The Cleveland Museum of Art
Collection Online as of April 24, 2024
The Virgin and Child with Distaff and an Angel
c. 1611–13
(French, c.1575–1616)
Platemark: 25.1 x 18.7 cm (9 7/8 x 7 3/8 in.); Sheet: 26.1 x 19.3 cm (10 1/4 x 7 5/8 in.)
Catalogue raisonné: Walch 9
Location: not on view
Description
Bellange produced only 48 etchings between 1611 and 1616, yet his brilliant artistic imagination and technical mastery place him among the greatest European printmakers of the 17th century. Although based on traditional Christian imagery, Bellange’s etchings are filled with an unusual psychological drama and a penetrating spirituality. Elongated, sensual figures engage in provocative scenes that might seem extreme or even bizarre but are characteristic of Mannerism, an international artistic style at the time. Here, the Virgin Mary spins thread while the Christ child sleeps. The basket of wool and the distaff holding the wool as it is spun both relate to the legend that describes the Virgin’s upbringing at the Temple of Jerusalem, where she spun wool and wove vestments for the priests.- ?-1982(C.G. Boerner LLC, New York, NY)February 10, 1982The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
- A Lasting Impression: Gifts of the Print Club of Cleveland. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (May 5-September 22, 2019).Treasures on Paper from the Collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (March 9-June 8, 2014).Mannerism: Italian, French, and Netherlandish Prints, 1520-1620. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (August 3-October 26, 1997).Object Lessons: Cleveland Creates an Art Museum. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 7-September 8, 1991).Year in Review for 1986. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 4-March 15, 1987).
- {{cite web|title=The Virgin and Child with Distaff and an Angel|url=false|author=Jacques Bellange|year=c. 1611–13|access-date=24 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}
Source URL:
https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1986.244