Benvenuto Tisi was a painter who lived 500 years ago.
People also called him Il Garofalo.
He lived and worked a lot in Ferrara, a town in northern Italy.
Madonna and Child is a picture of the baby Jesus and his mother Mary.
Mary is also called the Madonna.
The painting is a fine example of Garofalo’s skill.
Garofalo has painted the Madonna’s face to look peaceful and beautiful.
There is a lot of detail in the folds in her clothes.
The painting has a feeling of being simple but with grace and style.
The Madonna has eyes shaped almost like almonds.
This was the way that Garofalo’s teacher painted eyes.
His teacher, Boccaccio Boccaccino, was also from Ferrara.
Garofalo has also painted the baby Jesus standing up.
This was the way that artists from Ferrara painted the baby Jesus at this time.
This painting was made in Italy during the High Renaissance.
The High Renaissance was a time of great art about 500 years ago.
It was when three of the greatest artists of all time created some of their best works of art.
The artists were:
- Leonardo da Vinci
- Michelangelo
- Raphael
Madonna and Child was painted about the same time as Leonardo was painting his famous work
the Mona Lisa,
and Michelangelo was completing the painted ceiling of the Sistine Chapel.
Soon after he made this painting, Garofalo worked for Raphael in Rome.
There he painted many frescoes.
Frescoes are paintings on walls and ceilings when the plaster on top is wet.
Garofalo’s small Madonna and Child was painted for personal use
– to be used while praying at home or while on travel.
Garofalo made many paintings with religious topics.
Today, frescoes and big oil paintings by Garofalo are still in churches
and important buildings in Ferrara.
His paintings can also be found in many other places in northern Italy.