Maquette for Madonna and Child
- Artist: Henry Moore OM, CH
- Date: 1943, cast 1944–5
- Medium: Bronze
- Dimensions: object: 156 x 86 x 70 mm
- Museum: Tate Britain
- Collection record: Tate Britain website
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About this artwork
This is the “Maquette for Madonna and Child” by Henry Moore OM, CH. It’s a small bronze cast from 1944‑5, measuring about 156 × 86 × 70 mm. The sculpture comes from terracotta models that Moore created in the early 1920s when he was exploring mother‑and‑child motifs.
When the vicar of St Matthew’s in Northampton asked him to make a statue for the church, Moore hesitated because he wanted to bring his secular style into a religious context. The bronze captures that effort – it’s naturalistic yet clearly echoes Renaissance religious art.
You’ll notice the mother and child seated close together, arms slightly bent; it feels both modern and familiar at once. Moore was trying to produce something people would recognize as a Madonna while still keeping his own sculptural language alive.
The cast sits neatly on the plinth, its polished bronze surface catching light in a way that highlights the subtle contours of the figures. It’s a good example of how Moore blended his recurring themes with contemporary materials and techniques.
See it in person
Maquette for Madonna and Child is in the collection of Tate Britain on Millbank, London — free to enter. Point your phone at any artwork there and audioguide.london plays a free audio guide in six languages — no app download needed.
