Madonna and Child with Donor

1325/1330

Lippo Memmi

Artist, Sienese, active 1317/1347

Shown from the hips up, a young woman holds an upright baby against a richly patterned gold background in this vertical panel painting, which comes to a point at the top center. The woman nearly fills the panel, and she looms over a very small man kneeling in the lower left, facing our right in profile. The people all have ivory-white skin with a greenish cast, and petal-pink cheeks. The woman’s body faces us, supporting the baby in the curve of her left arm, our right. Thin, tawny-brown eyebrows arch over her hazel, almond-shaped eyes, which gaze off to our right. She has a long, narrow nose and small rose-pink mouth. Her head tilts to our right and is covered by an ivory-white cloth that frames her round face and wraps around the neckline of her burgundy-red gown. Over the white cloth and red dress, a long, midnight-blue mantle trimmed with gold covers her head, shoulders, and arms. A gold starburst adorns one shoulder. Tucked in the woman’s elbow to our right, the baby faces our left and wears a sheer garment covered by a burgundy-red, gold-edged cloth draped across his shoulders, back, and legs. The child has short, wavy, peach-colored hair and echos the woman’s thin eyebrows and hazel eyes. He reaches out with his right hand, to our left, to clutch her scarf while his other hand delicately touches the fingers of her hand, which brushes his chest. The man in the lower left is significantly smaller in scale so his kneeling body comes only up to the woman's elbow. His blond hair is cut in a ring above the ears, and he wears a dove-gray cloak with a long hood falling back over his shoulders. His right hand is raised, fingers extended, and he tilts his head up to look at the woman. Intricate, patterned halos surrounding the heads of the woman and child are punched and incised into the gold background. A decorative border of flowers, leaves, and dots line the sides of the panel and meet at the pointed top. Areas of brick red show through some areas of the gold background.

Media Options

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This work was the left side of a diptych that probably depicted the Crucifixion on the opposite panel. At the lower left, looking up at a looming vision of the Virgin and Child, is a small, kneeling figure in rapt devotion. Lippo Memmi has given us a portrait of a particular individual, unshaven, his ruddy skin slightly sagging below his tonsured curls, suggesting advanced age. He commissioned this painting and used it in his private devotions.

Lippo linked the two panels visually in multiple ways, beginning with our monk-donor’s gaze to the right. Mary places her finger against Jesus’s chest in a traditional gesture that recalls icons of the Hodegetria (as seen in the National Gallery of Art's Byzantine Enthroned Madonna and Child): she is pointing the way to salvation through Jesus and to his future suffering on the cross. The child’s tug at Mary’s veil is likely another reference to the Passion and to the death shroud that will cover him. With the pull and pucker of the cloth under their fingers, Lippo gives this symbolic sign a naturalistic touch.

The green-tinged faces in early Italian pictures sometimes discomfit modern viewers. What we are seeing, in fact, is the green earth pigment of the underpainting coming through as the colors on top have been abraded over time. This is not what the artist intended or what his contemporaries would have seen. The painting’s worn surface also gives us a good chance to see the red clay layer (bole) applied beneath all the gilt areas to give the gold a rich, warm tone.

On View

West Building Main Floor, Gallery 3

Artwork overview

  • Medium

    tempera on panel

  • Credit Line

    Andrew W. Mellon Collection

  • Dimensions

    painted surface: 50.8 × 23.5 cm (20 × 9 1/4 in.)
    overall: 51.5 × 24.2 × 0.5 cm (20 1/4 × 9 1/2 × 3/16 in.)
    framed: 70 x 36.2 x 5.1 cm (27 9/16 x 14 1/4 x 2 in.)

  • Accession

    1937.1.11

More About this Artwork

Scholarly Article:  Italian Paintings of the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Centuries: Madonna and Child with Donor, 1325/1330

This horizontal painting is made up of three parts: in the center square panel, a woman reclines under a wooden shelter set into a rocky cave, which is surrounded by angels, and narrower wings to either side are each occupied by a standing man. All the people have pale skin, which is tinged with faint green. The three panels are joined with a gold frame, and the gold background behind the central scene and the men in the side panels are covered with a noticeable network of cracks. In the central panel, a cobalt-blue robe nearly envelopes the reclining woman’s body; this is Mary. It covers her head and falls open where she crosses her wrists over her chest to show a pink garment underneath. A flat gold halo encircles her head ,and her body is surrounded by a field of crimson red, almost like an aura. She rests under a wooden structure with a pitched roof, which is surrounded by craggy, barren rock. A swaddled infant lies in a rectangular, tray-like manger. The infant’s head is also surrounded by a gold halo. Fine gold rays emanate down into the structure from a star just above the peak of the roof. A bull and a donkey look down at the baby from the far side of the manger. The interior of the structure behind them is black. In a smaller scale, two women wash a haloed infant in a tub in front of the rocky cave near the lower left corner of this panel. A man with a white beard and hair sits to our left of Mary, holding a pink cloak at his throat and looking toward the infant. Above and around the rocks, seven winged and haloed angels cluster on each side. One angel to the right presents a scroll with black writing to two men accompanied by a dog and several sheep in the lower right. The man in the panel to the left, Isaiah, has a gray beard and long, wavy hair, and he wears a lilac-purple cloak draped over a coral-orange robe. In his right hand, on our left, he holds an unfurled scroll with large black lettering. His other hand is raised with one finger pointing upward. He looks to our left, away from the central scene. On the right, Ezekiel, echoes Isaiah's pose. Ezekiel holds an open scroll with his left hand, on our right, and his other hand is raised. He also wears a coral-colored robe, but his is overlaid with a blue cloak. His receding hair is short and brown, as is his beard. Like Isaiah, he takes up most of the height of the panel and gazes to our left, toward the central panel.

Scholarly Series:  Italian Paintings of the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Centuries

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Private collection, Paris; purchased c. 1896 through (Thos. Agnew and Sons, Ltd., London) by Robert Henry [1850–1929] and Evelyn Holford [1856–1943] Benson, London and Buckhurst Park, Surrey;[1] sold 1927 with the entire Benson collection to (Duveen Brothers, Inc., London, New York, and Paris);[2] purchased 15 December 1936 by The Andrew W. Mellon Educational and Charitable Trust, Pittsburgh;[3] gift 1937 to NGA.
[1] According to Peter Wake, grandson of Robert Benson (letter, Wake to Anna Voris, 2 February 1976, in NGA curatorial files), based on Benson’s own handwritten records the painting was “bought in Paris about 1896 through Agnew.”
[2] Duveen Brothers Records, accession number 960015, Research Library, Getty Research Institute, Los Angeles: reel 206, box 351, folders 2 and 3, and reel 207, box 352, folders 1 and 2 (copies in NGA curatorial files). See also Robert Langton Douglas, "I dipinti senesi della Collezione Benson passati da Londra in America," Rassegna d’Arte Senese e del Costume 1/5, no. 3 (May-June 1927): 99-105; Frank E. Washburn Freund, “Die Sammlung Benson,” Der Cicerone 19 (1927): 495-502; Edward Fowles, Memories of Duveen Brothers, London, 1976: 183-184.
[3] The original invoice for a large group of objects purchased from Duveen Brothers, Inc. by the Mellon Trust is in NGA archives (Records of The A.W. Mellon Educational and Charitable Trust, subject files, box 2; copy in NGA curatorial files).

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1904

  • Exhibition of Pictures of the School of Siena, Burlington Fine Arts Club, London, 1904, no. 19.

1927

  • Loan Exhibition of the Benson Collection of Old Italian Masters, City of Manchester Art Gallery, 1927, no. 101.

Bibliography

1901

  • Venturi, Adolfo. Storia dell’arte italiana. 11 vols. Milan, 1901-1940: 5(1907):659, fig. 536.

1903

  • Crowe, Joseph Archer, and Giovan Battista Cavalcaselle. A History of Painting in Italy from the Second to the Sixteenth Century. 6 vols. Edited by Robert Langton Douglas (vols. 1-4) and Tancred Borenius (vols. 5-6). Vol. 3, The Sienese, Umbrian, and North Italian Schools. London, 1903-1914: 3(1908):79 n. 1.

1904

  • Frizzoni, Gustavo. "L’esposizione d’arte senese al Burlington Fine Arts Club." L’Arte 7 (1904): 261.

  • Fry, Roger. "La mostra d’arte senese al Burlington Club di Londra." Rassegna d’Arte 4 (1904): 117.

  • "Sienese Art at the Burlington Fine-Arts Club." The Athenaeum 3997 (June 1904): 728.

1905

  • Douglas, Robert Langton, ed. Exhibition of Pictures of the School of Siena and Examples of the Minor Arts of That City. Exh. cat. Burlington Fine Arts Club, 1904. London, 1905: 55, no. 19, pl. 16.

1907

  • Cust, Lionel. "La collection de M. R. H. Benson (Londres)." Les Arts 70 (1907): 24.

  • Weigelt, Curt H. “Lippo Memmi.” In Allgemeines Lexikon der bildenden Künstler von der Antike bis zur Gegenwart. Edited by Ulrich Thieme and Felix Becker. 37 vols. Leipzig, 1907-1950: 23(1929):276.

1908

  • Crowe, Joseph Archer, and Giovanni Battista Cavalcaselle. A New History of Painting in Italy from the Second to the Sixteenth Century. 3 vols. Edited by Edward Hutton. Vol. 2, Sienese School of the Fourteenth Century; Florentine School of the Fifteenth Century. London and New York, 1908-1909: 2(1909):65 n. 6.

1909

  • Berenson, Bernard. The Central Italian Painters of the Renaissance. 2nd ed. New York, 1909: 202.

1914

  • Borenius, Tancred. Catalogue of Italian Pictures at 16 South Street, Park Lane, London and Buckhurst in Sussex Collected by Robert and Evelyn Benson. London, 1914: no. 5.

1920

  • Marle, Raimond van. Simone Martini et les peintres de son école. Strasbourg, 1920: 107-108.

1923

  • Marle, Raimond van. The Development of the Italian Schools of Painting. 19 vols. The Hague, 1923-1938: 2(1924):265, fig. 174.

1924

  • Vitzthum, Georg Graf, and Wolgang Fritz Volbach. Die Malerei und Plastik des Mittelalters in Italien. Handbuch der Kunstwissenschaft 1. Wildpark-Potsdam, 1924: 278.

1926

  • Gielly, Louis. Les primitifs siennois. Paris, 1926: 111.

1927

  • Douglas, Robert Langton. "I dipinti senesi della Collezione Benson passati da Londra in America." Rassegna d’arte senese e del costume 1, no. 5 (1927): repro. 103.

  • Washburn-Freund, Frank E. "Die Sammlung Benson." Der Cicerone 19 (1927): 500.

1930

  • Weigelt, Curt H. Die sienesische Malerei des vierzehnten Jahrhunderts. Pantheon Edition. Florence and Munich, 1930: 34.

1932

  • Edgell, George Harold. A History of Sienese Painting. New York, 1932: 103, fig. 105.

  • Marle, Raimond van. Le scuole della pittura italiana. 2 vols. The Hague and Florence, 1932-1934: 2(1934):282, fig. 186.

1933

  • Venturi, Lionello. Italian Paintings in America. Translated by Countess Vanden Heuvel and Charles Marriott. 3 vols. New York and Milan, 1933: 1:no. 74, repro.

  • Meiss, Millard. "The Problem of Francesco Traini." The Art Bulletin 15 (1933): 116.

1937

  • "The Mellon Gift. A First Official List." Art News 35 (20 March 1937): 15.

1941

  • Preliminary Catalogue of Paintings and Sculpture. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1941: 133, no. 11.

  • National Gallery of Art. Book of Illustrations. Washington, 1941: 150 (repro.), 233.

  • Richter, George Martin. "The New National Gallery in Washington." The Burlington Magazine for Connoisseurs 78 (June 1941): 177.

1942

  • Book of Illustrations. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1942: 239, repro. 153.

1946

  • Douglas, Robert Langton. "Recent Additions to the Kress Collection." The Burlington Magazine for Connoisseurs 88 (1946): 85.

1949

  • Paintings and Sculpture from the Mellon Collection. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1949 (reprinted 1953 and 1958): 6, repro.

1951

  • Einstein, Lewis. Looking at Italian Pictures in the National Gallery of Art. Washington, 1951: 26 n. 1.

1957

  • Shapley, Fern Rusk. Comparisons in Art: A Companion to the National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC. London, 1957 (reprinted 1959): 23, fig. 8.

1963

  • Walker, John. National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. New York, 1963 (reprinted 1964 in French, German, and Spanish): 298, repro.

1965

  • Summary Catalogue of European Paintings and Sculpture. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1965: 89.

1968

  • National Gallery of Art. European Paintings and Sculpture, Illustrations. Washington, 1968: 78, repro.

  • Berenson, Bernard. Italian Pictures of the Renaissance. Central Italian and North Italian Schools. 3 vols. London, 1968: 2:270, pl. 303.

1971

  • Polzer, Joseph. "Observations on Known Paintings and a New Altarpiece by Francesco Traini." Pantheon 29 (1971): 386, 387, fig. 8.

1972

  • Fredericksen, Burton B., and Federico Zeri. Census of Pre-Nineteenth Century Italian Paintings in North American Public Collections. Cambridge, Mass., 1972: 141, 312, 645.

1973

  • Finley, David Edward. A Standard of Excellence: Andrew W. Mellon Founds the National Gallery of Art at Washington. Washington, 1973: 37.

  • Śnieżyńska-Stolot, Ewa. "Geneza, styl i historia obrazu Matki Boskiej częstochowskiej." Folia historiae artium 9 (1973): 26, 29 fig. 24, 30 n. 74, fig. 27.

1974

  • De Benedictis, Cristina. "A proposito di un libro su Buffalmacco." Antichità viva 13, no. 2 (1974): 8, 9, fig. 11.

1975

  • European Paintings: An Illustrated Summary Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1975: 232, repro.

1979

  • Shapley, Fern Rusk. Catalogue of the Italian Paintings. 2 vols. Washington, 1979: 1:330-331; 2:pl. 240.

  • De Benedictis, Cristina. La pittura senese 1330-1370. Florence, 1979: 21, 93, fig. 18.

1981

  • Belting, Hans. Das Bild und sein Publikum im Mittelalter: Form und Funktion früher Bildtafeln der Passion. Berlin, 1981: 72, 73, fig. 71.

1982

  • Il gotico a Siena: miniature, pitture, oreficerie, oggetti d’arte. Exh. cat. Palazzo Pubblico, Siena. Florence, 1982: 186.

1983

  • Boskovits, Miklós. "Il gotico senese rivisitato: proposte e commenti su una mostra." Arte cristiana 71 (1983): 264.

1984

  • Walker, John. National Gallery of Art, Washington. Rev. ed. New York, 1984: 67, no. 6, color repro.

1985

  • European Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1985: 230, repro. 251 (incorrectly identified as repro. for 1950.11.1.b, Attrib. to Martino di Bartolomeo di Biago, Madonna and Child with Saint Peter and Saint Stephen).

  • Bagnoli, Alessandro, and Luciano Bellosi, eds. Simone Martini e “chompagni”. Exh. cat. Pinacoteca Nazionale, Siena. Florence, 1985: 92.

  • Brandl, Rainer. Die Tafelbilder des Simone Martini: ein Beitrag zur Kunst Sienas im Trecento. Frankfurt am Main and New York, 1985: 85 n. 1.

1986

  • Conti, Alessandro. "Simone Martini e ‘chompagni’: Siena, Pinacoteca Nazionale, March 27-October 31, 1985." Bollettino d’arte 71, nos. 35-36 (1986): 101.

  • Tartuferi, Angelo. "Appunti su Simone Martini e ‘chompagni.’" Arte cristiana 74 (1986): 85, 91-92, n. 29.

  • Boskovits, Miklós. "Sul trittico di Simone Martini e di Lippo Memmi." Arte cristiana 74 (1986): 76 n. 33, 78 fig. 12.

  • Ercoli, Giuliano. "Precursori, maestri e ‘chompagni’ nella pittura del Duecento e del Trecento." Antichità viva 25 (1986): 11.

1988

  • Boskovits, Miklós, ed. Frühe italienische Malerei: Gemäldegalerie Berlin, Katalog der Gemälde. Translated by Erich Schleier. Berlin, 1988: 78, 81.

1989

  • Leone De Castris, Pierluigi. Simone Martini: catalogo completo dei dipinti. Florence, 1989: 145.

  • Castri, Serenella. "Memmi, Lippo (Lippo di Memmo di Filippuccio)." In Dizionario della pittura e dei pittori. Edited by Enrico Castelnuovo and Bruno Toscano. 6 vols. Turin, 1989-1994: 3(1992):581.

1991

  • De Benedictis, Cristina. "Lippo Memmi." In Enciclopedia dell’arte medievale. Edited by Istituto della Enciclopedia italiana. 12 vols. Rome, 1991-2002: 7(1996):735.

1996

  • Rowlands, Eliot W. The Collections of the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art: Italian Paintings, 1300-1800. Kansas City, MO, 1996: 36, 38.

  • Maginnis, Hayden B. J. "Lippo Memmi." In The Dictionary of Art. 34 vols. Edited by Jane Turner. New York, 1996: 19:455.

1997

  • Edmonds, Penelope. "A Technical Examination, Investigation, and Treatment of a fifteenth-Century Seinese Polychrome Terra-Cotta Relief." Studies in the History of Art 57 (1997): 68-69, fig. 3.

1998

  • Frinta, Mojmír S. Punched Decoration on Late Medieval Panel and Miniature Painting. Prague, 1998: 93, 252, 311, 317, 321, 446, 488.

2002

  • Franci, Beatrice. "Memmi, Lippo." In La pittura in Europa. Il Dizionario dei pittori. Edited by Carlo Pirovano. 3 vols. Milan, 2002: 2:591.

2003

  • Leone De Castris, Pierluigi. Simone Martini. Milan, 2003: 181, 283.

2004

  • Secrest, Meryle. Duveen: A Life in Art. New York, 2004: 458.

2009

  • Bellosi, Luciano, et al., eds. La collezione Salini: dipinti, sculture e oreficerie dei secoli XII, XIII, XIV e XV. 4 vols. Florence, 2009, 20015: 1(2009):143.

  • Spannocchi, Sabina. "Lippo e Tederigo Memmi." in La Collegiata di San Gimignano, vol. 2, l’architettura, i cicli pittorici murali e i loro restauri. Edited by Alessandro Bagnoli. Siena, 2009: 452.

2016

  • Boskovits, Miklós. Italian Paintings of the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Centuries. The Systematic Catalogue of the National Gallery of Art. Washington, 2016: 215-221, color repro.

Wikidata ID

Q20173054

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