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Terracotta Madonna and Child: A Historic Piece with a Lot to Say


The Terracotta Madonna and Child by renaissance artist Antonio Rossillino, currently hangs in Curley Hall at the Catholic University of America, tucked away in a staircase alcove. This artwork is a piece of the renaissance that has been preserved and kept safe, allowing modern viewers an insight into the renaissance in Italy. It has passed hands many times, presumably more than is on record due to its age, and came from relative obscurity before it was notably acquired by a Frederick Jambes and eventually donated to the Catholic University of America by a Miss Jessie Jebiley. In the archive folders in the Catholic University of America Special Collections, there is a series of letters -some even handwritten- back and forth between several different people that detail the donation and journey of this artwork. While it was originally donated by Frederick Jambes, most of the letters detail Miss Jessie Jebiley as the key person who was responsible for actually getting the piece to CUA. The letters date back to December of 1960, where Miss Jessie Jebiley states that she had an artwork valued at $20,000 that she wanted to donate to the Catholic University collection. However, upon some further investigation, there was another letter from the Medina Art Galleries that valued the artwork at $25,000, a full $5,000 more than what Miss Jebiley had stated in her previous letter. This value came from Frederick Jambes after he expressed an interest in donating the piece. Confusing, right? It remains a bit unclear who exactly donated the artwork to the University, Jambes or Jebiley? Or maybe Jebiley was advocating for Jambes in most of the correspondences? Regardless of this confusion, the piece was eventually acquired by the University in 1961 as revealed in a letter from Msgr. Magner, who was one of the people in charge of the CUA collection at the time. The history of the artwork passing through different hands is limited and frankly confusing, but one message is clear: the artwork is worth a significant sum of $25,000 even in its poor condition.

It is worth so much because it remains a testament to a crucial time in history, culture, and religion in the world, and calls attention to the blending of cultures during the renaissance. Even beyond the ideological significance of the artwork, the physical attributes are of priceless worth, boasting the original wood frame and the original materials used in making the piece. These factors enable historians and artists to examine the methods used in history and learn about techniques. Through the Terracotta Madonna and Child by Antonio Rossillino, the Italian renaissance can be considered and understood even though it is merely one piece of art. The piece is a prime example of the humanistic styles, emphasis on proportion and arrangement, and tempera, which were just some of the key aspects of renaissance art.

In our class, ART 272: The Cosmopolitan Renaissance, we began looking at the cosmopolitan renaissance by starting with Italy. We have come to understand the term “renaissance”, to be roughly translated as “be born again; rise again; reappear; renewed”. This has helped us to understand what the overall movement of the renaissance was aiming at achieving: bringing back old tradition and methods while adding a modern touch, and creating something entirely new and fresh. These new and fresh products of the renaissance came in the form of paintings, commerce, trade, incorporation of Eastern cultures, music, fashion, to name a few. Mass amounts of trade heavily influenced all of these things and helped artists and tradesmen to think beyond their own culture and into others instead. This took the shape of the Arabic language appearing in Christian holy spaces, architecture and decoration resembling Eastern architecture and design. One famous example we have studied in the course was the original sepulcher located in Jerusalem being copied several times over in an attempt to bring the East to Italy.

By copying the sepulcher, the East was brought to Italy without ever having to actually move anything from the East, specifically Jerusalem in this case. However, these reproductions obviously were not the real thing, but each attempt at copying involved many of the same parameters that the original sepulcher had. The most distinctive feature that kept reappearing in reproductions was the presence of twelve individual columns on or around the sepulcher. The sepulchers themselves took different shapes, one even being a rectangular box, completely losing the circular design of the original. Yet, the people of Italy did not know the real from the imitation as most had not been able to travel to Jerusalem themselves; so the imitations “became” their Jerusalem and their experience of Eastern culture. This is an important point to understand about the renaissance in Italy because it highlights the attempts made by artisans to make other cultures Italian, and their own. This desire to incorporate other cultures stretched into religion as well, and the sepulcher is just one example of this. Antonio Rossellino’s Terracotta Madonna and Child is another example of the attempts to bring Eastern culture and religion to Italy as authentically as possible.

Antonio Rossellino was an Italian Renaissance artist, born in Florence, Italy in 1427, and died 1479. During his life he was a notable artist, specializing in sculpting, while his brother was an architect. It is assumed that his brother trained him in the art of sculpting and even some architecture, before Antonio developed his own style and skill on his own. Antonio’s work is known for its attention to detail and life-like depictions and portraiture. He has a whole series of terracotta Madonna and Child, which was a popular image during the renaissance, with artists like Filippo Lippi, Michelangelo, Raphael, and many others all doing portraits of the famous duo. The tradition of depicting the Madonna and Child together was one that dates back to very early in Roman times, so the fact that so many artists revived the image yet again during the renaissance was yet another example of making the old new; being “reborn”.

Antonio Rossillino’s piece itself is unassuming and showing signs of its age, with the frame decaying, paint chipping off, and words no longer distinguishable. Despite its age, it is still very life-like and the careful details still show themselves. The work was composed around 1440-1470, roughly during the middle of the renaissance period in Italy, before the high renaissance. As obvious from the title, the main portrait of Mary and the child Jesus is done using terracotta, a clay-like material that had to be fired and baked similar to clay pottery. Terracotta had been used as early as prehistoric times, very popular for pottery, pipes, bricks, and sculptures, but not commonly used for paintings. Since this painting uses terracotta, it creates a 3D image, physically coming out of the wooden frame, making the image feel even more life-like and real. The terracotta, naturally a brown color, is painted over using - presumably - tempera, which was a type of paint created by mixing pigment, water, and egg to make a fast drying and adhesive paint. This type of paint was very typical of the time period, as oil paint was a new medium and acrylic wasn’t invented until the 20th century. In addition, this specific image of the Madonna and Child is one of the few that Rossillino actually painted over, making it more unique and special; his other works he usually left as plain terracotta. The wooden frame that it rests in indicates that it was originally an altarpiece for a chapel or church, and would have hung on the wall facing the congregation and priest. An altarpiece like this could have had two doors on it, making it a kind of tryptic but this piece shows no sign of ever having doors attached. However, the frame is designed to look very architectural and structural, emulating pillars and a roof. The design is similar to that of classical Roman architecture, which then suggests that Rossillino was purposefully referencing the ancient past of Rome and Italy, as was common and popular during the renaissance. However, he combines the old architecture style and old terracotta, while using new techniques and styles, thus making the old into something new.

This combination of the old and new is probably the most interesting aspect of this painting because it reverts back to the idea of the East and the Italians trying to make Eastern culture as Italian as possible. While Christianity was nothing new to the Italians, having the religion incorporated deep into their culture from nearly the very beginning, it still originated from Jerusalem, where Jesus Christ died on the cross in Golgotha. To be fair, Christian art and icons like Rosillino’s had been around way before the renaissance, and it wasn’t an exclusively Eastern practice. However with that being said, Jerusalem still housed and witnessed Jesus’s life, death, and resurrection; something that no other country or place could boast the same about. In order to make Christianity feel and look Italian, Rossillino had to use typical Italian mediums and certain design techniques to get his point across.

Rossillino’s use of terracotta was not unintentional, and I would hazard a guess that beyond the life-like features it gives the image, it was an attempt to root Christianity to Italy and not Jerusalem and the East. Terracotta had been around for centuries before the renaissance, with artifacts being found from prehistoric times in Eastern regions, with many historians dating the first terracotta back to 7,000 - 5,000 BC in modern day China.

This material is old, originally Eastern, and well known. So, Rossillino uses this material as a nod to Eastern culture, but he puts the whole artwork inside a wooden frame that resembles Roman classical architecture. With Antonio’s brother being an Italian architect and teaching him art, Antonio definitely knew the history of architectural design in classical Rome and Italy. Because of this, I think it is safe to guess that the design of the frame was intentional and says something about the artwork overall: that Italy is home to Christianity. While Antonio knew this wasn’t actually true, this still projects an idea that the Christian faith is something that can be home anywhere, even an Italian altar. It makes the Eastern religion seem to be incorporated into Western culture to the point that the average viewer cannot tell which came first. The image is framed by classical architecture, which indicates that the Italians came first and laid claim to the faith, but the terracotta material is even older than the frame design which then further muddles the timeline. During the renaissance, artists like Antonio Rosillino didn’t bother themselves too much with the fine details of culture and traditions, but the overall goal was to make something new and in turn, make it Italian.

This is why this piece is a great way to understand the renaissance by, because it has many of the elements that were particular to the renaissance time period especially in Italy. It incorporates both East and West culture, uses signature materials, and depicts a very popular image during the renaissance. Going into this project, I was skeptical that I would have enough to say about this artwork, I figured that there could only be so much to say about one single object. I am happy to be proven wrong. It is amazing how, the deeper I looked into the details of artwork, the more was revealed. This project and particular artwork has given me a greater appreciation for the renaissance and artists that worked during the time period. The amount of culture and history that they played around with and added to is astounding; and the fact that one artist could say so much with one artwork is impressive. Next time I take a trip to the National Gallery of Art, I will be able to look at the artworks with a newfound appreciation and understanding of their place in history.

- Clare Escobar


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