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Probably by Giovanni Battista Cima da Conegliano, 'The Virgin and Child with Saints', about 1513-18

About the work

The Virgin Mary sits between two male saints, the naked Christ Child on her knee. The young man holding a book is probably Saint John the Evangelist, author of one of the four Gospels: he was conventionally shown as fair haired and beardless. The old man with the white beard and bishop’s crosier is Saint Nicholas of Bari, a fourth-century bishop and the original Father Christmas. Christ grasps one of three gold balls, Nicholas’s traditional emblem which he holds in his hand.

Pictures like this, showing the Virgin and Child with saints, are known as sacra conversazione (‘holy conversation’) and were very widespread in north Italian painting. Although it has been damaged and retouched, the picture might be an original by Cima da Conegliano, probably painted towards the end of his life.

Key facts

Full title
The Virgin and Child with Saint John the Evangelist(?) and Saint Nicholas
Artist
Probably by Giovanni Battista Cima da Conegliano
Artist dates
about 1459/60 - about 1517/18
Date made
about 1513-18
Medium and support
oil on canvas
Dimensions
50.8 × 70.5 cm
Acquisition credit
Layard Bequest, 1916
Inventory number
NG3113
Location
Not on display
Collection
Main Collection
Previous owners

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.

More works by Giovanni Battista Cima da Conegliano

(Showing 6 of 10 works)
Christ Crowned with Thorns
Christ Crowned with Thorns
Giovanni Battista Cima da Conegliano
Christ’s head is shown in vivid close up in this little picture, his pale face and brilliant robe stark against the black background. Bright light falling from the left allows us to see every pitiful detail: the thorns thrust into his forehead, the blood dripping down his face and his red-rimmed...
Not on display
David and Jonathan (?)
David and Jonathan (?)
Giovanni Battista Cima da Conegliano
Two young men stroll through the Italian countryside, one of them – rather startlingly – carrying a giant head. He is David and the head is from his defeated enemy, Goliath. The other man is probably David’s friend Jonathan, son of Saul, King of the Israelites.We are not really sure who or what t...
Not on display
Saint Jerome in a Landscape
Saint Jerome in a Landscape
Giovanni Battista Cima da Conegliano
An old man with a long white beard kneels in a rocky landscape. He gazes up at a rough wooden cross made from two slender branches roped together. This is Jerome, a fourth-century saint. It’s one of a number of versions of the subject made by Cima da Conegliano.The painting is arranged to focus o...
Not on display
Saint Mark (?)
Saint Mark (?)
Giovanni Battista Cima da Conegliano
A bearded saint stands in a stone niche. He holds a book and a pen: he is one of the Four Evangelists, the authors of the Gospels – possibly Saint Mark. Although a saint, he has no halo or attribute; he looks more like a Roman philosopher. The quiet stone, the saint’s abstracted and unfocused gaz...
Not on display
Saint Sebastian
Saint Sebastian
Giovanni Battista Cima da Conegliano
A pale young man stands in a stone niche, almost naked and seemingly unaware of the arrows in his arm and leg. This is Saint Sebastian, a Roman soldier who secretly converted to Christianity. When his faith was discovered, he was shot with arrows but miraculously survived.Here, the saint seems mo...
Not on display
The Incredulity of Saint Thomas
The Incredulity of Saint Thomas
Giovanni Battista Cima da Conegliano
The rich colours of this large painting were designed to make maximum impact. Commissioned by a confraternity dedicated to Saint Thomas, it shows the moment that the doubting saint was convinced of Christ’s resurrection. We see him place his fingers in Christ’s wound, checking that Christ had ind...
Not on display
The Virgin and Child
The Virgin and Child
Giovanni Battista Cima da Conegliano
The Virgin and Child sit serenely in the sunlit landscape of northern Italy and gaze out at us placidly. She tenderly cradles his foot while he holds her girdle. Only the marble bench on which they sit hints at his future, in its echo of an altar table.The painter, Cima da Conegliano, signed his...
Not on display
The Virgin and Child
The Virgin and Child
Giovanni Battista Cima da Conegliano
The Virgin sits in front of an Italianate landscape, the Christ Child standing on her lap. He twists his body to gaze lovingly at his mother, while her hand cups his left foot.This picture, with its brilliant blues and greens, is among Cima da Conegliano’s finest works. It is one of several versi...
Not on display
The Virgin and Child
The Virgin and Child
Giovanni Battista Cima da Conegliano
This was one of Cima da Conegliano’s most popular designs, and he and his workshop produced a number of versions of it. The Virgin Mary sits on a marble bench in front of a sunlit Italian landscape, her body forming a solid mass which we can almost feel pressing down on the cool stone. There is h...
Not on display
The Virgin and Child with Saint Paul and Saint Francis
The Virgin and Child with Saint Paul and Saint Francis
After Giovanni Battista Cima da Conegliano
The Virgin and Christ Child stand between two saints, one from the first century, one from the thirteenth. They don't have haloes, but we can tell who they are from their appearances and traditional attributes.On the left is the first-century Saint Paul, holding a book and the sword with which he...
Not on display
You've viewed 6 of 10 works