Madonna and Child with Donor
1325/1330
Artist, Sienese, active 1317/1347

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.

West Building Main Floor, Gallery 3
Artwork overview
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Medium
tempera on panel
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Credit Line
-
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
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