After Nicolò BARABINO (1832–1891). Plaster bas-relief depicting the Virgin and Child or Madonna and Child (Madonna dell’Olivo). Inscribed ‘Ouasi Oliva Speciosa In Campis’, signed in the lower left-hand corner. 60 x 37.5 cm (Minor knocks, traces of polychromy) – The Latin phrase, taken from the Bible, compares the Virgin Mary to a beautiful olive tree in the plain. Originally intended for the church of Santa Maria della Cella in Sampierdarena (Genoa). Exhibited in Venice in 1887, the painting was purchased by Queen Margherita of Savoy, who placed it in her bedroom. Barabino must have painted a second version for the intended church, incorporating olive branches in place of the symbolic oranges. The image, with its very gentle face, has become extremely popular in Italy. It has been reproduced on prints, chocolate boxes and religious souvenirs.