Virgin Mary and Child

Zanobi Poggini 1551

The painting depicts the Virgin Mary holding the naked Child by the neck, lying on her lap in a somewhat awkward manner. The pose is that of the famous Bridgewater Madonna, which Raphael painted in 1507 and which is now exhibited in the National Gallery in Edinburgh. Nearly fifty years later, Zanobi Poggini revisited this theme in 1551, setting the scene of the amorous conversation between Mother and Child in a moving landscape featuring strongly characterised nature.

Technical information

Author: Zanobi Poggini
Title: Virgin Mary and Child
Date: 1551
Material and technique: Oil on panel
Size: 88x73,5 cm
Location: Palazzo Pretorio Museum
First Floor

Poggini had great success in Prato and from the mid-sixteenth century he was entrusted with many commissions. The first was the Christ the Redeemer between Saint Stephen and Saint Lawrence in the Chapel of the Sacrament in the Cathedral, in 1549. He also painted several drappelloni (banners), now lost, to adorn the Parish Church of Saint Stephen, commissioned by various Prato institutions. In addition to the artwork on display here, the painter's Shield with seven coats of arms of major city institutions (1545) and the drawing depicting Saint Ursula and her companions (1540) are visible in the museum, while in the main room of the Town Hall is the Portrait of Cosimo I Grand Duke of Tuscany (1555). Also part of the municipal collections is the large altarpiece with the Virgin Mary and Saints he painted between 1555 and 1557 and now on loan to the Province in the Banci-Buonamici palace.