''Madonna in Glory with Seraphim'' is a painting by the
Italian Renaissance
The Italian Renaissance ( it, Rinascimento ) was a period in Italian history covering the 15th and 16th centuries. The period is known for the initial development of the broader Renaissance culture that spread across Europe and marked the trans ...
painter
Sandro Botticelli
Alessandro di Mariano di Vanni Filipepi ( – May 17, 1510), known as Sandro Botticelli (, ), was an Italian Renaissance painting, Italian painter of the Early Renaissance. Botticelli's posthumous reputation suffered until the late 19th cent ...
, executed . It is housed in
Galleria degli Uffizi.
History
The original location of the painting is not known, but it was registered in the Uffizi inventories of 1784 and 1825 as an anonymous artwork.
The art historian
Wilhelm von Bode
Wilhelm von Bode (10 December 1845 – 1 March 1929) was a German art historian and museum curator. Born Arnold Wilhelm Bode in Calvörde, he was ennobled in 1913. He was the creator and first curator of the Kaiser Friedrich Museum, now c ...
first attributed it to Botticelli and dated it to the
Verrocchio
Andrea del Verrocchio (, , ; – 1488), born Andrea di Michele di Francesco de' Cioni, was a sculptor, Italian painter and goldsmith who was a master of an important workshop in Florence. He apparently became known as ''Verrocchio'' after the ...
phase of his early career, and just before his ''
Fortitude''. Later studies confirmed von Bode's hypothesis, with the exception of
Adolfo Venturi
Adolfo Venturi (3 September 1856, Modena – 10 June 1941, Santa Margherita Ligure) was an Italian art historian. His son, Lionello Venturi, was also an art historian.
Biography
He received his education in Modena and Florence, and in ...
who believed it to come from the school of
Filippo Lippi.
Description and style
The Virgin Mary holds the baby Jesus on her knees. She is enthroned on clouds and surrounded by
seraphim and rays of light. The Christ Child, with the
cruciform
Cruciform is a term for physical manifestations resembling a common cross or Christian cross. The label can be extended to architectural shapes, biology, art, and design.
Cruciform architectural plan
Christian churches are commonly describe ...
nimbus, is looking towards the observer and raising his hand in blessing. Botticelli has succeeded in expressing the tensions in this theme with sensitivity: the mother, who is fully aware of the
Passion her son will suffer, is holding him protectively in her arms.
The painting displays an incisive, graphic
chiaroscuro
Chiaroscuro ( , ; ), in art, is the use of strong contrasts between light and dark, usually bold contrasts affecting a whole composition. It is also a technical term used by artists and art historians for the use of contrasts of light to achi ...
that reflects the influence of Verrocchio on Botticelli, who helped in Verrocchio's workshop as a young artist. The depiction of Christ, however, is more plainly Botticelli's own style—he is depicted with rounded shapes and the melancholic air that often appears in Botticelli's work. The figure of Mary is elongated and loose, similar to the works of
Filippo Lippi, another influence of Botticelli's. Similarly, Marie's delicately rounded face depicted with contour lines also recalls Lippi's work.
Similar panel paintings of the Madonna by Botticelli remain from around 1470. Two full figure pictures of the
Madonna—the ''Madonna in Glory'' and the ''
Madonna of the Rose Garden''—are in the Uffizi. Like ''Madonna in Glory with Seraphim '', they represent monumental seated figures that fill the entire picture.
See also
*
List of works by Sandro Botticelli
The following is a list of panel paintings, works on canvas and frescoes by the Italian painter Sandro Botticelli.Barbara Deimling. ''Botticelli.'' Taschen. Cologne 2007. The few surviving drawings are excluded. It is not indicated if some works m ...
Bibliography
*
References
External links
Uffizi catalog entry
{{DEFAULTSORT:Madonna In Glory With Seraphim (Botticelli)
1469 paintings
Paintings by Sandro Botticelli in the Uffizi
Paintings of the Madonna and Child by Sandro Botticelli
Angels in art