Art Deco Plaster Statue of the Madonna and Child, Belgium, 1920

An Art Deco plaster statue of the Madonna and Child from Belgium, made around 1920. Statues like this were made in the interwar years for churches, convents and private homes, combining religious devotion with the new, simplified design language of Art Deco. The Virgin stands tall and slender in a long mantle that falls in straight, vertical folds, her head gently bowed towards the Child she holds against her shoulder. The faces are calm and tender, and the figure rises in one clear line from the feet to the veiled head, giving the statue a quiet, monumental presence. The statue stands on a stepped base with a carved inscription, 'H. Maria Moeder Gods B.V.O.', and it is signed and dated on the back by J. Vandemoortele. The whole piece has a warm green-bronze patina that gives the plaster the look of aged cast metal. A beautiful devotional and decorative piece for a hallway, a study, a bookcase or a chapel corner, and a fine example of Belgian Art Deco religious sculpture. Condition: paint chips on the corners of the base and on the drapery.