Unknown
Virgin and Child with a Goldfinchcirca 1300-1350

Not on view

Stone sculpture of a standing woman holding a young child on her right arm, with traces of pale blue paint in deeply carved drapery folds

Stone sculpture of a standing robed woman holding a small child, with traces of blue and cream polychromy remaining; deeply carved drapery folds and a veil over the head.

Stone sculpture of a crowned standing figure in long draped robes, holding a small child against her chest, with traces of weathered surface pigment.

Stone sculpture, rear three-quarter view of a standing draped figure holding a small child at the left shoulder, with traces of blue-gray polychromy visible on the robes, weathered surface with a rectangular mortise hole in the back.

Artist or Maker: Unknown
Title: Virgin and Child with a Goldfinch
Place Made: France, Ile de France
Date Made: circa 1300-1350
Medium: Limestone with traces of polychromy
Dimensions: 62 1/2 × 20 × 12 in. (158.75 × 50.8 × 30.48 cm)
Credit Line: Purchased with funds provided by the William Randolph Hearst Foundation
Accession Number: 46.16.1
Classification: Sculpture
Collecting Area: European Painting and Sculpture
Curatorial Notes: Devotions to the Virgin Mary have long been fundamental to Christian practice, but the popularity of her cult grew exponentially in Europe during the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, spurring the production of new iconography. This almost life-sized limestone sculpture of the Virgin and Child visualizes Mary’s dual roles as an ideal model of virtue and a powerful intercessor with her son on behalf of the faithful. She tenderly holds the Christ Child’s foot, emphasizing their bodily connection and, by that, his humanity. Traces of polychrome, especially on the Virgin’s robe, hint at the sculpture’s original colorful appearance, further enlivening the figures. The young child looks at his mother and points to the goldfinch in his hand. Although birds were kept as pets during the Middle Ages, here the finch references an apocryphal legend about Christ’s Passion in which a bird removes a thorn from Christ’s head as he travels the road to Cavalry. This scene simultaneously humanizes the infant Christ and reminds viewers of his future sacrifice and the Virgin’s sorrow at his suffering.

Sculptures that highlight Mary’s maternal care were popular in courtly French circles during the mid-fourteenth century, produced for both private prayer and public worship. The scale and slightly flat back of this sculpture indicate it would not have been seen in the round and belonged to the latter category, likely made for a church space.

2024
Selected Bibliography: Valentiner, W.R. Gothic and Renaissance Sculptures: in the Collection of the Los Angeles County Museum. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum, 1951.
Feinblatt, Ebria. The Gothic Room. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum, 1947.
Schaefer, Scott, and Peter Fusco. European Painting and Sculpture in the Los Angeles County Museum of Art: an Illustrated Summary Catalogue. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1987.
Copyright: photo © Museum Associates/LACMA, by Jonathan Urban

Unknown
Virgin and Child with a Goldfinchcirca 1300-1350

Not on view

Artist or Maker: Unknown
Title: Virgin and Child with a Goldfinch
Place Made: France, Ile de France
Date Made: circa 1300-1350
Medium: Limestone with traces of polychromy
Dimensions: 62 1/2 × 20 × 12 in. (158.75 × 50.8 × 30.48 cm)
Credit Line: Purchased with funds provided by the William Randolph Hearst Foundation
Accession Number: 46.16.1
Classification: Sculpture
Collecting Area: European Painting and Sculpture
Curatorial Notes: Devotions to the Virgin Mary have long been fundamental to Christian practice, but the popularity of her cult grew exponentially in Europe during the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, spurring the production of new iconography. This almost life-sized limestone sculpture of the Virgin and Child visualizes Mary’s dual roles as an ideal model of virtue and a powerful intercessor with her son on behalf of the faithful. She tenderly holds the Christ Child’s foot, emphasizing their bodily connection and, by that, his humanity. Traces of polychrome, especially on the Virgin’s robe, hint at the sculpture’s original colorful appearance, further enlivening the figures. The young child looks at his mother and points to the goldfinch in his hand. Although birds were kept as pets during the Middle Ages, here the finch references an apocryphal legend about Christ’s Passion in which a bird removes a thorn from Christ’s head as he travels the road to Cavalry. This scene simultaneously humanizes the infant Christ and reminds viewers of his future sacrifice and the Virgin’s sorrow at his suffering.

Sculptures that highlight Mary’s maternal care were popular in courtly French circles during the mid-fourteenth century, produced for both private prayer and public worship. The scale and slightly flat back of this sculpture indicate it would not have been seen in the round and belonged to the latter category, likely made for a church space.

2024
Selected Bibliography: Valentiner, W.R. Gothic and Renaissance Sculptures: in the Collection of the Los Angeles County Museum. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum, 1951.
Feinblatt, Ebria. The Gothic Room. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum, 1947.
Schaefer, Scott, and Peter Fusco. European Painting and Sculpture in the Los Angeles County Museum of Art: an Illustrated Summary Catalogue. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1987.