Giovanni Bellini, 'The Virgin and Child', probably 1480-1500
About the work
Overview
During the 1470s and 1480s Bellini produced a series of small-scale images of the Virgin and Child, destined for the homes of his Venetian patrons who used them as aids to private prayer.
The naked Christ lies on a marble parapet, probably intended to recall his dead body in the tomb – a reminder that, according to Christians, in adulthood he redeemed humanity through his death. This detail transforms the picture from a tender image of a mother and child to a religious one.
The painting is covered with an old varnish, probably dating from the nineteenth century, which has now discoloured, giving the whole picture a brown tone. Photomicrographs (very highly magnified images) show Bellini’s fingerprints in the Virgin’s cheek and Christ’s fingers – where he blotted areas of paint by hand, a technique he used in several other works.
Key facts
Details
- Full title
- The Virgin and Child
- Artist
- Giovanni Bellini
- Artist dates
- about 1435 - 1516
- Date made
- probably 1480-1500
- Medium and support
- oil on wood
- Dimensions
- 78.7 × 58.4 cm
- Inscription summary
- Signed
- Acquisition credit
- Mond Bequest, 1924
- Inventory number
- NG3913
- Location
- Not on display
- Collection
- Main Collection
- Previous owners
Provenance
From the collection of Giacomo Lazzari, Naples (dead by 1843). Bought by Sir Charles Eastlake between 1855 and 1865. Lady Eastlake’s Sale, 2 June, 1894 (lot 57), bought by C. Davis for Ludwig Mond. Exhibited at the New Gallery, 1894/5 (No. 79). Mond Bequest, 1924.
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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1843A. d'Aloisio, Notamento ed estimazione della quadreria del fu sig. D. Giacomo Lazzari, Italy? 1843
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1910J.P. Richter, The Mond Collection: An Appreciation, London 1910
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1910'The Ludwig Mond Bequest', The Burlington Magazine, XVI/83, 1910, pp. 251-2
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1924C. Holmes, 'The Mond Pictures in the National Gallery II', The Burlington Magazine, XLV/259, 1924, pp. 216-25
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1930G. Gronau, Giovanni Bellini, Stuttgart 1930
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1935L. Düssler, Giovanni Bellini, Frankfurt 1935
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1937G. Ceci, Bibliografia per la storia delle arti figurative nell'Italia meridionale, Naples 1937
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1949L. Düssler, Giovanni Bellini, Vienna 1949
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1951Davies, Martin, National Gallery Catalogues: The Earlier Italian Schools, London 1951
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1959R. Pallucchini, Giovanni Bellini, Milan 1959
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1962F. Heinemann, Giovanni Bellini e i Belliniani, 3 vols, Venice 1962
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1968G. Robertson, Giovanni Bellini, Oxford 1968
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1986Davies, Martin, National Gallery Catalogues: The Earlier Italian Schools, revised edn, London 1986
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1992A. Tempestini, Giovanni Bellini. Catalogo completo dei dipinti, Florence 1992
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2000A. Tempestini, Giovanni Bellini, Maestri (Electa editrice) 14, Milan 2000
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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.
Images
More works by Giovanni Bellini
(Showing 6 of 14 works)
In 1252 Saint Peter Martyr, a Dominican friar from Verona, was assassinated in an ambush by a group of heretics. This picture was once thought to be a ‘portrait’ of the saint: we can see the hilt of a dagger which has been plunged into his heart, and a cleaver lodged in his head.X-ray imagery sho...
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Leonardo Loredan knows that he is being looked at, but he does not return our gaze. He is the doge, the ruler of the Venetian Republic; elected in 1501, he ruled until his death in 1521.He wears white silk damask robes woven with gold and silver metal thread, clothing reserved for the most splend...
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The Virgin Mary adores the Christ Child sleeping on her lap. Giovanni Bellini was one of the first Italian painters to use natural settings to enhance the meaning of his pictures. Here, the still Virgin contrasts with the landscape, where the varying shapes of the clouds, from thin and wispy to f...
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An elderly man, barefoot and with an impressive grey beard, is perched on a rock, engrossed in a book. This is Saint Jerome, translator of the Bible into Latin. His only companion is an endearing lion which lies peaceably in the corner – he had tamed it by removing a thorn from its paw.Bellini pa...
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Christ’s disciple Judas – visible just beyond the river, leading a group of soldiers to Christ – has betrayed him. Aware of his imminent arrest and death, Christ prays; a cherub appears and presents him with a chalice. The chalice refers to the words of his prayer: ‘My Father, if it be possible,...
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This scene tells the story of the murder of Saint Peter Martyr, a friar of the Dominican Order who was killed by members of the Cathars, a heretical sect whose teachings he had spoken against publicly. The saint is shown on the left – he has collapsed to his knees, an axe lodged in his skull. His...
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Christ is shown resurrected after dying at the Crucifixion, his triumph over death reinforced by the way he cradles the Cross on which he was crucified. His body is weak and pale – we can see his ribcage, and his cheekbones stick out of his gaunt face. The focus of the image is the wound in Chris...
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This type of image of Christ after his death – close up, showing his naked torso – originated in Byzantium (the Eastern Christian empire) but was very popular in Italy from about the thirteenth century. It was supposed to promote meditation upon Christ’s suffering and death.Christ is supported by...
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Small-scale images of the Virgin and Child made for private worship were a speciality of Bellini’s. This picture was thought to be by the artist’s assistants, but recent technical analysis showed that it was made by Bellini. The holy figures are separated from a landscape by a cloth of honour, an...
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Workshop of Giovanni Bellini
In order to meet the huge demand for his paintings, Giovanni Bellini had a large workshop of assistants who produced works in his style, under his supervision – like this one, which shows the Three Kings worshipping the infant Christ. According to the Gospel of Matthew they followed a star – we c...
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Workshop of Giovanni Bellini
According to the Gospel of Luke, Christ was circumcised, like all Jewish baby boys, when he was eight days old (Luke 2: 21). He is shown naked, sitting on a cushion upon a table or altar, clenching his little fists as a priest performs the ritual. His mother, the Virgin Mary, gently props him up;...
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Workshop of Giovanni Bellini
Demand for Bellini’s small-scale images of the Virgin and Child was so high that he had a large workshop of assistants who worked under his supervision, producing paintings in his style.Here Christ is dressed in a white tunic, a gold cloth draped around his chubby body, and is propped up against...
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Workshop of Giovanni Bellini
Small-scale images of the Virgin Mary and Christ Child made for private worship were one of Bellini’s specialities, and there was intense demand for them. Bellini had a large workshop of assistants who worked under his supervision, producing paintings in his style. This is one of those works, whi...
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You've viewed 6 of 14 works