Madonna and Child

This painting has had major conservation and restoration treatment. Alterations were made to it, probably in the 19th century. Many of these changes have now been reversed. The distinctive border shows part of the painting previously protected by a frame. Some of the original colours and features are visible here. It is a copy (apparently using the same cartoon) of Luca Signorelli's 'Bache' 'Madonna and Child' set against a gilded decorated background, in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (inv. 49.7.13, which is thought to have been painted between 1505 and 1507, when it was given to Luca's daughter as a wedding present. Wrongly thought to be from the William Roscoe collection in exhibition catalogue 1909 and WAG Roscoe Catalogue 1928 but corrected in 1963 Foreign Catalogue. This is one of the artworks presented by the Liverpool Royal Institution. Liverpool’s economic development grew directly from Britain’s involvement with transatlantic slavery: the kidnapping, enslavement and forced migration of people from West Africa to the Americas and many to the Caribbean. Many members of the Royal Institution made their fortunes directly through the trade or indirectly through the wider economy. This wealth was largely how they were able to bring rare art and treasures, such as this, to the city.