Masaccio, 'The Virgin and Child', 1426

The Virgin and Child

Masaccio

Not on display

About the work

Overview

This was the central panel of a large altarpiece made for the church of Santa Maria del Carmine in Pisa. The Virgin’s sturdy form, which looks similar to contemporary Florentine sculpture, casts a shadow against the carved throne. Christ’s body seems fleshy and three-dimensional; Masaccio has done this by showing how certain areas catch the light, painting them with a lighter tone. His ability to represent holy figures as though they were human was innovative and influential.

Masaccio also used the new technique of single-point perspective, which helped to make certain objects appear closer and others further away. This is clearest in the ‘V’ shape created by the angle of the angel’s lutes.

Christ is shown eating grapes. It’s a reminder of the wine of the Eucharist, which Christians drink in remembrance of the blood Christ shed at his crucifixion, a scene of which would have sat above this image.

In-depth

This was once the central panel of an altarpiece, probably a polyptych, made by Masaccio for the Carmelite church of Santa Maria del Carmine in Pisa. It was commissioned by a man called Giuliano degli Scarsi for the burial chapel that he built for his family. The chapel no longer exists – the church was remodelled in the seventeenth century.

Given his success and popularity it’s likely that Masaccio painted several altarpieces, but this is one of only four that survive. He painted this one without his frequent collaborator Masolino. While it’s likely that assistants helped him with some of the smaller panels, he painted the Virgin and Child alone. It’s a good example of many of his unique innovations which made him one of the most influential Italian painters of the early fifteenth century.

The Virgin Mary dominates the panel, her bulky thighs creating a sturdy seat for the Christ Child; he sits comfortably, eating grapes. She looks like an enormous sculpture, clothed in heavy blue drapery. Christ, although just a baby, is equally imposing – the folds of fat on his wrist and chubby legs have been given shape with shading and highlighting, so that some areas appear in shadow and others stand out. This sense that his flesh is catching the light helps give the impression that he has a real, physical presence and that there’s a source of natural light in the scene. Masaccio has used the same technique to make the folds and creases of the Virgin’s robes look three-dimensional, and further emphasises Christ’s and Mary’s solid presence by painting their shadows (the Virgin’s body, for example, casts a shadow on the throne).

Christ’s halo projects both forwards and backwards rather than just sitting behind his head. This completely new way of painting haloes suggests that there’s space between him and his mother, in turn encouraging us to see them as real figures, actually taking up space – ours.

Masaccio was deeply interested in sculpture; it has even been suggested that he practised as a sculptor early in his career. He may have painted this altarpiece in Pisa, rather than his hometown of Florence. There he would have seen the work of the thirteenth- and fourteenth-century Pisan sculptors, Nicola, Giovanni and Andrea Pisano. Nicola’s renowned pulpit in the Pisa cathedral baptistery featured multi-figured scenes showing the life of Christ, and Masaccio seems to have copied certain details in the predella panels.

The most important lesson that Masaccio learnt from sculpture, however, was the sense of reality that its imitation could give his holy figures. This he probably took from his fellow Florentine, the sculptor Donatello, who was working in Pisa at the same time. Masaccio might have based his image of the Virgin and Child on Donatello’s work; a sculpted relief showing the Virgin and Child with angels seated on the foot on the throne playing lutes (now in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London) could be a specific source. Alternatively Donatello himself might have been involved in the project – Giuliano’s records show that the sculptor was with Masaccio when he picked up one of the payments for the altarpiece.

The two artists certainly knew each other’s work and shared an interest in setting figures within their surroundings using the laws of perspective. This involved increasing and decreasing the size of objects proportionally in relation one single point in the centre of the image (the vanishing point) so that objects further away appeared smaller while those closer to the viewer seemed larger. Donatello, in his sculpture, and Masaccio in his painting made advances in this technique that changed the course of painting in Italy.

Straight lines and architectural forms were useful in enhancing a realistic sense of perspective partly because viewers‘ understanding of these shapes as three-dimensional objects helped them to believe the painted version. The Virgin’s throne, for example, looks like a classical-style building within which the Virgin sits. Like Christ’s halo its depth suggests there is space around it, despite the gold background. The small colonettes seem to make it look even bigger and more sturdy. The pale grey stone would have reminded viewers of pietra serena – the stone which the Florentine architect Brunelleschi used in his churches and a contemporary trend in architecture. In the same way, the angels’ lutes which point in and out of the picture reinforce the idea that the space they sit in is a continuation of our own.

The wavy pattern on the throne step is not purely decorative – it’s supposed to bring to mind Roman marble tombs (sarcophagi). The black grapes that Christ eats had another meaning too: they recall the wine of the Eucharist, consumed along with bread in remembrance of Christ’s body and the blood he shed at the Crucifixion. A panel showing the Crucifixion was probably placed directly above this painting; this vertical arrangement of images spelt out the Christian message of salvation through Christ’s death and its remembrance. Despite its clear theological message, the way in which the Virgin looks at the Child – as though with sadness at the thought of his future sacrifice – brings psychological realism to the image, another of Masaccio’s influential innovations.

The most complete record of the appearance of the original altarpiece comes from the second edition of Vasari’s biography of Italian artists, published in 1568. He described the Virgin and Child in the centre, with ‘some little angels playing music’. These were surrounded, he noted, by Saints Peter, John the Baptist, Julian and Nicholas. He mentioned a scene of the Crucifixion above the Virgin and Child, and that the predella included an image of the Adoration of the Kings. The three panels from the predella and the Crucifixion are in other museums but the location of the saints surrounding the Virgin and Child is not known. A number of Carmelite saints on small vertical panels have been identified; these probably decorated the pilasters.

Want to find out more?

Delve deeper and explore the catalogue entry for this painting.

Key facts

Details

Full title: The Virgin and Child
Artist: Masaccio
Artist dates: 1401 - 1428/9?
Date made: 1426
Medium and support: egg tempera on wood
Dimensions: 134.8 × 73.5 cm
Acquisition credit: Bought with a contribution from the Art Fund, 1916
Inventory number: NG3046
Location: Not on display
Collection: Main Collection
Previous owners: Samuel Woodburn
Frame: 20th-century Replica Frame

Provenance

Santa Maria del Carmine, Pisa, until at least 1568 (when recorded by Vasari). Belonged to Miss E. Woodburn in 1855; Samuel Woodburn Sale, 9 June 1860 (lot 21), bought by Clarke; stated to have belonged to the Revd F.H. Sutton by 1864; in the collection of the Revd A.F. Sutton, Brant Broughton, 1907; purchased Temple-West Fund, from Canon Sutton, with the aid of a contribution from the NACF, 1916.

Additional information

Text extracted from the ‘Provenance’ section of the catalogue entry in Dillian Gordon, ‘National Gallery Catalogues: The Fifteenth Century Italian Paintings’, vol. 1, London 2003; for further information, see the full catalogue entry.

Bibliography

1584

R. Borghini, Il riposo di Raffaello Borghini, Florence 1584
1845

F. Baldinucci, Notizie dei professori del disegno da Cimabue in qua, ed. F. Ranalli, 5 vols, Florence 1845
1878

G. Vasari, Le vite de'più eccellenti pittori, scultori ed architettori: Con nuove annotazioni e commenti di Gaetano Milanesi, ed. G. Milanesi, 8 vols, Florence 1878
1896

A. Schmarsow, Masaccio Studien… II, Masaccio's Meisterwerke, Kassel 1896
1897

T. Centofanti, Notizie di artisti tratte dai documenti pisani, Pisa 1897
1903

J.A. Crowe and G.B. Cavalcaselle, A History of Painting in Italy, Umbria, Florence and Siena, from the Second to the Sixteenth Century, ed. R.L. Douglas, 2nd edn, 6 vols, London 1903
1903

G. Poggi, 'La Tavola di Masaccio nel Carmine di Pisa', Miscellanea d'arte, I, 1903, pp. 30-6
1906

W. Suida, 'L'altare di Masaccio già nel Carmine a Pisa', L'arte, IX, 1906
1907

B. Berenson, 'La scoperta di un dipinto di Masaccio', Rassegna d'arte, 1907
1908

B. Berenson, 'La Madonna pisana di Masaccio', Rassegna d'arte, 1908, pp. 81-5
1924

E. Somaré, Masaccio, Milan 1924
1929

P. Caioli and O. Carm, 'Masaccio e i Carmelitani', Rivista storica Carmelitana, I, 1929, pp. 69-87
1933

M. Salmi, Masaccio, Rome 1933
1948

M. Salmi, Masaccio, 2nd edn, Milan 1948
1948

W.L. Hildburgh, 'A Marble Relief Attributable to Donatello and Some Associable Stuccos', Art Bulletin, 1948, pp. 11-9
1951

Davies, Martin, National Gallery Catalogues: The Earlier Italian Schools, London 1951
1951

U. Procacci, Tutta la pittura di Masaccio, Milan 1951
1961

E. Borsook, 'A Note on Masaccio in Pisa', The Burlington Magazine, CII, 1961, pp. 212-5
1964

L. Berti, Masaccio, Milan 1964
1966

M. Boskovits, 'Giotto Born Again', Zeitschrift für Kunstgeschichte, XXIX, 1966, pp. 51-66
1966

J. Shearman, 'Masaccio's Pisa Altar-Piece: An Alternative Reconstruction', The Burlington Magazine, CVIII/762, 1966, pp. 449-55
1968

L. Berti, L'opera completa di Masaccio, Milan 1968
1971

J.H. Beck, 'Masaccio's Early Career as a Sculptor', Art Bulletin, LIII, 1971, pp. 177-95
1977

C. Gardner von Teuffel, 'Masaccio and the Pisa Altarpiece: A New Approach', Jahrbuch der Berliner Museen, XIX, 1977, pp. 23-68
1978

J.H. Beck, Masaccio: The Documents, New York 1978
1979

D. Sutton, 'Robert Langton Douglas, X: The Tribulations of an Editor', Apollo, CIX/207, 1979, pp. 348-65
1980

B. Cole, Masaccio and the Art of Early Renaissance Florence, Bloomington 1980
1980

D.C. Ahl, 'Fra Angelico: A New Chronology for the 1420s', Zeitschrift für Kunstgeschichte, XLIII, 1980, pp. 360-81
1982

L.S. Fusco, 'An Unpublished Madonna and Child by Fra Fillipo Lippi', J. Paul Getty Museum Journal, X, 1982, pp. 1-16
1984

P.Y. Cardile, 'Mary as Priest: Mary's Sacerdotal Position in the Visual Arts', Arte Cristiana, LXXII/703, 1984, pp. 199-208
1986

Davies, Martin, National Gallery Catalogues: The Earlier Italian Schools, revised edn, London 1986
1989

L. Berti and R. Foggi, Masaccio: Catalogo completo dei dipinti, Florence 1989
1990

J.H. Beck, 'Masaccio's Madonna', in Masaccio 1422/1989. Dal Trittico di San Giovenale al Restauro della Cappella Brancacci: Atti del Convegno del 22 Aprile 1989, Pieve di San Pietro a Cascia-Reggello, Figline-Valdarno 1990, pp. 27-35
1991

F. Ambrosio, Masaccio, Milan 1991
1991

J. Dunkerton et al., Giotto to Dürer: Early Renaissance Painting in the National Gallery, New Haven 1991
1993

A. Chastel, La pala, ou le retable italien des origines à 1500, Paris 1993
1993

A. Droandi, Masaccio: Pittore di Valdarno: Il polittico di Pisa, Arezzo 1993
1993

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1993

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1993

V. Garibaldi, Piero della Francesca: Il polittico di Sant'Antonio (exh. cat. Sala della Cannoniera, Rocca Paolina, 18 May - 30 September 1993), Perugia 1993
1994

E. Langmuir, The National Gallery Companion Guide, London 1994
1995

J.T. Spike, Masaccio, New York 1995
1995

F. Caglioti, 'Donatello, i Medici e Gentile de' Becchi: Un po' d'ordine interno alla "Giuditta" (e al "David") di Via Larga', Prospettiva, 1995, pp. 22-55
1995

R. White and J. Pilc, 'Analyses of Paint Media', National Gallery Technical Bulletin, XVI, 1995, pp. 85-95
1996

S. Borsi, Masaccio, Florence 1996
1998

R. Fremantle, Masaccio: Catalogo Complete, Florence 1998
1998

N. Penny, 'The Study and Imitation of Old Picture-Frames', The Burlington Magazine, CXL/1143, 1998, pp. 375-82
2000

D. Preston, 'Letter from Florence. The Madonna Puzzle', New Yorker, 2000, pp. 79-85
2001

C. Baker and T. Henry, The National Gallery: Complete Illustrated Catalogue, London 2001
2001

C. Caneva, Masaccio: Il Trittico di San Giovenale e il primo '400 fiorentino, Milan 2001
2001

M. Fidolini, Masaccio: L'occhio ribelle e la coscienza critica, San Giovanni Valdarno 2001
2002

D.C. Ahl (ed.), The Cambridge Companion to Masaccio, Cambridge 2002
2002

M.L. Testi Cristiani, 'Masaccio: Prospettiva colore luce', Critica d'arte, ser. 8, LXV/13, 2002, pp. 51-66
2002

E.W. Rowlands, 'Fra Filippo Lippi and Masaccio', Gazette des beaux-arts, CXL, 2002, pp. 167-80
2002

R. Bellucci, C. Frosinini and M. Parri, 'Technical Catalogue', in C.B. Strehlke and C. Frosinini (eds), The Panel Paintings of Masolino and Masaccio: The Role of Technique, Milan 2002, pp. 165-201
2002

C.B. Strehlke, 'The Case for Studying Masolino's and Masaccio's Panel Paintings in the Laboratory', in C.B. Strehlke and C. Frosinini (eds), The Panel Paintings of Masolino and Masaccio: The Role of Technique, Milan 2002, pp. 12-27
2002

J. Dunkerton and D. Gordon, 'The Pisa Altarpiece', in C.B. Strehlke and C. Frosinini (eds), The Panel Paintings of Masolino and Masaccio: The Role of Technique, Milan 2002, pp. 88-109
2002

R. Bellucci and C. Frosinini, 'Working Together: Technique and Innovation in Masolino's and Masaccio's Panel Paintings', in C.B. Strehlke and C. Frosinini (eds), The Panel Paintings of Masolino and Masaccio: The Role of Technique, Milan 2002, pp. 28-67
2003

Gordon, Dillian, National Gallery Catalogues: The Fifteenth Century Italian Paintings, 1, London 2003
2003

E.W. Rowlands, Masaccio: Saint Andrew and the Pisa Altarpiece, Los Angeles 2003
2004

P. Nuttall, From Flanders to Florence: The Impact of Netherlandish Painting, 1400-1500, New Haven 2004
2004

M. Parri, '"Lavorare in tavola, o vero ancone": Le strutture lignee delle tavole d'altare tra Trecento e Quattrocento in Toscana', in C. Frosinini (ed.), Masaccio e Masolino, pittori e frescanti: Dalla tecnica allo stile, Milan 2004, pp. 183-98
2004

J. Shearman, 'Altre proposte sul politico di Pisa', in C. Frosinini (ed.), Masaccio e Masolino, pittori e frescanti: Dalla tecnica allo stile, Milan 2004, pp. 215-22
2004

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Frame

This Renaissance-style frame was made in England in the 1950s for The Virgin and Child by Masaccio. Made from pinewood, the water-gilded frame features sgraffito patterns in blue and red on a gold background, with an ornate inner section to complement the arched shape. Pierced spandrels further highlight the painting’s original punch-tooled decoration.

The Virgin and Child was originally the central panel of an altarpiece made by Masaccio. The work was commissioned by Giuliano degli Scarsi, who may have chosen the frame design from an existing altarpiece, or a model used in Trecento frame settings. In 1903 Giovanni Poggi published an article, ‘La Tavola di Masaccio del Carmine di Pisa’, in Miscellanea d’Arte, mentioning the original Gothic frame (now lost) of the altarpiece. He suggested that it may have been made by Antone di Biagio da Siena and placed on a marble altar by Pisan mason Pippo di Giovanni di Gante. This historical reference might have inspired the decision in 1919 to reframe the painting in a replica of the Gothic frame surrounding Gentile da Fabriano’s Adoration of the Magi of 1423 (Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence). Giovanni Corsi, a prominent framemaker from Siena, was commissioned to design and make the new frame for the Masaccio piece.

About this record

If you know more about this painting or have spotted an error, please contact us. Please note that exhibition histories are listed from 2009 onwards. Bibliographies may not be complete; more comprehensive information is available in the National Gallery Library.

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