Bas-Relief Plaque in Biscuit Porcelain by Dante Baldelli, 1920s

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a marvelous biscuit porcelain plaque carved in bas-relief, entirely hand-decorated, with a border finished in pure … Read more Description of the item
a marvelous biscuit porcelain plaque carved in bas-relief, entirely hand-decorated, with a border finished in pure gold, depicting the virgin mary nursing the infant jesus—an iconographic motif known as “the milk-giving madonna”—signed “baldelli” on the back and marked with the place of production, “città di castello.” produced by dante baldelli’s workshop in the first half of the 20th century. The depiction of the madonna nursing the infant jesus is extremely rare to find and truly unique. The earliest official records of this depiction date back to the 6th–7th centuries a.d. In coptic (christianized) egypt and, subsequently, in byzantine art; moving instead to the west and specifically to the 14th century, among the earliest and most celebrated masterpieces of this type is the famous madonna del latte, painted around 1320 by the sienese painter ambrogio lorenzetti. It has since been depicted time and time again; it is highly venerated and significant, and one of the most important examples is the one housed in the tabernacle of the church of san lorenzo in castelbonzi, which dates back to 1400 and was painted by the master of signa. It should be noted that the madonna of the milk has been depicted in many different ways, but this madonna by baldelli bears a striking resemblance to that of the master of signa; in fact, in most paintings of the madonna of the milk, the infant is on the left; in ours, he is on the right, just as in the painting by the master of signa. The same is true of the small breast, which barely protrudes from the tunic, as in the painting; the madonna’s face and robe are also similar. Therefore, it is very likely that, in creating this plaque, baldelli drew his inspiration directly from the 1400 painting by the master of signa.

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dante baldelli, nephew of settimio rometti and cousin of aspromonte rometti—founders of the “rometti” workshop in umbertide—was born in città di castello in 1904, the son of stamura rometti. He began his artistic studies in perugia and later moved to rome, where he attended the royal academy of fine arts as a student of the sculptors luppi and canonica. In 1928, he assumed the role of artistic director of the family’s ceramics workshop, a position he shared, after a few months, with corrado cagli, whom he had met in rome while studying at the academy of fine arts. In 1930, he exhibited a plate titled “autobiografia” at the first exhibition of fine arts students in perugia. In 1931, he exhibited sculptures and majolica pieces in an exhibition organized by the g.u.f. Of perugia, and in september of that same year, he presented a plaster sculpture titled “testa di marianella” at the exhibition of the umbrian artists’ union. Also in 1931, one of his plates, decorated with black sgraffito depicting archers, was featured at the 5th milan triennale. In 1932, he held a solo exhibition in città di castello, where, alongside paintings, sculptures, and drawings, he exhibited 29 majolica pieces, including plates and vases. In 1934, he created a poster for the 19th venice biennale and another for the world cup. Dante baldelli collaborated with the “rometti” factory until 1942, when, due to the war, the factory was forced to close. After the war, he worked in his own ceramics studio, called “baldelli ceramiche,” located at piazza gioberti 1 in città di castello, in the province of perugia, assisted by his son massimo. Dante baldelli died in città di castello in 1953.

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