The Virgin and Child with two angels

Acquired in 1858, further details of acquisition are not recorded

Original:

Virgin and Child with two angels
Master of the Mascoli Altar (active about 1430)
After 1422
Istrian stone and marble
Above the doorway to the entrance of the Cornaro Chapel, outside the Church of S. Maria dei Frari, Venice, Italy

The sculptor derives his name from a marble altarpiece and antependium in the Mascoli chapel in the Basilica di S. Marco in Venice. The converging lines of the Madonna's throne are intended to compensate for the high viewpoint from which the relief is normally seen. In the original, the decoration of the throne is complemented by an elaborate Gothic frame, surmounted by a half-length figure of Christ the Redeemer.