Master of the Osservanza, 'The Birth of the Virgin', about 1440
About the work
Overview
This triptych (a painting in three parts) shows the Virgin Mary just after her birth. Saint Anne, Mary’s mother, props herself up in her bed while midwives and attendants make food and prepare a basin for washing. This scene was particularly popular in Siena, a city devoted to the Virgin Mary.
The artist has taken its overall design and various details – like the little boy announcing the news to Saint Joachim, Mary’s father – from a famous Sienese altarpiece showing the same scene, which was made by Pietro Lorenzetti in the 1340s for Siena’s cathedral.
The side panels, or wings, would have folded inwards to cover the central image. The triptych could then be transported safely and conveniently with its owner, providing a focus for prayer on their travels.
Key facts
Details
- Full title
- The Birth of the Virgin
- Artist
- Master of the Osservanza
- Artist dates
- active about 1425 - about 1450
- Date made
- about 1440
- Medium and support
- egg tempera on wood
- Dimensions
- 31.9 × 50.9 cm
- Acquisition credit
- Bequeathed by Viscount Rothermere, 1940
- Inventory number
- NG5114
- 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 Fifteenth Century Italian Paintings’, vol. 1, London 2003; for further information, see the full catalogue entry.
Exhibition history
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2010Le arti a Siena nel primo Rinascimento.Complesso Museale Santa Maria della Scala26 March 2010 - 11 July 2010
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2011Devotion by Design: Italian Altarpieces before 1500The National Gallery (London)6 July 2011 - 2 October 2011
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2017Madonnas and Miracles: The Holy Home in Renaissance ItalyThe Fitzwilliam Museum7 March 2017 - 4 June 2017
Bibliography
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1858London, National Gallery Archive: Otto Mündler, Diary entry, 6 March 1858
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1897B. Berenson, The Central Italian Painters of the Renaissance, New York 1897
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1904G. Cagnola, 'Notes to Bernard Berenson's Altre Opere del Sassetta', Rassegna d'arte, 1904
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1906G. Cagnola, 'Un dipinto inedito del Sassetta', Rassegna d'arte, 1906
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1909B. Berenson, The Central Italian Painters of the Renaissance, 2nd edn, New York 1909
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1932P. Konody, Works of Art in the Collection of Viscount Rothermere, London 1932
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1939J. Pope-Hennessy, Sassetta, London 1939
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1951Davies, Martin, National Gallery Catalogues: The Earlier Italian Schools, London 1951
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1956J. Pope-Hennessy, 'Rethinking Sassetta', The Burlington Magazine, XCVII/643, 1956, pp. 364-70
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1957E. Carli, Sassetta e il Maestro dell'Osservanza, Milan 1957
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1968B. Berenson, Italian Pictures of the Renaissance: A List of the Principal Artists and Their Works, with an Index of Places: Central Italian and North Italian Schools, revised edn, 3 vols, London 1968
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1983M. Levey, The Neglected National Gallery: An Exhibition of Paintings from the Lower Floor (exh. cat. The National Gallery, 20 April - 31 May 1983), London 1983
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1986Davies, Martin, National Gallery Catalogues: The Earlier Italian Schools, revised edn, London 1986
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1990H.W. van Os, Sienese Altarpieces 1215-1460: Form, Content, Function: 1344-1460, vol. 2, 1344-1460, Groningen 1990
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2001
C. Baker and T. Henry, The National Gallery: Complete Illustrated Catalogue, London 2001
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2003Gordon, Dillian, National Gallery Catalogues: The Fifteenth Century Italian Paintings, 1, London 2003
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.