A newly acquired 14th-century painting has recently been acquired by the Ball State University Museum of Art just in time for Easter.
The painting, "Madonna and Child" by Italian artist Taddeo di Bartolo, comes courtesy of a donation from the collection of David T. Owsley, Associate Director of the Museum Carl Schafer said.
"Oftentimes when the museum acquires a work of art, it takes a lot of time to determine where it should be placed in relation to other works, but we hurried up this process this time because of Easter," Schafer said.
"Madonna and Child" shows the Virgin with the Christ child standing on her right knee, and with one hand pointing to a bird, possibly representing a goldfinch — a bird that could fly among the thorns and come out unscathed — which is held in his other hand.
Schafer said the acquisition of this piece allows the museum to better represent that time period of art.
"It's an important period in art history when all the rules changed," Schafer said. "We reached the point where work was mostly flattened, and artists were technically able to form human bodies so they looked natural."
Despite its age, the painting is still in good condition, Schafer said.
"There are gold-backed pictures in much worse condition. This one is much better; the gold has held up quite well," he said.
Schafer said there are also paintings by this artist at Indiana University and at the University of Notre Dame, but the example at the Ball State museum is superior to those in both cases.
"It's a very beautiful painting," Director of the Museum of Art Peter Blume said. "It's gratifying to have such an example of quattrocentro [14th century] painting."
The museum is free to the public and is open from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 1:30 to 4:30 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. For more information visit bsu.edu/artmuseum or call 285-5270.
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