Virgin Adoring the Christ Child with Two Attendants
Artist
Pseudo Pier Francesco Fiorentino
(Italian, active c. 1460-1500)
Datec. 1475
MediumTempera, oil, and gold leaf on panel
Dimensions15 7/8 x 12 7/8 inches (40.3 x 32.7 cm)
ClassificationsPainting
Credit LineGift of Susan E. Levy and Richard W. Levy
Object number2000.22.1
Collections
- EUROPEAN
- PROVENANCE RESEARCH
Label TextThis small panel depicts the Virgin Mary as she contemplates the Christ child resting on a richly decorated cushion. He wears a necklace and bracelets made of coral, a symbol of protection, regeneration, and rebirth. With their elaborate gold halos, the Virgin and Child fill the frame, commanding the focus of the viewer, who originally would have observed the painting in a private domestic setting, like the Madonna of Humility to the left. Mary and the two attendants filling the shallow background would have served as examples of devoted and steadfast worship for the faithful viewer to follow.
The name of this painter refers to a contemporary Florentine artist, Pier Francesco Fiorentino, whose images of the Virgin and Child were frequently copied and mass produced in workshop environments.
The name of this painter refers to a contemporary Florentine artist, Pier Francesco Fiorentino, whose images of the Virgin and Child were frequently copied and mass produced in workshop environments.
ProvenanceFrederick Mason Perkins, Italy [1874-1955]; by inheritance in 1955 to Sacro Convento di San Francesco, Assisi, Italy. Purchased January 19, 1984 through (Sotheby's, lot 91) by Richard L. Feigen & Co, NY. Richard W. and Susan E. Levy by 1984; gift 2000 to Duke University Museum of Art, now Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University.