, 2025.

Publication History

Roger Arvid Anderson, The Roger Arvid Anderson Collection, Medals, Medallions, Plaquettes and Small Reliefs, Paintings, Sculpture, Works on Paper and Textiles, San Francisco: Roger Arvid Anderson (published privately), design by David L. Wilson, 2015, p. 116.

Provenance

Astarte XIII, lot 1937, September 13, 2003; Islamic, Ancient, British and World Coins, Medals and Memorabilia relating to Edward VII, Historical and Renaissance Medals and Plaquettes, Morton & Eden Ltd, in association with Sotheby's, London, England, Catalogue no. 46, Sale, November 11, 2010, lot 590; sold to Roger Arvid Anderson, San Francisco, California, 2010; lent to present collection, 2011; given to present collection, 2016.

Catalogue Raisonne

Kress, Fig. 29, No. 303; V&A, No A.40.1921

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Subjects