Luca Signorelli, 'The Virgin and Child with Saints', 1515

The Virgin and Child with Saints

Luca Signorelli

Not on display

About the work

Overview

This large painting of the Virgin Mary surrounded by saints was part of an altarpiece. It was made for a chapel dedicated to Saint Christina of Bolsena in the church of San Francesco in Montone, in the Italian region of Umbria.

A large stone hangs from a rope looped round Christina’s neck, as a reminder that she was weighted down and thrown into a river in punishment for her Christian faith. She survived this, but was eventually killed. Saint Sebastian stands to the other side of the Virgin, while Saint Jerome, his cardinal’s hat by his feet, and Saint Nicholas of Bari, wearing his bishop’s robes and hat, stand on the ground.

This kind of altarpiece, where the saints and the Virgin and Child occupy one panel and are located in a unified imaginary setting, is called a sacra conversazione (‘holy conversation’).

In-depth

This large painting of the Virgin Mary with the infant Christ surrounded by saints was once the main panel of an altarpiece. It was made for a chapel dedicated to Saint Christina of Bolsena in the church of San Francesco in Montone in the Italian region of Umbria.

A large stone hangs from a rope looped round Christina’s neck, as she was weighted down and thrown into a river in punishment for her Christian faith. She survived this, but was eventually killed. To the left of the Virgin is Saint Sebastian, his naked torso shot through with arrows – a reminder of his failed execution, which was ordered by the Roman emperor. The saints standing on the ground are Saint Jerome, his cardinal’s hat by his feet, and Saint Nicholas of Bari, shown wearing his bishop’s robes and hat, called a mitre. Three golden spheres rest on the floor next to him, which represent the sacks of money that he anonymously donated to three destitute young noblewomen, providing them with the means to get married.

This kind of altarpiece, where the saints and the Virgin and Child occupy one panel and are located in a unified imaginary setting, is called a sacra conversazione (‘holy conversation’). This one is set in a broad Italian landscape leading to a fortified town, the sea and mountains beyond. It is populated with goatherds, travelling friars and people transporting goods on horseback.

The Latin inscription on the fictive sheet of paper at the bottom of the picture gives Signorelli’s name, the date he made the picture – 1515 – and the names of the patrons. They were a French doctor called Aloysius (Louis) of Rodez and his wife Tommasina The contract for the commission stipulates that the painting should be the work of Signorelli’s own hand, and that as payment he and his family would receive free medical services from the doctor whenever required. But it seems that Signorelli did have some assistance: his nephew, Francesco, painted the predella which ran along the bottom of our panel (now in the Museo del Brera, Milan) and featured scenes from the life of Saint Christina. Certain areas of our panel have also been identified as the work of assistants.

Surviving records reveal that Signorelli took only two months – July and August of 1515 – to make this picture. There is certainly evidence in the painting that he was working very quickly. The pattern of Saint Nicholas’s golden damask robes, for example, seems to continue over the fabric folds, rather than following their contours, as for example in the area around the uppermost deep fold beneath the rich green lining. Other parts of his robes were painted with great care: the stole showing saints in niches mimics embroidery, while the grey mantle – a strip of it is apparent just above his feet – has an irregular pattern which imitates the subtle effect of watered silk.

Key facts

Details

Full title: The Virgin and Child with Saints
Artist: Luca Signorelli
Artist dates: about 1440/50 - 1523
Date made: 1515
Medium and support: oil on wood
Dimensions: 265 × 193 cm
Inscription summary: Signed; Dated and inscribed
Acquisition credit: Bought, 1901
Inventory number: NG1847
Location: Not on display
Collection: Main Collection

Provenance

No. 1847, from which the predella had already been separated, was still visible at Montone in the late eighteenth century. Later, it was put aside and lost; it was searched for, and acquired not long before 1826, by Giacomo Mancini of Città di Castello. It remained in the Mancini Collection until towards the end of the nineteenth century, and was probably purchased direct from there by E. Volpi of Florence, from whom purchased, 1901.

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

1788

A. Mariotti, Lettere pittoriche perugine, Perugia 1788
1790

B. Orsini, Descrizione delle pitture, sculture, architetture ed altre cose rare della insigne città di Ascoli nella Marca, Perugia 1790
1832

G. Mancini, Istruzione storico-pittorica per visitare le chiese e palazzi di Città di Castello, Perugia 1832
1872

M. Guardabassi, Indice-guida dei monumenti pagani e cristiani riguardanti l'istoria e l'arte esistenti nella provincia dell'Umbria, Perugia 1872
1878

G. Vasari, Le vite de'più eccellenti pittori, scultori ed architettori: Con nuove annotazioni e commenti di Gaetano Milanesi, ed. G. Milanesi, 8 vols, Florence 1878
1879

R. Vischer, Luca Signorelli und die italienische Renaissance: Eine kunsthistorische Monographie, Leipzig 1879
1896

P. Fontana, 'Di una tavoletta di Luca Signorelli della Pinacoteca di Brera', Archivio storico dell'arte, 1896, pp. 269-76
1897

G. Magherini-Graziani, L'arte a città di Castello, Città di Castello 1897
1903

J.A. Crowe and G.B. Cavalcaselle, A History of Painting in Italy, Umbria, Florence and Siena, from the Second to the Sixteenth Century, ed. R.L. Douglas, 2nd edn, 6 vols, London 1903
1903

G. Mancini, Vita di Luca Signorelli, Florence 1903
1923

U. Gnoli, Pittori e miniatori nell'Umbria, Spoleto 1923
1923

R. van Marle, The Development of the Italian Schools of Painting, 19 vols, The Hague 1923
1927

L. Düssler, Signorelli, Klassiker der Kunst 34, Berlin 1927
1951

Davies, Martin, National Gallery Catalogues: The Earlier Italian Schools, London 1951
1952

G. Kaftal, Iconography of the Saints in Tuscan Painting, Florence 1952
1953

M. Salmi, Luca Signorelli, Novara 1953
1961

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

C. Rosini, Città di Castello: Guida estetica, Città di Castello 1961
1964

P. Scarpellini, Luca Signorelli, Milan 1964
1983

P. Scarpellini and F.F. Mancini (eds), Pittura in Umbria tra il 1480 e il 1540: Premesse e sviluppi nei tempi di Perugino e Raffaello, Milan 1983
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
1989

L. Kanter, The Late Works of Luca Signorelli and His Followers, 1498-1559, Phd Thesis, New York University 1989
1992

Pinacoteca di Brera, Pinacoteca di Brera. Scuole dell'Italia centrale e meridionale, Milan 1992
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.

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You've viewed 6 of 8 works

Luca Signorelli, 'The Virgin and Child with Saints', 1515

About the work

Overview

In-depth

Key facts

Details

Provenance

Additional information

Source

Bibliography

About this record

Images

More works by Luca Signorelli