Giovanni Battista Cima da Conegliano, 'The Virgin and Child', about 1499-1502
About the work
Overview
The Virgin and Child sit serenely in the sunlit landscape of northern Italy and gaze out at us placidly. She tenderly cradles his foot while he holds her girdle. Only the marble bench on which they sit hints at his future, in its echo of an altar table.
The painter, Cima da Conegliano, signed his name on the marble parapet at the front. This was one of his trademark compositions and was repeated in a number of other paintings by him and his workshop, including some in reverse. It is generally similar to two other paintings by him, both in the National Gallery’s collection and both given the same name: The Virgin and Child (NG300) and The Virgin and Child (NG364).
Key facts
Details
- Full title
- The Virgin and Child
- Artist dates
- about 1459/60 - about 1517/18
- Date made
- about 1499-1502
- Medium and support
- oil on wood
- Dimensions
- 64.8 × 52.1 cm
- Inscription summary
- Signed
- Acquisition credit
- Salting Bequest, 1910
- Inventory number
- NG2506
- 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
-
1951Davies, Martin, National Gallery Catalogues: The Earlier Italian Schools, London 1951
-
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.