Madonna and Child

Donatello

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Sheltering the Christ-child beneath her cloak, Mary presses her check against his head. Her loving gesture identifies her as the Virgin of Tenderness (Eleusa) a sacred type that derives from Byzantine painted icons. This terracotta relief was created from wet clay that was fired in a kiln, and subsequently embellished with gilding and bright colors. Sculptures such as these contributed to the richly hued, textured effects typical of ecclesiastical and domestic Renaissance interiors.

European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The fifty thousand objects in the Museum's comprehensive and historically important collection of European sculpture and decorative arts reflect the development of a number of art forms in Western European countries from the early fifteenth through the early twentieth century. The holdings include sculpture in many sizes and media, woodwork and furniture, ceramics and glass, metalwork and jewelry, horological and mathematical instruments, and tapestries and textiles. Ceramics made in Asia for export to European markets and sculpture and decorative arts produced in Latin America during this period are also included among these works.

Metropolitan Museum of Art