The Institution of the Rosary
Circle of Jacopo Sansovino (Italian, 1486–1570)
c. 1590
- Medium
- Bronze
- Classification
- Sculpture
- Dimensions
- 18.1 × 12.7 × 0.9 cm (7 1/8 × 5 × 11 in.)
- Culture
- Italy
- Museum
- Art Institute of Chicago, Painting and Sculpture of Europe
- Credit line
- Gift from the Edward A. and Inge Maser Collection in honor of Ian Wardropper
- Rights
- Public domain (CC0), as the museum states it.
- Who can see it
- Tweens profiles and older: its subjects are known and suit older children. How works are placed
View at the Art Institute of Chicago
About this work
This relief panel shows Jesus crowning the Virgin Mary as the Queen of Heaven. Angels surround and support both figures. Some hold rosaries, strings of beads celebrating events in the Virgin’s life and used to count prayers in her honor. The style of the elaborate frame was incredibly popular for both small and large artworks; the type became known as the “Sansovino frame” in reference to Jacopo Sansovino, one of the most influential Italian sculptors and designers in 16th-century Venice and the likely maker of this object.
Description © Art Institute of Chicago, CC BY 4.0
