Castelfranco Madonna
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 |
| Madonna and Child Between St. Francis and St. Liberalis |
| Giorgione, c. 1503 |
| oil on canvas |
| 200 × 152 cm |
| Cathedral of Castelfranco Veneto |
The Madonna and Child Between St. Francis and St. Nicasius, also known as Castelfranco Madonna (c. 1503) is a painting by the Italian Renaissance artist Giorgione. It is housed in the Cathedral of Castelfranco Veneto, Giorgione's native city, in Veneto, northern Italy.
The altar-piece was commissioned by the Condottiero Tuzio Costanzo in memory of his son Matteo, who had died in 1504: the Costanzo coat of arms can be seen on the base of the Virgin's throne. The painting is variously dated at 1503 or 1504, with a less probable date of 1500.
The picture, a typical Sacra conversazione, shows the Madonna enthroned with the Child with St. Francis and, on the left, St. Nicasius. The latter, an armored figure, has been identified as the fighting saint St. George or St. Liberalis, patron of Castelfranco. Tuzio was a member of the Knights of Rhodes, whose ensign is borne by St. Nicasius (a martyred saint who had also belonged to the Hospitallier order).
The traditional scheme of composition is lightened by the novel use of such elements as the throne and the landscape, which takes up a good portion of the background. Noteworthy is also the absence of any reference to ecclesiastical elements of architecture.
The work suffered bad restorations in the past centuries, and was stolen on December 10, 1972. After being recovered, it was accurately restored in 2002-2003 and returned to its original place in the December of 2005.
