Ludovico Mazzolino
(Ferrara, ca. 1480 - 1528)
MADONNA AND CHILD
oil on panel, 78x58 cm
MADONNA CON BAMBINO
olio su tavola, cm 78x58
Exhibitions
- Il Cinquecento a Ferrara. Mazzolino, Ortolano, Garofalo, Dosso, Ferrara, Palazzo dei Diamanti, 12 October 2024 - 6 February 2025.
Literature
- Rinascimento a Ferrara. Ercole de' Roberti e Lorenzo Costa, exhibition catalogue (Ferrara, Palazzo dei Diamanti, 18 February - 19 June 2023), edited by V. Sgarbi and M. Danieli, Cinisello Balsamo 2023, p. 17, fig. 1;
- V. Lapierre, in Il Cinquecento a Ferrara. Mazzolino, Ortolano, Garofalo, Dosso, exhibition catalogue (Ferrara, Palazzo dei Diamanti, 12 ottobre 2024 - 6 febbraio 2025), edited by V. Sgarbi and M. Danieli, Cinisello Balsamo 2024, p. 125.
As analyzed by Valentina Lapierre in the entry she wrote for the catalog of the Ferrara exhibition Il Cinquecento a Ferrara. Mazzolino, Ortolano, Garofalo, Dosso (2024–2025), the panel presented here sheds new light on Ludovico Mazzolino’s early period. In fact, the scholar writes, “the painting [...] attests to Ludovico’s early years [c. 1505] Ludovico’s ability to blend the Boccaccio-inspired stylistic elements with the Costesque tradition and innovations from beyond the Alps into a wholly personal interpretation, in which one can glimpse the emergence of the most characteristic traits of his style” (p. 125).
The panel depicts a very young Madonna and Child with her arms crossed, a symbolic element alluding to the crucifixion. Of particular interest and quality are the Virgin’s golden-brown hair, loose and tied behind her head with a ribbon, falling gently over her shoulders.
A section that stands out as an absolute highlight, however, is the upper-left panel, where a strongly Nordic-style river landscape unfolds, with a tower and a bridge reflected in the water. In the foreground, we see the bend of the river, and a tall tree rises up to the very edge of the painting. At the top, there is a beautiful use of perspective in which the curtain rod is painted above the tree’s foliage.