Follower of Sandro Botticelli, 'The Virgin and Child', probably about 1485-1500
About the work
Overview
The dark background and absence of any furnishings focus attention on the Virgin Mary, who makes direct eye contact with the viewer. She stands underneath an open curtain, holding her infant son as if to prevent him from falling from the narrow ledge in the foreground. A transparent veil does little to conceal Christ’s body.
The pose of the Virgin and Christ Child is very close to the central part of the altarpiece that Sandro Botticelli made for the Florentine church of S. Barnaba during the late 1480s. Numerous assistants in Botticelli’s workshop would have been tasked to meet the high demand for copies after this popular altarpiece.
The small dimensions of this panel could possibly have allowed its original owner, perhaps a Florentine merchant, to take it on his travels. Its current frame was made in the nineteenth century to resemble an original one.
Key facts
Details
- Full title
- The Virgin and Child
- Artist
- Follower of Sandro Botticelli
- Artist dates
- about 1445 - 1510
- Date made
- probably about 1485-1500
- Medium and support
- egg tempera on wood
- Dimensions
- 29.5 × 19.7 cm
- Acquisition credit
- Layard Bequest, 1916
- Inventory number
- NG3082
- 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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1895G. Lafenestre and E. Richtenberger, Venise, Paris 1895
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1896G. Frizzoni, 'La Galerie Layard', Gazette des beaux-arts, II, 1896, pp. 455-76
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1912A. Venturi, 'La formazione della Galleria Layard a Venezia', L'arte, XV, 1912, pp. 449-62
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1951Davies, Martin, National Gallery Catalogues: The Earlier Italian Schools, London 1951
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1960E.P. Richardson, 'Archives of American Art Records. Art Collectors and Dealers: I, Miner K. Kellogg', Art Quarterly, 1960, pp. 271-80
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1961M. Davies, The Earlier Italian Schools, 2nd edn, London 1961
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1986Davies, Martin, National Gallery Catalogues: The Earlier Italian Schools, revised edn, London 1986
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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.