The Birth of the Virgin

1605/1610

Ventura Salimbeni

Associated Names
Ventura Salimbeni

Artist, Sienese, 1568 - 1613

This image shows multiple figures, both humans and cherubic beings, in a detailed and dynamic scene. The composition is vertically oriented with various individuals positioned throughout the scene. Many figures are shown in different poses, with some individuals standing or sitting. A woman holding a baby is seated in the central lower portion, surrounded by other kneeling and sitting figures. The clothing worn by the figures suggests a historical or biblical setting. Above, several cherubs or angels are depicted in mid-flight with joyful expressions. They appear smaller and nude, floating among clouds. The background features architectural and organic elements, with additional people in side profiles and faint structural lines for depth. The color palette is warm and earthy, with a sepia-like finish giving the scene an aged and grand appearance.

Media Options

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    pen and brown and red ink with brown and sanguine wash over red chalk, heightened with white gouache and squared in red chalk on laid paper washed ochre

  • Credit Line

    Wolfgang Ratjen Collection, Patrons' Permanent Fund

  • Dimensions

    sheet: 33.7 x 23.1 cm (13 1/4 x 9 1/8 in.)

  • Accession Number

    2007.111.155


Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Paignon-Dijonval, France. George Usslaub, Marseille (born 1845) (Lugt 1221). Jacques Petithory, Paris (not in Lugt). Private collection, Geneva; Wolfgang Ratjen, Munich; purchased 2007 by NGA.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1995

  • Fünfzig italienische Zeichnungen des 16. - 18. Jahrhunderts aus der Stiftung Ratjen, Vaduz. Liechtensteinischen Staatlichen Kunstsammlung, Vaduz. Bern, 1995, no. 15.

1996

  • Italian Drawings from the Ratjen Foundation, Vaduz. The Frick Collection, New York. Bern, 1996, no. 15.

2011

  • Italian Master Drawings from the Wolfgang Ratjen Collection, 1525-1835, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 2011, no. 23.

Inscriptions

lower left, brown ink, Ventura Salimbeni (erased); bottom of mount, gray ink, Dessein p.r le tableau de la Naissance de la S.t V.ge que le Ch.r Vanni a fait p.r l'eg.e des Rel.x de la Mere de J.C. de luques/no. 29; lower right , brown ink, #.o 7; verso of mount, upper right, brown ink, #.o 7; verso of mount, center, graphite, G. Usslaub/1881.; verso of mount, lower left, graphite, Ventura Salimbeni

Wikidata ID

Q64633484

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