Relief – Polychrome stucco and papier-mâché, Tuscan workshop, circa 1480 – 1490. This relief is believed to be part of a group of stucco and papier-mâché casts taken from a work by Benedetto da Maiano, likely identifiable with the marble relief now belonging to the National Gallery of Art in Washington (see the comparison with this work in the last photo). Two other similar works, very alike but in casts of stucco only, are preserved at the Spedale degli Innocenti and the Bardini Museum in Florence. Another very similar work was sold at an auction in Rome a century ago (Jandolo e Tavazzi April 25-May 3, 1910, no. 290) and is now also on display at the National Gallery of Art in Washington (USA). Another similar work, belonging to a private collection, is on display at the Casa de Rodis in Domodossola (Italy). Benedetto da Maiano's genius is spontaneous and universal. The workmanship of this polychrome papier-mâché statue, especially in the faces of the Madonna and Child, testifies to the possible attribution to the workshop of the great master, who, like other Tuscan workshops of the period such as that of Donatello, also produced less expensive works compared to marble models. This was to cater to a less wealthy clientele. The use of the pigment azurite (a natural pigment in use until the 18th century) instead of the more expensive lapis lazuli or ultramarine blue (which would not have turned towards green as in our work) also supports this reconstruction. Also from a stylistic point of view, the work is typically from the 15th century, as then, in the 16th and 17th centuries, the taste in the vision and sacred representation of the Madonna with Child changes completely. The frame is made of wood worked with projecting moldings and appears original with signs of later integrations. The work is in original condition without any restoration or other alterations, and retains its original polychromy. It shows patina and signs of age consistent with its antiquity. It measures cm. 61 x 70 including the frame. NOTES : Other similar stuccos from the same workshop, in addition to those mentioned, are preserved in the Civic Museum of Prato, in the Oratory of the Oca in Siena and in the Museum of the Opera del Duomo in Perugia. (Bibliography on the subject D. Carl, “Benedetto da Maiano. A Florentine Sculptor at the Threshold of the High Renaissance”, Turnhout 2006, G. Gentilini, Museo Civico di Prato. “Le collezioni d'arte, a cura di M.P. Mannini” ; R. Kecks “Eine Bilderfindung Botticellis in der Werkstatt des Benedetto da Maiano”, Mitteilungen des Kunsthistorischen Institutes in Florenz). In accordance with the provisions of the New Code of Cultural Heritage, the selling company provides, at the time of sale, a detailed written photographic guarantee of the authenticity and provenance of the works sold. The data with which the works are described and then contained in the written guarantees are express determinations, the result of accurate and documented technical/historical/artistic investigations, even of expert appraisal.
