Master of the Bargello Judgment of Paris
Madonna and Childcirca 1425

On view:

Geffen Galleries, floor 2

Tempera panel painting, seated woman in sky-blue veil and crimson dress holds a standing infant in a peach dress, against a tooled gold-leaf background

Artist or Maker: Master of the Bargello Judgment of Paris
Italy, Florence, active 1425-1450
Title: Madonna and Child
Date Made: circa 1425
Medium: Tempera on panel
Dimensions: Panel: 10 1/2 × 6 3/4 in. (26.67 × 17.15 cm) Framed: 12 3/4 × 8 3/4 × 1 1/2 in. (32.39 × 22.23 × 3.81 cm)
Credit Line: Gift of Robert Lehman
Accession Number: 47.11.1
Classification: Paintings
Collecting Area: European Painting and Sculpture
Curatorial Notes: This gentle image of the Virgin holding a standing Christ Child styles Mary as a “Madonna of Humility,” a visual trope in which she sits on a large pillow in a posture that emphasizes her humanity and modesty. Her cloaked arm wraps around her son, creating a cascade of folds that reveal the garment’s gold interior. The striking use of golden colors—the trim on the costumes, the yellow hair, the brocade pillow, the punched gilt background—establishes the scene’s divine otherworldliness. The Christ Child grasps a goldfinch in his hand. Although birds were a common pet during this period, the finch might also reference 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. The emotive depiction simultaneously humanizes the infant Christ and reminds viewers of his future sacrifice, offering devotees an intimate moment of contemplation.

2024
Selected Bibliography: 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.
Caroselli, Susan L. Italian Panel Painting of the Early Renaissance. Los Angeles: Museum Associates, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1994.

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Master of the Bargello Judgment of Paris
Madonna and Childcirca 1425

On view:

Geffen Galleries, floor 2

Artist or Maker: Master of the Bargello Judgment of Paris
Italy, Florence, active 1425-1450
Title: Madonna and Child
Date Made: circa 1425
Medium: Tempera on panel
Dimensions: Panel: 10 1/2 × 6 3/4 in. (26.67 × 17.15 cm) Framed: 12 3/4 × 8 3/4 × 1 1/2 in. (32.39 × 22.23 × 3.81 cm)
Credit Line: Gift of Robert Lehman
Accession Number: 47.11.1
Classification: Paintings
Collecting Area: European Painting and Sculpture
Curatorial Notes: This gentle image of the Virgin holding a standing Christ Child styles Mary as a “Madonna of Humility,” a visual trope in which she sits on a large pillow in a posture that emphasizes her humanity and modesty. Her cloaked arm wraps around her son, creating a cascade of folds that reveal the garment’s gold interior. The striking use of golden colors—the trim on the costumes, the yellow hair, the brocade pillow, the punched gilt background—establishes the scene’s divine otherworldliness. The Christ Child grasps a goldfinch in his hand. Although birds were a common pet during this period, the finch might also reference 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. The emotive depiction simultaneously humanizes the infant Christ and reminds viewers of his future sacrifice, offering devotees an intimate moment of contemplation.

2024
Selected Bibliography: 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.
Caroselli, Susan L. Italian Panel Painting of the Early Renaissance. Los Angeles: Museum Associates, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1994.

Related Unframed

Come Visit European Painting and Sculpture

December 10, 2018
Leah Lehmbeck

A Closer Look at Italian and Northern Renaissance Paintings

January 24, 2017
Chi-Young Kim

From the Collection: Madonna and Child in a Landscape

February 2, 2015
Linda Theung