Italian, Pisan, 'The Virgin and Child with Two Angels', early 1260s
About the work
Overview
This small panel painting of the Virgin and Child was, until its theft in the 1970s, one of the earliest pictures in the National Gallery. Probably painted in Tuscany in the thirteenth century, it was inspired by Byzantine (Eastern Christian) painting.
The Virgin and Child are shown embracing affectionately, with Christ resting his forehead against his mother’s cheek. This was a very popular motif in Byzantine art, and Byzantine icons were probably widely available in Italy at this time. The faces are highly stylised and draperies are modelled with gold highlights. The letters on either side are Greek and stand for ‘Mother of God’.
The picture perhaps once formed part of a diptych – a painting made of two panels which folded together for storage or transportation – made for private devotion. This panel has a cross decorated with triangles and circles on the back, which would have been visible when the diptych was closed.
Key facts
Details
- Full title
- The Virgin and Child with Two Angels
- Artist
- Italian, Pisan
- Date made
- early 1260s
- Medium and support
- egg tempera on wood
- Dimensions
- 36.5 × 26.5 cm
- Inscription summary
- Inscribed
- Acquisition credit
- Presented by W.B. Chamberlin, 1934
- Inventory number
- NG4741
- Location
- Not on display
- Collection
- Main Collection
Provenance
Additional information
Text extracted from the ‘Provenance’ section of the catalogue entry in Dillian Gordon, ‘National Gallery Catalogues: The Italian Paintings before 1400’, London 2011; for further information, see the full catalogue entry.
Bibliography
-
1916G. von Térey, Die Gemäldegalerie des Museums für bildende Künste in Budapest, Berlin 1916
-
1928C.H. Weigelt, 'Über die "Mütterliche Madonna" in der italieniscehn Malerei des 13. Jahrhunderts', Art Studies, VI, 1928, pp. 194-221
-
1934E.S. Vavalà, L'iconografia della Madonna col Bambino nella pittura italiana del Dugento, Siena 1934
-
1935National Gallery, National Gallery and Tate Gallery Directors' Reports, 1934, London 1935
-
1939P. Pouncey, National Gallery Supplement, London 1939
-
1949E.B. Garrison, Italian Romanesque Panel Painting: An Illustrated Index, Florence 1949
-
1951Davies, Martin, National Gallery Catalogues: The Earlier Italian Schools, London 1951
-
1954G. Coor, 'Ducento-Gemälde aus der Sammlung Ramboux', Wallraf-Richartz-Jahrbuch, XVI, 1954, pp. 77-86
-
1967W. Kermer, Studien Zum Diptychon in der sakralen Malerei, Düsseldorf 1967
-
1981H. Belting, The Image and Its Public in the Middle Ages: New Forms of Existence of Images in the Middle Ages, London 1981
-
1986Davies, Martin, National Gallery Catalogues: The Earlier Italian Schools, revised edn, London 1986
-
1988Gordon, Dillian, National Gallery Catalogues: The Early Italian Schools before 1400, revised edn, London 1988
-
1990A. Tartuferi, La pittura a Firenze nel Duecento, Florence 1990
-
2001
C. Baker and T. Henry, The National Gallery: Complete Illustrated Catalogue, London 2001
-
2011Gordon, Dillian, National Gallery Catalogues: The Italian Paintings before 1400, London 2011
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.