18th Century, Emilian School

18th Century, Emilian School

Virgin and Child

Polychrome terracotta, h 24 cm

In a territory such as Emilia—devoid of stone quarries and washed by the waters of the Po—the history of sculpture emerged, by both necessity and genius, from clay. In a region where marble was a distant and inaccessible luxury, artists learned to work the earth of the rivers, transforming a humble material into extraordinary art. This was no mere fallback, but a deliberate choice: terracotta became the ideal medium for narrating faith in a direct and visceral way. Through clay, Emilian masters succeeded in translating grand sacred themes into a language accessible to the people, giving rise to a "tactile" and profoundly human religiosity capable of speaking to the heart of anyone.

The trajectory of Emilian sculpture reached its first, staggering peak in the 15th century with Niccolò dell’Arca. With him, humble clay abandoned all decorative function to become a theater of grief: his celebrated Lamentation over the Dead Christ in Santa Maria della Vita in Bologna represents, in this sense, a point of no return for the expressive intensity of the medium.

However, as the centuries passed, that dramatic violence underwent a transformation: if the Renaissance had been the era of the "shout," the 18th century became the era of affection and grace. The work in question—the Virgin and Child—fits perfectly into this context. It is a marvelous example of how clay, in the hands of Bolognese and Modenese masters, could rival the nobility of marble through the warmth of the material and the softness of the modeling.

The structural analysis of the sculptural group reveals a pyramidal composition typical of the late Baroque, in which the figure of the Virgin dominates the space, enveloped in flowing and almost theatrical drapery. The heavy folds of the blue mantle, contrasting with the vibrant red of the tunic, act as vectors of movement that guide the eye toward the centerpiece of the scene: the Child. He is seen resting on a ruined wall, an iconographic topos symbolizing the twilight of the pagan era and the birth of the New Covenant.

The technique of cold polychromy, which reached perfection in the 18th century, makes the work even more vivid. Through paint, the sculptures were able to simulate the softness of flesh tones and the richness of fabrics with extraordinary realism, rendering the experience of the sacred a close, tangible, and profoundly everyday encounter.

Italy only: with Ars Antiqua it is possible to defer all amounts up to a maximum € 7,500 at ZERO RATE, for a total of 15 INSTALLMENTS.

Unpardoned. Vault. € 4,500 = Monthly instalment € 300 for 15 months.

Unpardoned. Vault. € 3,600 = Monthly instalment € 720 for 5 months.

For amounts greater than €7,500 or for a longer period of time (over 15 installments), we can provide a personalized payment.

Contact us directly to get the best quote.

LIVE TV

– SUNDAY 17.00 – 21.00 Dig.terr. 126 - Sky 824

– Streaming on our site www.arsantiquasrl.com and on our social networks Facebook and Youtube

All the works proposed by Ars Antiqua are sold accompanied by a certificate of authenticity in accordance with the law and an accurate in-depth sheet.

It is possible to see the works directly at the showroom gallery in Milan, in via Pisacane 55 and 57.

We personally organize transport and deliveries of the works, both for Italy and abroad.