Realization: Beauneveu, André (circa 1335 - circa 1400 - 1400) (Sculptor)
Madonna and Child
Madonna and Child
Production: Early 15th century
Area: Sculpture
Technique(s): Marble
Dimensions: H. 170 cm ; W. 60 cm ; D.57 cm
Inventory no.: A.153
Photo credit(s) :
Lauginie, François
Camus, Christophe
Cartel
This monumental work is one of the jewels of Gothic sculpture. It comes from the Cistercian abbey of Notre-Dame de la Cour-Dieu (formerly at Ingrannes, east of Orléans), founded in 1118 by Jean II, Bishop of Orléans.
The Virgin, who may be holding a scepter or lily in her left hand, is carrying her nursing Child on her other arm. The theme of the breast-feeding Virgin, linked to Cistercian spirituality and emphasizing the Incarnation of Christ, appeared in statuary in the 14th century and is represented by only a small number of works. With this theme, the emphasis is on Mary's humanity, which characterizes the depictions of the Virgin and Child that accompanied the rise of the Marian cult in the 13th and 14th centuries. Here, the Virgin is depicted both as Queen of Heaven, once wearing a crown, and as Christ's mother and a woman who suffered in the flesh. Her melancholy expression reveals her awareness of the sacrifice awaiting her Son.
The artist is unknown. However, this Vierge allaitant l'Enfant can be compared with two works attributed to André Beauneveu, one of the most famous Parisian sculptors of the late 14th century: the Sainte Catherine de Courtrai (1373), with which it shares a drapery treated alternately in large flat tints and volute falls, the hip and the work on the hair; and the gisant de Charles V à Saint-Denis (1364 - 1366), which features a similar refined polishing of the marble and face. Although the Vierge d'Orléans cannot be attributed with certainty to Beauneveu, it bears witness to the spread of his style in the Loire Valley and the success of his compositions.
Provenance
Cour-Dieu Abbey, Ingrannes.
Old collection of the Musée d'histoire et d'archéologie d'Orléans.
School
France
Location
Museum of Fine Arts
2nd floor
Room: Between the Middle Ages and the Renaissance / A look at the landscape in the 16th century