Lorenzo Veneziano, 'The Madonna of Humility with Saints Mark and John', about 1366-70
About the work
Overview
This panel is like a miniature altarpiece. The Virgin Mary and Christ Child occupy the central arch, with Saint Mark on the left and Saint John the Baptist on the right.
There is a Latin inscription in gold next to the Virgin, which means: ‘Holy Mary of Humility’. This title was often given to images in which Mary is shown seated on the ground. The brooch at her throat is in the shape of the sun, there is a crescent moon beneath her feet and 12 stars around her figure. These are the symbols of the so-called ‘Woman of the Apocalypse’ – a cosmic mother figure mentioned in the Book of Revelation and associated with the Virgin.
This painting was probably made for private worship. Saint Mark was the patron saint of Venice; the picture might have been made for a Venetian patron, perhaps someone named after Saint John the Baptist.
Key facts
Details
- Full title
- The Madonna of Humility with Saints Mark and John the Baptist
- Artist
- Lorenzo Veneziano
- Artist dates
- documented 1353 - 1379
- Date made
- about 1366-70
- Medium and support
- egg tempera on wood
- Dimensions
- 31.3 × 57.5 cm
- Inscription summary
- Inscribed
- Acquisition credit
- Presented by Henry Wagner, 1924
- Inventory number
- NG3897
- Location
- Not on display
- Collection
- Main Collection
- Previous owners
- Frame
- 14th-century Italian Frame (original frame)
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
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1854G.F. Waagen, Treasures of Art in Great Britain: Being and Account of the Chief Collections of Paintings, Drawings, Sculptures, Illuminated Mss. […], vol. 2, trans. E. Eastlake, London 1854
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1925National Gallery, National Gallery, Trafalgar Square: Catalogue, London 1925
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1930E.S. Vavalà, 'A Triptych of Lorenzo Veneziano', Art in America, XVIII/2, 1930, pp. 54-63
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1931L. Coletti, 'Sul polittico di Chioggia e su Giovanni da Bologna', L'arte, XXXIV/2, 1931, pp. 131-43
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1936M. Meiss, 'The Madonna of Humility', Art Bulletin, XVIII/4, 1936, pp. 435-64
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1951Davies, Martin, National Gallery Catalogues: The Earlier Italian Schools, London 1951
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1951P. Toesca, Storia dell'arte italiana, vol. 2, Il Trecento, Turin 1951
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1951F. Bologna, 'Contributi allo studio della pittura veneziana del Trecento', Arte veneta, V, 1951, pp. 21-31
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1957B. Berenson, Italian Pictures of the Renaissance: A List of the Principal Artists and Their Works, with an Index of Places: Venetian School, 2 vols, London 1957
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1962L. Puppi, 'Contribuiti a Jacobello di Bonomo', Arte veneta, XVI, 1962, pp. 19-30
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1964R. Pallucchini, La pittura veneziana del Trecento, Venice 1964
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1986Davies, Martin, National Gallery Catalogues: The Earlier Italian Schools, revised edn, London 1986
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1988Gordon, Dillian, National Gallery Catalogues: The Early Italian Schools before 1400, revised edn, London 1988
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1991J. Dunkerton et al., Giotto to Dürer: Early Renaissance Painting in the National Gallery, New Haven 1991
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1996M. Michael, '"The Virgin and Child before a Firescreen" at the National Gallery: The Origins of the Madonna of Humility as the Amicta Sole', Apollo, CXLIII/411, 1996, pp. 8-14
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1996J. Richardson, 'Lorenzo Veneziano', in J. Turner (ed.), The Dictionary of Art, London 1996, vol. 19, pp. 683-4
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2001
C. Baker and T. Henry, The National Gallery: Complete Illustrated Catalogue, London 2001
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2011Gordon, Dillian, National Gallery Catalogues: The Italian Paintings before 1400, London 2011
Frame
Lorenzo Veneziano’s fourteenth-century Italian painting is set in its original integral frame. Carved from a single piece of wood, its three compartments are divided by spiral colonettes with Doric capitals and feature lobed arches. Originally, there were rosettes between the arches, but these have been altered to the current roundel decorations. The triangular indentations in the frame decoration have been painted with touches of red or blue paint.
The outer tray frame is a modern addition.
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.