The Christ Child in the Cradle surrounded by adoring figures
ca. 1550–55
Medium
Etching
Dimensions
sheet: 11 x 8 1/4 in. (28 x 21 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1926
Accession Number
26.70.3(172)
Tags
Art Historical Context
Andrea Schiavone, born Andrea Meldola, was a Venetian artist active in the mid-sixteenth century whose work bridged painting and printmaking. this etching from around 1550–55, he depicts the Christ Child resting in a cradle, encircled by adoring female figures that include the Madonna. The intimate scene highlights the tender humanity of the infant Christ, a devotional theme popular in Renaissance Italy that invited personal reflection on faith and family. Executed in etching, a medium then gaining favor for its fluid lines and tonal subtlety, the print measures roughly 11 by 8¼ inches. Schia...
About the Artist
Andrea Schiavone (Andrea Meldola) · 1510–1563
Andrea Schiavone, born Andrea Meldolla around 1510 or 1515 in Zara (modern Zadar, Croatia), in Venetian-ruled Dalmatia, hailed from a family rooted in Meldola near Forlì in Romagna, Emilia-Romagna. His father, Simon Meldolla, served as a garrison commander there, and both parents originated from Meldola, where the family held property into the early 16th century. Nicknamed "Schiavone"—"the Slav"—a...