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Provenance

Federico Borromeo [1564-1631], by 1607; Biblioteca and Pinacoteca Ambrosiana, Milan, until 1796;[1] Lucien Bonaparte [d. 1840], Prince de Canino, Paris and Rome, by 1812;[2] (Exhibited for private sale of Lucian Bonaparte collection, London, 6 February 1815, no. 23, as by Leonardo); (Bonaparte sale, Stanley, London, 15 May 1816, no. 165, as by Leonardo). Henry Petty-FitzMaurice, 4th Marquess of Lansdowne [1816-1866], Bowood Hall, Wiltshire, by 1844;[3] by inheritance to Henry Charles Keith Petty-FitzMaurice [1845-1927], 5th Marquess of Landsdowne, Bowood Hall; by inheritance to Henry William Edmund Petty-FitzMaurice [1872-1936], 6th Marquess of Landsdowne, Bowood Hall; acquired 25 April 1952 by (Thomas Agnew and Sons, London); sold 29 April 1952 to(Rudolf Heinemann, New York);[4] on joint account 1952 with (M. Knoedler and Co., London and New York); sold 1957 to the Samuel H. Kress Foundation, New York;[5] gift 1961 to NGA.

[1] For the early provenance of the picture, see Pamela M. Jones, "Bernardino Luini's 'Magdelene' from the collection of Federico Borromeo: Religious Contemplation and Iconographic Sources," in Studies in the History of Art 24 (1990): 67-7

[2] Choix de Gravures a l'eau forte d'apres les Peintures Originales et les Marbres de la Galerie de Lucien Bonaparte, Londres, 1812.

[3] Included in Mrs. Anna Jameson, Companion to the Most Celebrated Private Galleries of Art in London, London, 1844: 313-314.

[4] Stockbook no. 0718, Thomas Agnew & Sons, London.

[5] M. Knoedler & Co. Records, accession number 2012.M.54, Research Library, Getty Research Institute, Los Angeles: Stock book no. 10, p. 78, no. A4905; Sales book no. 17, p. 314. Receipt from Knoedler dated 2 January 1957. (See copies of Knoedler documents in NGA curatorial files and The Kress Collection Digital Archive, https://kress.nga.gov/Detail/objects/2226).

Exhibition History

1876
Exhibition of Works by Old Masters. Winter Exhibition, The Royal Academy, London, 1896, no. 185, as by Leonardo.
1898
Exhibition of Pictures by Masters of the Milanese and Allied Schools of Lombardy, The Burlington Fine Arts CLub, London, 1898, no. 35
1961
Exhibition of Art Treasures for America from the Samuel H. Kress Collection, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1961-1962, no. 57.
2004
Painters of Reality: The Legacy of Leonardo and Caravaggio in Lombard Painting [Pittori di realtà: Le Ragioni di una Rivoluzione da Foppa e Leona..., Museo Civico Ala Ponzone, Cremona; Metropolitan Mus. of Art, New York, 2004, unnumbered cat., repro.

Bibliography

1844
Jameson, Mrs. (Anna). Companion to the Most Celebrated Private Galleries of Art in London. London, 1844: 313-314, no. 62.
1854
Waagen, Gustav Friedrich. Treasures of Art in Great Britain: Being an Account of the Chief Collections of Paintings, Drawings, Sculptures, Illuminated Mss.. 3 vols. Translated by Elizabeth Rigby Eastlake. London, 1854: 3:159.
1897
Ambrose, George E. Catalogue of the Collection of Pictures belonging to the Marquess of Lansdowne. London, 1897: 126, no. 116
1900
Williamson, G.C. Bernardino Luini. London, 1900:107
1905
Reinach, Salomon. Répertoire de peintures du moyen âge et de la Renaissance (1280-1580). 6 vols. Paris, 1905-1923: 3(1910)720, no. 1.
1907
Berenson, Bernard. North Italian Painters of the Renaissance. New York and London, 1907: 246.
1909
Latham, Charles. In English Homes. 3 vols. London, 1909: 1:395.
1911
Beltrami, Luca. Luini. Milan, 1911:583, 617
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: 102, color repro. pl. 96.
1965
Summary Catalogue of European Paintings and Sculpture. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1965: 80.
1968
Berenson, Bernard. Italian Pictures of the Renaissance. Central Italian and North Italian Schools. 3 vols. London, 1968: 1:235.
1968
National Gallery of Art. European Paintings and Sculpture, Illustrations. Washington, 1968: 70, repro.
1968
Shapley, Fern Rusk. Paintings from the Samuel H. Kress Collection: Italian Schools, XV-XVI Century. London, 1968: 142-143, fig. 338.
1975
European Paintings: An Illustrated Summary Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1975: 206, repro.
1979
Shapley, Fern Rusk. Catalogue of the Italian Paintings. 2 vols. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1979: 1:288-289; 2:pl. 205.
1984
Walker, John. National Gallery of Art, Washington. Rev. ed. New York, 1984: 227, no. 282, color repro.
1985
European Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1985: 239, repro.
1990
Jones, Pamela M. "Bernardino Luini's Magdalene from the Collection of Federico Borromeo: Religious Contemplation and Iconographic Sources." Studies in the History of Art 24 (1990): 67-72, repro.
1997
Avanzini, Alessandra. Profumi D'Arabia, Atti del Convegno. Roma, 1997: cover, repro.
2004
Hand, John Oliver. National Gallery of Art: Master Paintings from the Collection. Washington and New York, 2004: 92, no. 65, color repro.
2006
Natale, Mauro, ed. Capolavori da scoprire: La collezione Borromeo Exh. cat. Museo Poldi Pezzoli, Milan, 2006: 182-183, repro. (under no. 18, by Christina Quattrini).
2011
Vowinckel, Annette. Das relationale Zeitalter: Individualität, Nomalität und Mittelmass in der Kultur der Renaissance. Munich, 2011: 169, 170, fig. 49.
2015
Swicklik, Michael, Barbara H. Berrie, and Gretchen Hirschauer. "Sfumato and Sheen: Bernardo Luini's Lady in Black." Facture: conservation, science, art history 2 (2015): 140-157, fig. 10.
2019
Quattrini, Cristina. Bernardino Luini: Catalogo generale delle opere. Turin, 2019: 9, 11, 71, 72, 237, 268, 293, 300-301, 351, 352, 397, 447, cat. 112, pl. XXVII.

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