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Carlo Crivelli, 'La Madonna della Rondine (The Madonna of the Swallow)', after 1490

Key facts
Full title La Madonna della Rondine (The Madonna of the Swallow)
Artist Carlo Crivelli
Artist dates about 1430/5 - about 1494
Group Altarpiece from S. Francesco dei Zoccolanti, Matelica
Date made after 1490
Medium and support egg tempera with some oil on wood
Dimensions 150.5 × 107.3 cm
Inscription summary Signed
Acquisition credit Bought, 1862
Inventory number NG724.1
Location Not on display
Collection Main Collection
La Madonna della Rondine (The Madonna of the Swallow)
Carlo Crivelli
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This large panel comes from an altarpiece painted in 1491 by Carlo Crivelli. It was made for the Ottoni family chapel in the Franciscan church at Matelica, in the Italian Marches.

The Virgin, to whom the chapel was dedicated, appears crowned as the Queen of Heaven, with the Christ Child on her knee. The saints on either side of her reflect the concerns of the patrons, one a churchman, the other a soldier: Saint Jerome was the patron of scholars and theologians, while Sebastian was the patron of soldiers. The swallow of the title, a symbol of Christ’s Resurrection, perches above Mary’s head.

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Altarpiece from S. Francesco dei Zoccolanti, Matelica

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This large altarpiece was painted by Carlo Crivelli in 1491 for a family chapel in the Franciscan church in Matelica, a small town in the Italian Marches. The Ottoni were the local ruling family – you can see their coat of arms placed conspicuously on the bottom edge of the main panel.

The location heavily influenced the altarpiece’s design. The Ottoni chapel was tall and needed a tall altarpiece: including the frame and predella (the bottom tier) the painting is approximately 2.5 metres high. There was a large window on the back wall of the chapel – which was unusual – so the altar and altarpiece had to be on the side walls. This painting was on the left wall; the light in it comes from the upper right, mimicking the actual light in the chapel.