Donatello's Madonna and Child from Palazzo Pretorio on its way to the Prado

The terracotta sculpture Madonna and Child Enthroned by Donatello (Florence, 1386 - 1466) has left Prato ’s Palazzo Pretorio to be temporarily transferred to the Prado Museum in Madrid for the exhibition Fra Angelico and the Rise of the Florentine Renaissance.

The exhibition, curated by Carl Brandon Strehlke, is scheduled to run from May 28 to September 15, 2019, and will examine the beginning of the Renaissance between 1420 and 1430, focusing on the art of Fra Angelico and a number of artists of the time, such as Masaccio, Masolino, Paolo Uccello, Filippo Lippi, Brunelleschi, and Donatello.

The Madonna and Child Enthroned testifies to the artistic and historical value of the Prato collection, and on the occasion of the Prado exhibition, the work was restored thanks to the contribution of Friends of Florence and American Friends of the Prado Museum.

It is a terracotta sculpture presumably intended for private devotion. A classical aedicule architecture accommodates, without enclosing them, the dynamically emerging figures of Mother and Child. A few restrained gestures, hints of glances, reveal the intimate relationship between the two, with the son resting his hand on her breast.

Donatello was one of the greatest representatives of thePrato workshop.

Image: Donatello, Madonna and Child with Angels and Prophets (1415-1420; Prato, Palazzo Pretorio)

Donatello's Madonna and Child from Palazzo Pretorio on its way to the Prado

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