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Collection

An image of Madonna and child with infant John the Baptist by Domenico Beccafumi
Alternate image of Madonna and child with infant John the Baptist by Domenico Beccafumi

Domenico Beccafumi

(Italy 1484–1551)

Title
Madonna and child with infant John the Baptist
Other titles:
The Madonna and Child with Saint John the Baptist
Year
circa 1542
Media category
Painting
Materials used
oil on panel
Dimensions

92.0 x 69.0cm panel; 134.5 x 100.0 x 18.0cm frame

Credit
Art Gallery of New South Wales Foundation Purchase 1992
Accession number
231.1992
Location
15th–19th c European art
Further information

Reversing the pose of Ferrucci's relief, this marvel of mannerist painting also shows the new directions of Italian art in the sixteenth century. With its mysterious luminosity and boldly defined figures, it suggests statuary viewed by candle-light. Beccafumi has paid homage to Michelangelo in the volumetric forms of the Madonna and her draperies and the 'contrapposto' of her pose. For the suppleness of flesh and softness of atmosphere, however, Beccafumi has turned to Leonardo's testing 'sfumato' technique. This imbues his altarpiece with a theatricality that is utterly in accord with the mannerist aesthetic in which Beccafumi was steeped throughout his long career. As a master trained in Siena, a city dedicated to the Virgin, Beccafumi produced innumerable versions of this subject. In this case, the result is a painting of exceptional poetic power.

AGNSW Handbook, 1999.

Provenance (4)

The Matthiesen Gallery (England), pre 24 Aug 1992, London/England, Purchased by the AGNSW from Matthiesen Gallery 1992

Private Collection, pre 07 Dec 1988, London/England, Sold Sotheby's London, 7 December 1988, lot 83 for £297,000

Private Collection, pre 1936, Monaco, Il dipinto, giunto prima del 1936 da Monaco a Londra, è attualmente nella Galleria Matthiesen. [the painting, which arrived in London from Monaco before 1936, is now in the Gallery Matthiesen.] see 'Beccafumi' by Piero Torriti, Electa 1998, pg. 187

A.S. Drey (Germany), pre 1936, Munich/Germany, [dealer]

Bibliography (10)

Art Gallery of New South Wales, Great gifts, great patrons: an exhibition celebrating private patronage of the Gallery 1994, Sydney, 1994. no pagination or catalogue numbers

Edmund Capon, Art Gallery of New South Wales Foundation Annual Report 1997 1997, Domain, 1997, 19 (colour illus.).

Renée Free, The Art Gallery of New South Wales collections, 'The Western Heritage, Renaissance to Twentieth Century', pg. 108-172, Sydney, 1994, 111 (colour illus.).

Bruce James, Art Gallery of New South Wales handbook, 'Western Collection: Paintings and Sculpture', pg. 17-77, Domain, 1999, 21 (colour illus.).

Pinacoteca Nazionale di Siena, Domenico Beccafumi e il suo Tempo 1990, Siena, 1990, 212, 213 (colour illus.). cat.no. 37

V.G. Sgarbi and A.Hawser, F.M.R. International 1990, 'Sulphuric Mannerism', pg. 21-44, 1990, 21-44, 41 (illus.). cat.no. 46

Sotheby's London (Editor), Sotheby's London: Old master paintings, London, 07 Dec 1988, 26, 27 (colour illus.). cat.no. 83

Piero Torriti, Beccafumi, Milan, 1998, 187-188, 187 (colour illus.). P84

Michael Wardell, Look Sep 2004, 'Foundation building', pg.14-17, Newtown, Sep 2004, 15.

Editor Unknown (Editor), International Museums Diary, London, 1994, (illus.).

Exhibition history (2)

Domenico Beccafumi e il suo tempo, Pinacoteca Nazionale di Siena, Siena, 16 Jun 1990–16 Sep 1990

Great gifts, great patrons, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 17 Aug 1994–19 Oct 1994