Nicholas Lochoff (d. 1947) after

 Alessandro Botticelli (Florentine, 1444/5-1510) MADONNA OF THE POMEGRANATE

Original (c.1487) in the Ufffzi, Florence,Tempera on panel

This circular painting (tondo) shows the Madonna and Child surrounded by angels. The sources for the use of a pomegranate range from the myth of Ceres and Proserpina to the Old Testament. The iconographic meaning of the fruit, however, certainly comes from the myth of Proserpina, with its references to resurrection and to the mourning of a mother for her child. The abundant red seeds of the pomegranate were traditionally used to suggest fertility and rebirth, a theme not out of place in this painting. At the request of Mr. and Mrs. Berenson, Lochoff left this painting in what he imagined was the original condition of Botticelli's painting, without softening the color or adding the marks that age had left on the original.

Text by Robert Gerwing.
Copyright 2004.