Vatican Museums

The Vatican Madonna del Parto was long attributed to Cimabue. Thanks to the studies carried out in occasion of the recent restoration, today it is possible to attribute the painting to Cenni di Francesco di Ser Cenni from Florence. The volume, Supplement 7 to the Bollettino dei Monumenti, Musei e Gallerie Pontificie, presents the results of this research and represents the choral outcome of different and cooperating skill sets.

Adele Breda, Curator of the Department of the Byzantine-Medieval Art of the Vatican Museums, framed the painting in its historical and artistic context, giving specific attention to its theological meaning and to the aspect of devotion. The innovative essay by Jana Michalcakova, from the Palacký University Olomouc, focuses on the stamps, on the fabrics, and on the iconography of the work. The results of the analyses of the Cabinet of Scientific Research applied to Cultural Heritage of the Vatican Museums, gathered by Ulderico Santamaria and Fabio Morresi, are then presented. They are followed by three interesting essays about the restoration of the panel, the frame and the title blocks, written respectively by Bruno Marocchini, Massimo Alesi, and Chiara Fornaciari.
The book also presents a rich photographic setting, guiding the reader through an amazing trip “between light and gold”.