Andrea and Raffaello del Brescianino, 'The Madonna and Child with Saints', 1506-45
About the work
Overview
The Virgin looks up from her book at us and Christ, sitting on her lap, gestures to himself – his future crucifixion is the subject of her text. The young Saint John the Baptist, wearing his traditional rough camel skin, clasps his hands in prayer.
Saint Paul stands to the left holding his usual attribute of the sword by which he was martyred. Saint Catherine of Siena, dressed in white as a lay member of the Dominican Order, holds a lily as a symbol of her purity. This composition was evidently a popular design as it was repeated – at least two versions are known which include Saint Sebastian instead of Saint Paul, and there are also other variants.
The Brescianino brothers, Andrea and Raffaello, worked together on the Baptism of Christ for Siena Cathedral. The National Gallery’s painting has been attributed to either or both of them, but is closely related to pictures thought to be by Andrea.
Key facts
Details
- Full title
- The Madonna and Child with the Infant Baptist(?) and Saints Paul and Catherine of Siena
- Artist dates
- Andrea (active 1506 - 1525), Raffaello (active 1506; died 1545)
- Date made
- 1506-45
- Medium and support
- oil on wood
- Dimensions
- 71.8 × 53.6 cm
- Acquisition credit
- Sir Claude Phillips Bequest, 1924
- Inventory number
- NG4028
- Location
- Not on display
- Collection
- Main Collection
Provenance
Additional information
Text extracted from the ‘Provenance’ section of the catalogue entry in Cecil Gould, ‘National Gallery Catalogues: The Sixteenth Century Italian Schools’, London 1987; for further information, see the full catalogue entry.
Bibliography
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1962Gould, Cecil, National Gallery Catalogues: The Sixteenth Century Italian Schools (excluding the Venetian), London 1962
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1975C. Gould, Delaroche and Gautier: Gautier's Views on the 'Execution of Lady Jane Grey' and on other Compositions by Delaroche, London 1975
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1987Gould, Cecil, National Gallery Catalogues: The Sixteenth Century Italian Schools, London 1987
-
2001
C. Baker and T. Henry, The National Gallery: Complete Illustrated Catalogue, London 2001
About this record
If you know more about this painting or have spotted an error, please contact us. Please note that exhibition histories are listed from 2009 onwards. Bibliographies may not be complete; more comprehensive information is available in the National Gallery Library.