Associate of Pietro Perugino, 'The Virgin and Child with Saint John', about 1480 - 1500
About the work
Overview
The Virgin Mary gently supports the Christ Child as he plays with her hair. He casts a curious glance at his cousin, Saint John the Baptist, who is recognisable by the fine wooden cross tucked under his arm, a symbol of Christ’s crucifixion. The Virgin’s fair complexion and golden hair were considered ideals of female beauty in fifteenth-century Florence, where appearance and virtue were closely linked; as such, she is also meant to be seen as the height of virtue, and an example to all women.
This gentle image of maternal love was well-suited to worship in the home. Images like this were hugely popular, and Perugino and members of his workshop – who worked to his designs and in his style – would have produced numerous similar pictures to meet the demand. This one was probably painted by one of his close associates.
Key facts
Details
- Full title
- The Virgin and Child with Saint John
- Artist
- Associate of Pietro Perugino
- Artist dates
- living 1469; died 1523
- Date made
- about 1480 - 1500
- Medium and support
- egg tempera on wood
- Dimensions
- 68.5 × 44.5 cm
- Inscription summary
- Signed
- Acquisition credit
- Bought, 1841
- Inventory number
- NG181
- Location
- Not on display
- Collection
- Main Collection
- Previous owners
Provenance
On the back is an unidentified seal, water (?), two columns (?), a star and a motto NON POTVI (?). No. 181 is said to have been brought from Perugia by Pizzetta, a picture-cleaner; but it is almost certainly the picture in the Ph. Panné Sale, London, 26 March, 1819 (lot 110), Virgin, Infant Christ and St. John, the latter in prayer: on thick panel, 27 × 17½, stated to have been bought by Piazzetta. Pizzetta sold it, apparently ca. 1820, to William Beckford of Fonthill. Included by mistake in the Beckford Sale, Fonthill, 16 (for 15) Oct., 1822 (lot 78), and bought back by Beckford. Seen in the Beckford Collection at Bath by Waagen. Purchased from Beckford, 1841.
Additional information
Text extracted from the ‘Provenance’ section of the catalogue entry in Martin Davies, ‘National Gallery Catalogues: The Earlier Italian Schools’, London 1986; for further information, see the full catalogue entry.
Exhibition history
-
2014Perugino: Master of RaphaelMusée Jacquemart-André12 September 2014 - 19 January 2015
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2023Italy's best maestro. Perugino in his dayGalleria Nazionale dell'Umbria4 March 2023 - 11 June 2023
Bibliography
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1822J. Christie, Magnificent Effects at Fonthill Abbey, London, 8 October 1822 - 17 October 1822
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1837G.F. Waagen, Kunstwerke und Künstler in England und Paris, vol. 1, Berlin 1837
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1910L. Melville, The Life and Letters of William Beckford of Fonthill, London 1910
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1912W. Bombe, Geschichte der Peruginer Malerei, Berlin 1912
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1917O. Fischel, 'Die Zeichnungen der Umbrer', Jahrbuch der Königlich Preussischen Kunstsammlungen, XXXVIII, 1917, pp. 1-72
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1923U. Gnoli, Pietro Perugino, Spoleto 1923
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1923R. van Marle, The Development of the Italian Schools of Painting, 19 vols, The Hague 1923
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1931F. Canuti, Il Perugino, Siena 1931
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1932B. Degenhart, 'Di alcuni problemi di sviluppo della pittura nella bottega del Verrocchio, Leonardo e di Lorenzi di Credi', Rivista d'arte, XIV/4, 1932, pp. 263-300, 403-44
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1951Davies, Martin, National Gallery Catalogues: The Earlier Italian Schools, London 1951
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1953F. Zeri, 'Il maestro dell'Annunciazione Gardner', Bollettino d'arte, XXXVIII, 1953, pp. 125-39
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1959E. Camesasca, Tutta la pittura del Perugino, Milan 1959
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1961M. Davies, The Earlier Italian Schools, 2nd edn, London 1961
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1966B. Alexander, 'Fonthill, Wiltshire: William Beckford as Collector', Country Life, 1966
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1971C. Wainwright, 'William Beckford e la sua collezione (parts I and II)', Arte illustrata, IV/37-38, 1971, pp. 46-60
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1977D. Bomford, 'Perugino's "Virgin and Child with Saint John"', National Gallery Technical Bulletin, I, 1977, pp. 29-34
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1981S.F. Pagden, 'Gli affreschi della "Madonnuccia" in San Martino in Campo e l'enigma di Andrea d'Assisi detto l'Ingegno', Esercizi, IV, 1981, pp. 68-85
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1984P. Scarpellini, Perugino, Milan 1984
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1986Davies, Martin, National Gallery Catalogues: The Earlier Italian Schools, revised edn, London 1986
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1989F. Todini, La pittura umbra: Al Duecento al primo Cinquecento, Milan 1989
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1992F. Zeri, Giorno per giorno nella pittura: Scritti sull'arte dell'Italia centrale e meridionale dal Trecento al primo Cinquecento, Turin 1992
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2001
C. Baker and T. Henry, The National Gallery: Complete Illustrated Catalogue, London 2001
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2001D.E. Ostergard, William Beckford, 1760-1844: An Eye for the Magnificent (exh. cat. Bard Graduate Center for Studies in Decorative Arts, Design and Culture, 18 October 2001 - 6 January 2002; Dulwich Picture Gallery, 5 February - 14 April 2002), New York 2001
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2004V. Garibaldi and S. Innamorati, Perugino, Cinisello Balsamo 2004
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2007A. Angelini, 'Considerazioni sulla mostra del Perugino, II', Prospettiva, 125, 2007, pp. 88-94
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.
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