“The Madonna of the Swallow”, Carlo Crivelli, about 1430/5, National Gallery, London
This painting gets its name from the swallow on the top left. For us swallows are significant as a herald of spring and new growth, but in 15th Century Italy they also symbolised Christ and Mary. There was a rather gruesome belief that if you pluck out the eyes of swallow chicks, then the parent will take a blade a grass and use it to restore their eyesight. So the swallow symbolised Christ, who restored sight to the blind. But because this bird took such care in building a nest for her chicks, swallows also symbolised maternal love and therefore the love of the Madonna for her child and for us too. This heavenly picture is about Mary and much of its rich symbolism centres on her maternal love. Crivelli painted the Virgin and Child in many times but only in this one is the child shown without clothes. But to show the Christ child naked was quite common in late medieval and early modern art as a way of laying emphasis on the full humanity of Christ. But if the humanity of Christ is being emphasised through the child’s lack of clothes, the transcendent splendour of Heaven and of Mary enthroned is shown by the inclusion of the finest clothing and cloth of the day. It was painted for a Church in the Italian Marche town of Matelica, where much wealth came from the wool and cloth trade. Mary is shown as Queen of Heaven, flanked by Saints Jerome and Sebastian, who attend their Queen, and are also turned out in their finest. The patrons were the local Ottoni family. At the very bottom, their coat of arms is painted at the centre the step, suggesting that this is their take on Heaven.
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