The Virgin Reading, Workshop Of Andréa Del Sarto Around 1517

The Reading Madonna, workshop of Andrea del Sarto (1486-1530 Florence) History Andrea del Sarto played a very important role in the art of the Renaissance and of the following century. His workshop has seen some of the most renowned artists. He was a landmark for a number of artists of subsequent generations, linked to the aesthetic of the Counter-Reformation. His first artistic production is characterized by a very personal style where objects are represented in an informal and non-idealized way in an elegant and touching atmosphere. He worked mainly in Florence, painting in 1517 what is probably his masterpiece: "the Virgin of the Harpies", an altarpiece for the Convent of San Francesco dei Macci, which is currently in the Uffizi. In 1517 again, he painted "the Dispute on the Trinity", then he left for France where he lived two years at the court of François Ier. The Subject: "The Virgin reading" or the Madonna reading (in Italian: Madonna leggente). The Virgin holds an open book in front of her, which she reads ostensibly. This figure of Christian iconography, resulting from the representation of the annunciation where the announcing archangel surprises the Virgin reading and develops during the Renaissance, supporting its literate character, the advent of the vulgar language and of a feminine humanism of religious origin. Only in the Annunciation, other representations then open to this theme in the Virgin and Child (Madonna) of the rebirth. Characteristic of the Tempera painting on wood Dimension 27 X 22 cm Addition of 1 cm on the height and on the width Accidents and repainting right part see photos Frame known as tabernacle in gilded stucco wood late eighteenth century Dimension 54 X 40 cm