01 Work , RELIGIOUS ART, Daniele da Volterra's The Madonna of the Zodiac - with footnotes #202

Daniele Ricciarelli, called Daniele da Volterra, Volterra 1509 - 1566

The Madonna of the Zodiac

Red chalk

405 by 257 mm; 16 by 10 ⅛ in.

Private collection

Estimate for 100,000 - 150,000 USD in Jan 2023

On the present sheet the light falls strongly from the left, enhancing the voluminous and heavy draped cloth which, covering the Madonna's plaited hair, falls down behind her back to create two large folds to the side of her right hip. These, like waves, return to wrap her legs down to the feet, with several elegantly cascading folds, casting strong shadows to the right, clarifying form and volume as in a sculpture. 

A Zodiac is visible behind the Madonna and Child, who stands on a globe while resting his left hand on a transversal cross. On the globe it is possible to discern the shape of the Italian peninsula. The Madonna, her head in profile to the right while talking to the Child, indicates with both hands towards the Zodiac, which alludes to Christ's role as ''chronocrator'': Lord of Cosmic Time. This subject is very seldom painted and its presence here must reflect the commission of a cultivated and refined patron particularly interested in astrology. The signs of Scorpio and Sagittarius can be easily detected to the left of the Madonna. Moreover she rests her right foot on a cloud over a crescent moon. The intriguing historical relationship between science and Christianity was perceived differently at different times, and not surprisingly was also often seen as a controversial combination in the context of the visual arts. More on this work

Mannerist painter and sculptor Daniele Ricciarelli da Volterra died on 4 April 1566 in Rome. Daniele initially trained with the Sienese painter Sodoma, and then with Baldassarre Peruzzi and Perin del Vaga in Rome. Here, Daniele befriended Michelangelo, whose influence marked his whole career. Their relationship drew much criticism on Daniele’s account, although it was not based on a passive imitation of Michelangelo’s style: Daniele indeed posed as the artist’s second self. Buonarroti helped him gaining prestigious commissions and provided him with drawings, which Daniele used as starting points for his own inventions, as in the case of the Orsini Chapel in Trinità dei Monti. The only known surviving part of the decoration is the altarpiece of the Deposition.

In 1547 Daniele succeeded Perino in the Sala Regia, but with Paul III’s death he lost the commission and the decoration was later completed by others. Daniele’s major works also include the Della Rovere chapel in Trinità dei Monti, the Massacre of the Innocents for the Church of Saint Peter in Volterra (now in Florence), and David Killing Goliath, a two-sided painting long attributed to Michelangelo. Upon the latter’s death (1564), Daniele was assigned the task to cover the nudities of the Last Judgment in the Sistine Chapel, earning the infamous nickname of Il Braghettone (“The Breeches Maker”).

In his late career Daniele devoted himself to sculpture, working on a bronze equestrian statue of Henry II of France (unfinished) and on a series of bronze busts of Michelangelo. More on Daniele Ricciarelli da Volterra

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