Virgin Of Trapani - 15th/16th Century

Marble sculpture
Southern Italy, 15th–16th century
Height 53 cm

This sculpture is a reproduction of the famous model of the Virgin of Trapani, whose original marble version—sometimes attributed to Nino Pisano (c. 1315–1368) or his workshop, is housed in the Church of the Santissima Annunziata, in the Chapel of the Fishermen, a former Carmelite convent in Trapani, Sicily. A major pilgrimage site, this Marian image enjoyed extraordinary fame from the late Middle Ages onward, leading to the creation of countless replicas and variations, particularly in alabaster, which spread throughout Italy and beyond.

The work presented here is part of this tradition of disseminating the model, while offering a Renaissance-inspired interpretation, evident in the simplicity of the composition, the idealized softness of the faces, and the expansive, architecturally structured treatment of the drapery. Through its material and formal vocabulary, it is linked to 16th-century Italian art intended for private devotion.