Giovanni Antonio Sogliani, 'The Madonna and Child', probably about 1520-40
About the work
Overview
The Virgin Mary sits on a bank in a hilly landscape, holding the naked infant Christ on her knee. He looks at us and raises his right hand in blessing. With the other he holds his mother’s thumb. The three sets of three gold lines radiating from Christ’s head denote that he, with God and the Holy Ghost, is one of the Trinity.
This small picture, intended for private devotion, was formerly believed to be by the Florentine painter Albertinelli (1474–1515). It is now thought to be by Giovanni Antonio Sogliani (1492–1544), a minor painter working in Florence and Pisa. Mentioned in Vasari’s Lives of the Artists, Sogliani was influenced by Albertinelli and also by Fra Bartolommeo and Andrea del Sarto, the leading Florentine artists of the previous generation
Key facts
Details
- Full title
- The Madonna and Child
- Artist
- Giovanni Antonio Sogliani
- Artist dates
- 1492 - 1544
- Date made
- probably about 1520-40
- Medium and support
- oil on wood
- Dimensions
- 17.3 × 10.4 cm
- Acquisition credit
- Bought, 1860
- Inventory number
- NG645
- 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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1864J.A. Crowe and G.B. Cavalcaselle, A New History of Painting in Italy: From the Second to the Sixteenth Century, 3 vols, London 1864
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1901E. Jacobsen, 'Italienische Gemälde in der National Galerie zu London: Kritische Notizen zum Katalog von 1898', Repertorium für Kunstwissenschaft, XXIV, 1901
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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
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1987A. Padoa Rizzo, 'Giovanni Antonio Sogliani, garzone di Lorenzo di Credi', Rivista d'arte, 1987, pp. 457-9
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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.