Collection Online as of September 29, 2023

Madonna and Child in a Niche

c. 1520s

attributed to Antonio del Ceraiolo

(Italian)

Italy, 16th century

Oil on wood

Framed: 87 x 72 x 5.5 cm (34 1/4 x 28 3/8 x 2 3/16 in.); Unframed: 59.5 x 43.9 cm (23 7/16 x 17 5/16 in.)

Holden Collection 1916.813

Location

not on view

Description

This image of Madonna with the Christ Child on her lap has been extensively altered by restoration. During the Renaissance, it was important that the Christ Child's genitalia be exposed, for it declared that Christ is the humanization of God, that he experienced temptation, and that in his exposure, he was without shame. When it was repainted, a cloth was added to the image to cover the Christ Child's genitalia. In 1941 the removal of old overpaint returned the painting more closely to its original state.

Provenance

James Jackson Jarves, sold to Mrs. Liberty E. Holden, 1884;

Mrs. Liberty E. Holden (Cleveland, Ohio), by gift to the Cleveland Museum of Art, 1916.

Citations

The Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art Catalogue of Paintings, Part 3: European Paintings of the 16th, 17th, and 18th Centuries. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1982. Reproduced: p. 331; Mentioned: p. 330

Rubinstein-Bloch, Stella. Catalogue of a Collection of Paintings, Etc. Presented by Mrs. Liberty E. Holden to the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1917. Mentioned: p. 25, cat. no. 21 archive.org

Exhibition history

CMA, 1916: The Inaugural Exhibition of the CMA," no. 21.

CMA 1936: "The Twentieth Anniversary Exhibition," no. 94.

Inaugural Exhibition. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (co-organizer) (June 6-September 20, 1916).

The Twentieth Anniversary Exhibition: The Official Art Exhibit of the Great Lakes Exposition. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 26-October 4, 1936).