Follower of Pietro Perugino, 'The Virgin and Child with Saints', perhaps about 1500-50
About the work
Overview
The Virgin Mary and Christ Child are seated on a wooden throne with steps, raising them above the other figures. To their right is Saint Dominic, who founded the Dominican Order in the twelfth century; on the other side is Saint Catherine of Siena, who was also a member of the Dominicans in the fourteenth century. Both hold lilies, the symbol of Saint Dominic, and wear the black-and-white Dominican habit (uniform). The kneeling figures in front of Saint Catherine are the donors – the people who commissioned the picture.
The artist who made this work painted in the style of the fifteenth-century Umbrian painter Perugino; he was probably working in the following century, rather than as a member of Perugino’s workshop. His figures lack a sense of three-dimensionality, but he has attempted to imitate the renowned ’sweetness' of Perugino’s figures which, like these, have softly rounded faces with delicate features.
Key facts
Details
- Full title
- The Virgin and Child with Saints Dominic and Catherine of Siena, and Two Donors
- Artist
- Follower of Pietro Perugino
- Artist dates
- living 1469; died 1523
- Date made
- perhaps about 1500-50
- Medium and support
- oil on wood
- Dimensions
- 35.5 × 31.5 cm
- Acquisition credit
- Salting Bequest, 1910
- Inventory number
- NG2484
- Location
- Not on display
- Collection
- Main Collection
- Previous owners
Provenance
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.
Bibliography
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1951Davies, Martin, National Gallery Catalogues: The Earlier Italian Schools, London 1951
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1961M. Davies, The Earlier Italian Schools, 2nd edn, London 1961
-
1986Davies, Martin, National Gallery Catalogues: The Earlier Italian Schools, revised edn, London 1986
-
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.