Virgin with Child

Leonardo da Vinci himself mentions a pupil named “Gian Pietro,” who can be identified with Giovanni Pietro Rizzoli, traditionally known as Giampietrino, a master active in Milan in the first half of the sixteenth century. Giampietrino was not an innovative or experimental artist; the components of his pictorial language were borrowed primarily from his master and from Leonardo’s followers, such as Marco d’Oggiono and Cesare da Sesto.

The effect of this warm-toned painting, devoid of all decorative elements, is based on the contrast between darkness and surfaces emphasized by strong light; the soft forms seem almost to emerge from the dark background. The Child’s studied pose, the tender touch, and the search for the viewer’s gaze are all elements that would likely have appealed to contemporary patrons. The former popularity of the composition is attested by the fact that numerous further variants are known. Only one dated painting by Giampietrino is known, from 1521, and the chronology of his works remains uncertain. Dóra Sallay, 2002, museum website.

Provenance

Simor collection. Purchased from the Bertinelli estate in Rome in 1878.

Restauration

1935 Nikássy Lajos

Bibliography

• Sallay Dóra: Raffaele Bertinelli és reneszánsz képtára. Egy műgyűjtemény útja Rómától Esztergomig. Esztergom, 2009, 95, kat. sz. XLI.
• Tátrai Vilmos, in Keresztény Múzeum 1993, 243–244, 133. sz., korábbi irodalommal (ua.).
• Berenson 1968, I, 168 (ua., felsorolja a kompozíció változatait)
• Boskovits–Mojzer–Mucsi 1964, 84, korábbi irodalommal (ua., feltehetően késői mű)
• Gerevich szerk. 1948, 72, korábbi irodalommal (ua.)
• Berenson 1936, 197 (ua.)
• Berenson 1932, 229 (ua.)
• Berti Toesca 1932, 959 (ua.)
• Gerevich 1928, 236 (ua.)
• Gerevich 1916a, 825 (ua.)
• Colasanti 1910a, 407 és 1910b, iii (Gianpietrino)
• Maszlaghy 1878 és 1981, 106. sz. (Leonardo da Vinci után)
• 1878-as leltár, 39. sz. (Salaino modora).
• Bertinelli-gyûjtemény, 1. sz. (Leonardo da Vinci);