VENTURA DI MORO
Florence, 1395-1486
Madonna with Child on throne
tempera on wood, cm 119×55,5
This large painting on a pointed wooden panel with gilt background has been published by Enrica Neri Lusanna as the work of the Florentine painter Ventura di Moro. In fact, various details suggest this author who reconciled Gothic elements with Renaissance innovation, as the morphology of the faces of Virgin and Child, the edge of the Madonna’s dress and the typical waving development of the ground. Particularly apt comparisons may be made with the central part of the triptych found in the church of San Donnino in Celle, near Dicomano.
This painter had his atelier in Florence, in Corso degli Adimari, but he was also active in the territory between Florence and Siena and in particular in the Chianti district, which is probably the origin of this painting on wood. In fact, the inscription “MATTEO DI HASTRUCO DANDREA PELLANIME LORO E SUA” that appears along the base of the throne on which Virgin and Child are seated, might refer to the patronymic Castrucci attested in Chianti, especially in San Casciano, where the presence of a family with this name is historically documented.
An image of the work, attributed to the same artist, also appears in the catalogue of the photographic archive of the Federico Zeri Foundation.
Publications:
“Catalogo Fototeca Fondazione Federico Zeri”, entry no. 10684.
“Arte gotica nel Chianti: riflessioni e novità”, in “Istituzioni ecclesiastiche e vita religiosa nel Chianti tra Medioevo ed età moderna”, edited by Italo Moretti, text by Enrica Neri Lusanna, Florence, 2002, pp. 150-151.
