Madonna and Child
c. 1470/1475
Artist, Florentine, 1449 - 1494
West Building Main Floor, Gallery 7
Artwork overview
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Medium
tempera on panel transferred to hardboard
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Credit Line
-
Dimensions
painted surface: 70.8 x 48.9 cm (27 7/8 x 19 1/4 in.)
overall size: 73 x 50.2 cm (28 3/4 x 19 3/4 in.)
framed: 115.6 x 89.2 x 7.6 cm (45 1/2 x 35 1/8 x 3 in.) -
Accession
1961.9.49
Artwork history & notes
Provenance
Mrs. E.L. Scott, possibly London; (sale, Sotheby's, London, 22 April 1953, no. 32, as by Verrocchio); purchased by (Hazlitt Gallery, London); (Count Alessandro Contini Bonacossi, Florence); sold June 1954 to the Samuel H. Kress Foundation, New York;[1] gift 1961 to NGA.
[1] On 7 June 1954 the Kress Foundation made an offer to Contini Bonacossi for sixteen paintings, including the NGA painting which was listed as by Verrocchio. In a draft of one of the documents prepared for the Count's signature in connection with the offer this painting is described as "Madonna and Child by Verrocchio, recently purchased by me in London." The Count accepted the offer on 30 June 1954; the final payment for the purchase was ultimately made in early 1957, after the Count's death in 1955. (See copies of correspondence in NGA curatorial files and The Kress Collection Digital Archive, https://kress.nga.gov/Detail/objects/1340).
Associated Names
Exhibition History
2010
Ghirlandaio y el Renacimiento en Florencia, Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid, 2010, no. 47.
2019
Verrocchio: Sculptor and Painter of Renaissance Florence, Palazzo Strozzi and Museo Nazionale del Bargello, Florence (as Verrocchio: Master of Leonardo); National Gallery of Art, Washington, 2019-2020, Florence catalogue, no.5.5, repro; Washington catalogue, no. 29, repro.
Bibliography
1953
Zeri, Federico. "Il Maestro dell'Annunciazione Gardner." Bollettino d'Arte 38, no. 2 (1953): 139 n. 15.
1956
Paintings and Sculpture from the Kress Collection Acquired by the Samuel H. Kress Foundation 1951-56. Introduction by John Walker, text by William E. Suida and Fern Rusk Shapley. National Gallery of Art. Washington, 1956: 88, no. 32, repro.
1959
Paintings and Sculpture from the Samuel H. Kress Collection. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1959: 66, repro.
1961
Walker, John, Guy Emerson, and Charles Seymour. Art Treasures for America: An Anthology of Paintings & Sculpture in the Samuel H. Kress Collection. London, 1961: 41-43, repro.
1962
Cairns, Huntington, and John Walker, eds. Treasures from the National Gallery of Art. New York, 1962: 16, color repro.
1963
Walker, John. National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. New York, 1963 (reprinted 1964 in French, German, and Spanish): 300, repro.
Berenson, Bernard. Italian Pictures of the Renaissance: Florentine School, 2 vols. London, 1963: 1:77. 2:pl. 955.
1965
Summary Catalogue of European Paintings and Sculpture. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1965: 57.
1966
Cairns, Huntington, and John Walker, eds. A Pageant of Painting from the National Gallery of Art. 2 vols. New York, 1966: 1:44, color repro.
Shapley, Fern Rusk. Paintings from the Samuel H. Kress Collection: Italian Schools, XIII-XV Century. London, 1966: 124-125, fig. 344.
1968
National Gallery of Art. European Paintings and Sculpture, Illustrations. Washington, 1968: 50, repro.
1969
Rosenauer, Artur. “Zum Stil der frühen Werke Domenico Ghirlandajos.” Wiener Jahrbuch für Kunstgeschichte 22 (1969): 67-68.
1972
Fredericksen, Burton B., and Federico Zeri. Census of Pre-Nineteenth-Century Italian Paintings in North American Public Collections. Cambridge, MA, 1972: 83, 325, 647.
1974
Grossman, Sheldon. “An early drawing by Fra Bartolomeo.” Studies in the History of Art 6 (1974): 9 n. 8.
1975
European Paintings: An Illustrated Summary Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1975: 152, repro.
1978
Brigstocke, Hugh. Italian and Spanish Paintings in the National Gallery of Scotland. Edinburgh, 1978: 189, 192 n. 30.
Oberhuber, Konrad. “Le problème des premières oeuvres de Verrocchio.” Revue de l’art 42 (1978): 71, fig. 13.
1979
Shapley, Fern Rusk. Catalogue of the Italian Paintings. 2 vols. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1979: 1:205; 2:pl. 141.
Grossman, Sheldon. “Ghirlandaio’s ‘Madonna and Child’ in Frankfurt and Leonardo’s Beginnings as a Painter.” Städel-Jahrbuch 7 (1979): 102, 110-111, 122 n. 10, fig. 8.
1980
Cadogan, Jean. Maestri toscani del Quattrocento: Lorenzo Monaco, Ghiberti, Paolo Uccello, Filippo Lippi, Pesellino, Andrea del Castagno, Ghirlandaio, Bartolomeo di Giovanni, Benozzo Gozzoli, etc.. Florence, 1980: 31-32.
1981
Brigstocke, Hugh. “Verrocchio’s Ruskin Madonna.” In Thos. Agnew and Sons Ltd. And Michael Jaffé, eds. A Dealer’s Record: Agnew’s 1967-81. London, 1981: 27-28.
1983
Angelini, Alessandro. “Domenico Ghirlandaio 1470-1480.” In Domenico Ghirlandaio: restauro e storia di una dipinto. Exh. cat. Arciconfraternità di Misericordia, Figline Valdarno, 1983: 12, 15, 20 n. 9, repro.
Cadogan, Jean. “Linen drapery studies by Verrocchio, Leonardo and Ghirlandaio.” Zeitschrift für Kunstgeschichte 46 (1983): 34, 36, fig. 6.
Cadogan, Jean. “Reconsidering some aspects of Ghirlandaio’s drawings.” The Art Bulletin 65 (1983): 281-282.
1984
Walker, John. National Gallery of Art, Washington. Rev. ed. New York, 1984: 104, no. 73, color repro.
1985
European Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1985: 174, repro.
1986
Frulli, Cristina. "Domenico Ghirlandaio/Domenico di Tommaso Bigordi." In Federico Zeri, ed. La pittura in Italia: il Quattrocento. 2 vols. Milan, 1986: 2:635.
1988
Wheeler, Marion, ed. His Face--Images of Christ in Art: Selections from the King James Version of the Bible. New York, 1988: no. 14, repro.
Kecks, Ronald G. Madonna und Kind. Das häusliche Andachtsbild im Florenz des 15. Jahrhunderts. Berlin, 1988: 112-113, 127, fig. 126.
1992
Padoa Rizzo, Anna. “Il tironcinio dell’artista: la bottega come luogo di formazione.” In Mina Gregori, Antonio Paolucci and Cristina Acidini Luchinat, eds. Maestri e botteghe: pittura a Firenze alla fine del Quattrocento. Exh. cat. Palazzo Strozzi, Florence, 1992: 57.
1993
Brigstocke, Hugh. Italian and Spanish Paintings in the National Gallery of Scotland. 3rd ed. Edinburgh, 1993: 202, 204 n. 30, 204 n. 35, 204 n. 36, fig. 68.
Gagliardi, Jacques. La conquête de la peinture: L’Europe des ateliers du XIIIe au XVe siècle. Paris, 1993: 635.
1994
Fahy, Everett. “Two Suggestions for Verrocchio.” In Studi di storia dell’arte in onore di Mina Gregori. Milan, 1994: 51.
1998
Brown, David Alan. Leonardo da Vinci: Origins of a Genius. New Haven and London, 1998: 40, fig. 31.
1999
Freedman, Luba. “The Madonna’s Brooch as an Allusion to Verrocchio’s Name.” Studies in Art History 4 (1999): 148, fig. 5, as Workshop of Andrea del Verrocchio (Domenico Ghirlandaio?).
2000
Cadogan, Jean. Domenico Ghirlandaio: Artist and Artisan. New Haven and London, 2000: 57-60, 246, cat. 22, repro.
2003
Boskovits, Miklós, David Alan Brown, et al. Italian Paintings of the Fifteenth Century. The Systematic Catalogue of the National Gallery of Art. Washington, 2003: 300-303, color repro.
2004
Matteoli, Anna. "Un'aggiunta al catalogo di Domenico Ghirlandaio." Arte Cristiana 92, no. 821 (March-April 2004): 106, fig. 3.
Hiller von Gaertringen, Rudolf. Italienische Gemälde im Städel 1300-1550: Toskana und Umbrien. Kataloge der Gemälde im Städelschen Kunstinstitut Frankfurt am Main. Mainz, 2004: 304, fig. 211.
2008
Meijer, Bert W., ed. Firenze e gli antichi Paesi Bassi, 1430-1530, dialoghi tra artisti: da Jan van Eyck a Ghirlandaio, da Memling a Raffaello…. Exh. cat., Galleria Palatina di Palazzo Pitti, Florence 2008: 210.
2010
Bernacchioni, Annamaria, ed. Ghirlandaio: Una famiglia di pittori del Rinascimento tra Firenze e Scandicci. Exh. cat. Castello dell'Acciaiolo, Scandicci, 2010: 90.
2014
Chiodo, Sonia, and Serena Padovani, eds. The Alana Collection, Newark, Delaware, USA. Vol. III: Italian Paintings from the 14th to 16th Century. Florence, 2014: 84.
2017
Baldini, Nicoletta. “‘Tempi felici’: La storia della Famiglia del Ghirlandaio nelle carte conservate presso il fondo dell’Arciconfraternita del Gonfalone dell’Archivio Segreto Vaticano.” In Lisa Venturini, ed. Ghirlandaria: Un manoscritto di ricordi della Famiglia del Ghirlandaio. Florence, 2017: 72.
2020
Pons, Nicoletta. “Un panneau inédit de Domenico Ghirlandaio peint pour Pise.” Revue des Musées de France. Revue du Louvre, no. 1 (2020): 44.
De Marchi, Andrea. “Il 'Maestro dall’occhio vispo': curiosità insaziabile, generosità e passione nel metodo di un conoscitore anomalo.” In Everett Fahy. Studi sulla pittura toscana del Rinascimento. Studies in Tuscan Renaissance Painting. Scritti scelti. Ed. Andrea de Marchi and Elisabetta Sambo. Bologna, 2020: XXX.
Fahy, Everett. “The Ruskin Madonna.” In Everett Fahy, Studi sulla pittura toscana del Rinascimento. Studies in Tuscan Renaissance Painting. Scritti scelti. Ed. Andrea De Marchi and Elisabetta Sambo. Bologna, 2020: 213, 214, figs. 152, 158.
Crack, Peter. "The dying contrabandista by John Phillip (1817-1867): The fictional Spanish afterlife of a Madonna and Child by Domenico Ghirlandaio (1449-1494)." The British Art Journal 20, no. 1 (Spring 2020): 7-14, fig. 1.
2023
De Marchi, Andrea, and Cecilia Martelli. Una Madonna verrocchiescha per la giovinezza di Domenico Ghirlandaio. Florence, 2023: 45 n. 30, 51, 60 n. 4, 61 n. 16, pl. X, fig. 22, 27.
Pierini, Marco, and Veruska Picchiarelli, eds. Il meglio maestro d'Italia: Perugino nel suo tempo. Exh. cat. Galleria Nazionale dell'Umbria, Perugia, 2023: 193 n. 26.
Bacchi, Andrea, and Luca Mattedi. Italian Paintings: Federico Zeri e il Metropolitan Museum (1948-1988). Bologna, 2023: 101, 102.
Wikidata ID
Q20173996