Madonna of the Candelabra

This terracotta relief from the studio of the Florentine sculptor Antonio Rossellino shows the Virgin seated with the Christ Child on her lap, holding a bird in his hands. It is named for the candelabra festooned with garlands behind the figures. The relief was in the collection assembled by the Victorian classical painter Frederic, Lord Leighton, at his Holland Park house and studio, one of the most famous 19th-century interiors in London. Leighton was profoundly influenced by Italian Renaissance art of the 15th and 16th centuries. The relief is the second important example of Renaissance art to be returned to the house, following the dispersal of Leighton's collection after his death.