Sebastiano del Piombo, 'The Madonna and Child with Saints and a Donor', 1517
About the work
Overview
The Virgin Mary turns to look down at the kneeling man beside her and extends a protective arm around his shoulder. Saint John the Baptist points at the lively Christ Child, while Saint Joseph sleeps with his head on his arm. The diagonals in the composition draw the viewer’s eye to Christ’s gaze, which is directed back at the viewer.
The kneeling man is the donor of the painting, most likely Pierfrancesco Borgherini, a wealthy Florentine merchant. In 1517, Michelangelo was asked to send Sebastiano a drawing for a Virgin and Child with Saint John the Baptist from which to paint a picture for Pierfrancesco Borgherini. The National Gallery’s painting is dated 1517 on the arm of the Virgin’s seat. There is a red chalk drawing by Michelangelo of the Virgin and Child (Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam) in a similar pose to the one shown here, and it may be the drawing that Michelangelo supplied to Sebastiano.
Key facts
Details
- Full title
- The Madonna and Child with Saint Joseph, Saint John the Baptist and a Donor
- Artist
- Sebastiano del Piombo
- Artist dates
- about 1485 - 1547
- Date made
- 1517
- Medium and support
- oil on wood
- Dimensions
- 97.8 × 106.7 cm
- Acquisition credit
- Bought, 1895
- Inventory number
- NG1450
- Location
- Not on display
- Collection
- Main Collection
- Frame
- 16th-century Italian Frame
Provenance
Additional information
Text extracted from the ‘Provenance’ section of the catalogue entry in Matthias Wivel, ‘Michelangelo & Sebastiano’ (exh. cat. National Gallery, London, 2017), London 2017; for further information, see the full catalogue entry.
Exhibition history
-
2017The Credit Suisse Exhibition: Michelangelo & SebastianoThe National Gallery (London)15 March 2017 - 25 June 2017
Bibliography
-
1959Gould, Cecil, National Gallery Catalogues: The Sixteenth Century Venetian School, London 1959
-
1987Gould, Cecil, National Gallery Catalogues: The Sixteenth Century Italian Schools, London 1987
-
2001
C. Baker and T. Henry, The National Gallery: Complete Illustrated Catalogue, London 2001
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.