Madonna and Child Sassoferrato Christian Poster 20X30 Art Print

Madonna and Child - Sassoferrato c. 1650 canvas...

Provenance: From a chapel in Mauerbach, 1772 in the gallery detectable

Madonna and Child
Giovanni Battista Salvi, called Il Sassoferrato (Italian, 1605-1685)
Sassoferrato was a Roman Baroque painter who is perhaps best known for his many luminous and pious images of the Virgin. The Madonna and Child with shows Mary cradling the sleeping Christ Child tenderly in her arms. With his rosy cheeks and plump arms and legs, the Christ Child appears as a typical, healthy baby. Mary is shown as a radiant young mother. This image endows the Virgin and Child with human qualities and celebrates the natural maternal bond between mother and infant. This bond is emphasized by the manner in which Mary embraces Jesus, resting her cheek on his head.

The rich, warm golds and pinks, and the soothing blue of Mary's shawl lend peace and tranquillity to the composition. Sassoferrato's clean, crisp lines, exemplified by the finely executed folds of drapery, reveal his command of classical Baroque painting techniques. This painstaking craftsmanship contributed to his renown.

SASSOFERRATO

Giovanni Battista Salvi da Sassoferrato, August 25, 1609 August 8, 1685, also known as Giovanni Battista Salvi, was an Italian Baroque painter. He is often referred to only by the town of his birthplace (Sassoferrato), as was customary in his time, and for example seen with da Vinci and Caravaggio.

The details of Giovanni Battista Salvi's biography are very sparse. He was born in the small town of Sassoferrato in the Marche region of central Italy, half-way between Rome and Florence, west of Apennines.

Sassoferrato's work was held in high regard through to the mid-19th century. His paintings were sometimes believed to be contemporary with the School of Raphael. However, by the late 19th century, reaction against sweet devotional art work was reinforced in England by the critical commentary of John Ruskin.

The late 20th century saw a revival of interest in Italian Baroque archaizing painting with Guido Reni leading the way in generating a surge of auction interest also in Sassoferrato.

There are over three hundred works by Sassoferrato in public exhibition spaces in 2006 throughout the world including almost all of his extant drawings in the British Royal Collection at Windsor Castle.