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Virgin and Child
About the Artwork
This small devotional object differs stylistically from Buglioni's Madonna and Child Enthroned with Saints Francis and Anthony Abbot (1921.1180), also in the museum's collection. In contrast to the other work, the faces of the Madonna and Child are significantly less expressive, and the passages of exposed skin have been left unglazed. The Madonna holds a nude Christ on her left arm and wears a mantle of blue with green lining and a maroon tunic with a yellow collar and cuffs. Her bright yellow shoes and the purple of her tunic are characteristic of Buglioni's color scheme and can also be seen in the other work. The tabernacle frame is probably contemporary to the figures, although it may not have been created specifically for this altarpiece. Buglioni likely worked in the studio of Andrea della Robbia, where he would have studied the family's techniques for glazing terracotta. The frame is classically inspired, with Corinthian capitals and Buglioni's characteristic egg and dart moldings. The facial type in this Madonna and Child recalls Buglioni's Madonna delle Grazie in Florence's Palazzo Frescobaldi, and because of this similarity, the scholar Allan Marquand attributed the Cleveland Madonna and Child to Buglioni in 1921, although this attribution has since been questioned.
Provenance
at least 1914 Mrs. Liberty E. Holden (Cleveland, Ohio), by gift to the Cleveland Museum of Art, 1914.
Exhibition history
Inaugural Exhibition. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (co-organizer) (June 6-September 20, 1916). Florence and the Arts: Five Centuries of Patronage. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (July 13-September 19, 1971).
Quick Overview
- Artist
- Benedetto Buglioni (Italian, 1461–1521)
- Date
- 1500–1510
- Medium
- glazed terracotta
- Dimensions
- Overall: 123.8 x 68.6 x 15.3 cm (48 3/4 x 27 x 6 in.)
- Type
- Sculpture
- Classification
- Sculpture
- Department
- European Painting and Sculpture
- Credit line
- The Holden Collection
- Accession no.
- 1916.1005
More by Benedetto Buglioni in museum collections
Virgin and Child Enthroned with Saints Francis and Giovanni Gualberto
Benedetto Buglionic. 1510–20 · Sculpture
Data retrieved from the Cleveland Museum of Art on October 8, 2026. The museum may have updated its record since.
Open-access museum record · AT-00010785
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