Madonna and Child
Francesco Benaglio·late 1460s
Historical Context
Francesco Benaglio painted this Madonna and Child in the late 1460s, working in Verona where he contributed to the city's artistic flowering in the second half of the fifteenth century. Benaglio was influenced by Andrea Mantegna, whose powerful style transformed painting in the Veneto during this period. His devotional paintings blend Mantegnesque precision with the softer, more decorative qualities of the Veronese tradition.
Technical Analysis
The tempera on panel, transferred to canvas for preservation, shows Benaglio's crisp, linear technique influenced by Mantegna. The sharp modeling of forms and precise rendering of details reflect the sculptural quality that Mantegna brought to Veronese painting.
Provenance
Art market, Florence, in or shortly after 1900;[1] (Leo Nardus [1868-1955], Suresnes, France, and New York); purchased 1905 by Peter A.B. Widener, Lynnewood Hall, Elkins Park, Pennsylvania;[2] inheritance from estate of Peter A.B. Widener by gift through power of appointment of Joseph E. Widener, Elkins Park, Pennsylvania; gift 1942 to NGA. [1] On the back of a photograph of the painting (in the archives of the Biblioteca Berenson, Harvard University Center for the Italian Renaissance Studies, Florence) is a note in Bernard Berenson's handwriting: "With Dom. Morone, given me some 25 ys. ago by Langton Douglas, the original then for sale in Florence." The note is not dated, but it is probably from the mid-1920s, when Berenson was preparing his study on Domenico Morone. Langton Douglas, who either intended to buy the painting himself or acted as an intermediary, was frequently in Florence in the early 1900s; see Dennis Sutton, "Robert Langton Douglas," _Apollo_ 109 (1979): 248-315. [2] Bernard Berenson and William Roberts, _Pictures in the Collection of P.A.B. Widener at Lynnewood Hall, Elkins Park, Pennsvylania. Volume III: Early Italian and Spanish Schools_, Philadelphia, 1916: no. 23.
