Giovanni Bellini, 'The Virgin and Child', probably 1480-90

The Virgin and Child

Giovanni Bellini

Not on display

About the work

Overview

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, and from us by a marble parapet; while they seem to be present in our space, their divinity places them just out of reach. Their tender gestures remind us of the humanity they share with us.

The pomegranate was probably added after Bellini had started painting, likely at the request of the patron. High-quality ultramarine – an expensive pigment made from lapis lazuli, a semi-precious stone – was used for the Virgin’s blue mantle.

This is the largest of Bellini’s pictures of the Virgin and Child which were not part of a larger altarpiece structure, suggesting that it was probably made to sit upon a small altar. Perhaps the owner had a private chapel in his home.

In-depth

Small-scale images of the Virgin and Child made for private worship were one of Bellini’s specialities, and demand for them was so high that his assistants produced a large number in his style. This picture was once thought to be by members of Bellini’s workshop, but infrared reflectography revealed that the underdrawing is a detailed and skilled design which could only have been made by Bellini.

In order to reflect the special intimacy of this kind of image, Bellini frequently set the holy figures in a landscape background, connecting them with the countryside familiar to his clients. Here, they are separated from this space by the green cloth of honour behind them – a feature of many of Bellini’s images of this type – and from us by the marble parapet in front of them; while they seem to be present in our space, their divinity places them just out of reach. Their tender gestures, on the other hand, remind us of the humanity they share with us.

Another clue as to who painted the picture can be found in the pomegranate – a symbol of Christ’s Passion – that the Virgin holds. Although the picture is often called ‘The Madonna of the Pomegranate’ after the fruit, infrared reflectography also revealed that the hands and arms of both figures were in different positions in the original design. The pomegranate was most likely a later addition. The change – which was probably made after painting had begun – affected other parts of the picture too: in order to make space for the hands and the pomegranate, the artist had to paint over some of the Virgin’s blue robe with red paint. Since the change was so extensive and made at such a late stage it was very likely requested by the patron; that Bellini went to such lengths to incorporate the request shows that the client was obviously important to him. It is therefore very likely that he, rather than members of his workshop, painted the picture.

The patron’s wealth is evident in the type of pigments used, which they would have paid for. Bellini has used very high quality ultramarine – the most expensive pigment, made from lapis lazuli, a semi-precious stone – for the blue of the Virgin’s mantle. It is applied liberally here. This is the largest of Bellini’s pictures of the Virgin and Child which were not part of a larger altarpiece structure, which suggests that it was probably made to sit upon a small altar: perhaps this owner had his own private chapel in his home.

Key facts

Details

Full title: The Virgin and Child
Artist: Giovanni Bellini
Artist dates: about 1435 - 1516
Date made: probably 1480-90
Medium and support: oil on wood
Dimensions: 90.8 × 64.8 cm
Inscription summary: Signed
Acquisition credit: Bought, 1855
Inventory number: NG280
Location: Not on display
Collection: Main Collection
Frame: 16th-century Italian Frame

Provenance

Purchased from Baron Francesco Galvagna, Venice, 1855. Cleaned Pictures Exhibition at the National Gallery, 1947/8 (No. 26).

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

2023

Masterpieces from the National Gallery

Shanghai Art Museum East

17 January 2023 - 7 May 2023

National Museum of Korea

2 June 2023 - 9 October 2023

Hong Kong Palace Museum

22 November 2023 - 11 April 2024

Chimei Museum

2 May 2024 - 1 September 2024

Bibliography

1844

G. Lecomte, Venezia, Venice 1844
1847

G. Fontana, Manuale ad uso del forestiere in Venezia, Venice 1847
1850

G. Fontana, Venezia monumentale pittoresca, Venice 1850
1856

R.N. Wornum, Descriptive and Historical Catalogue of the Pictures in the National Gallery With Biographical Notes of the Painters, 16th edn, London 1856
1856

London, National Gallery Archive, dossier for NG 280: Report of the Director of the National Gallery to the Lords Commissioners of Her Majesty's Treasury, 5 March 1856
1857

G.F. Waagen, Treasures of Art in Great Britain: Being and Account of the Chief Collections of Paintings, Drawings, Sculptures, Illuminated Mss. […], translated from German by Elizabeth Eastlake, 3 vols, London 1857, vol. 3
1867

A.A. Lavice, Revue des musées d'Angleterre, Paris 1867
1871

J.A. Crowe and G.B. Cavalcaselle, A History of Painting in North Italy: Venice, Padua, Vicenza, Verona, Ferrara, Milan, Friuli, Brescia, from the Fourteenth to the Sixteenth Century, 2 vols, London 1871
1878

H. Blackburn, Illustrated Catalogue to the National Gallery: Foreign Schools, London 1878
1887

M.-F. Reiset, Une visite à la Galerie nationale de Londres, 2nd revised edn, Rapilly 1887
1888

E.T. Cook, A Popular Handbook to the National Gallery Including, by Special Permission, Notes Collected from the Works of Mr. Ruskin, London 1888
1891

G. Frizzoni, 'L'arte italiana nella Galleria Nazionale di Londra', in Arte Italiana del Rinascimento, Milan 1891
1898

J.P. Richter, Lectures on the National Gallery, London 1898
1900

R. Fry, Giovanni Bellini, 2nd edn, London 1900
1901

A. Venturi, Storia dell'arte italiana, 11 vols, Milan 1901
1912

D. Hadeln, 'Zwei Madonnenkompositionen des Giovanni Bellini', Zeitschrift für bildende Kunst, 1912, pp. 289-92
1916

B. Berenson, Venetian Painting in America, New York 1916
1930

G. Gronau, Giovanni Bellini, Stuttgart 1930
1932

'The Friedsam Collection', Bulletin of the Museum of Modern Art, 61, 1932, pp. 37-8
1947

P. Hendy, An Exhibition of Cleaned Pictures of 1947: (1936-1947), London 1947
1951

Davies, Martin, National Gallery Catalogues: The Earlier Italian Schools, London 1951
1961

M. Davies, The Earlier Italian Schools, 2nd edn, London 1961
1962

F. Heinemann, Giovanni Bellini e i Belliniani, 3 vols, Venice 1962
1968

G. Robertson, Giovanni Bellini, Oxford 1968
1978

D. Robertson, Sir Charles Eastlake and the Victorian Art World, Princeton 1978
1985

C.T. Dowd, 'The Travel Diary of Otto Mündler', The Walpole Society, LI, 1985
1986

Davies, Martin, National Gallery Catalogues: The Earlier Italian Schools, revised edn, London 1986
1991

J. Dunkerton et al., Giotto to Dürer: Early Renaissance Painting in the National Gallery, New Haven 1991
1992

A. Tempestini, Giovanni Bellini. Catalogo completo dei dipinti, Florence 1992
1994

P. Humfrey, 'Cima da Conegliano: Un decennio di ricerche e un convegno di studi', in Atti del Convegno Internazionale di studi su Giovan Battista Cima da Conegliano, Venice 1994, vol. 1, pp. 5-18
1995

P. Humfrey, Painting in Renaissance Venice, New Haven 1995
2001

C. Baker and T. Henry, The National Gallery: Complete Illustrated Catalogue, London 2001
2018

J. Dunkerton and M. Spring, 'Giovanni Bellini's Painting Technique', National Gallery Technical Bulletin, XXXIX, 2018, pp. 60-7

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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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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The Virgin and Child

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You've viewed 6 of 14 works

Giovanni Bellini, 'The Virgin and Child', probably 1480-90

About the work

Overview

In-depth

Key facts

Details

Provenance

Additional information

Source

Exhibition history

Bibliography

About this record

Images

More works by Giovanni Bellini