Who painted Madonna and Child with Saints?

Madonna and Child with Saints was painted by Follower of Giovanni Bellini in c. 1490/1500.

Where can I see Madonna and Child with Saints?

Madonna and Child with Saints is held by National Gallery of Art.

What movement is Madonna and Child with Saints?

Madonna and Child with Saints is associated with High Renaissance.

Madonna and Child with Saints by Follower of Giovanni Bellini (c. 1490/1500)

Inscription: Inscribed:by unknown hand, lower center on parapet: IOANNES BELLINVS P.

About this work

Mary holds the infant Jesus while saints gather around them, their colors bright against a dark ground. Jesus is painted like a small adult rather than a baby, a convention of Italian work around 1500. Thin layers of paint build the deep colors and soft shadows.

Subject & Meaning

The painting depicts the Virgin Mary holding the infant Christ, a composition traditionally identified as a Madonna and Child with accompanying saints.

The painting depicts the Virgin Mary holding the infant Christ, a composition traditionally identified as a Madonna and Child with accompanying saints. In this work the holy figures are presented in a devotional format that emphasizes the sacred relationship between mother and child and includes saintly figures as part of the traditional iconography. The image functions as a devotional object that reflects Renaissance religious practice and the veneration of Mary and the saints.

The piece belongs to the religious genre and was collected by the Samuel H. Kress Foundation, highlighting its significance within the National Gallery of Art’s collection.

Technique & Style

The work is an oil painting on wood panel that has been transferred first to canvas and subsequently to a new support, a technique noted in the provenance record. Its dimensions measure 75.5 cm in height by 50.8 cm in width, as documented in the catalog entry. Executed circa 1490, the composition belongs to the religious genre, portraying the Madonna and Child surrounded by saints.

The painting’s formal qualities include a devotional composition centered on the Madonna and Child. It is part of the Samuel H. Kress Collection at the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.

History & Provenance

The painting is dated to 1490 and executed in oil on panel, later transferred first to canvas and then to wood. Its earliest documented owner in the modern era was Walter Wysard (born 1871) of Pangbourne, Buckinghamshire. In 1921 the work was purchased by Duveen Brothers, Inc., operating in London and New York.

By 1924 Duveen had sold it to John R. Thompson of Lake Forest, Illinois; the painting subsequently returned to Duveen Brothers, who in 1940 sold it to the Samuel H. Kress Foundation in New York. The Kress Foundation donated the work in 1943 to the National Gallery of Art, where it entered the Samuel H. Kress Collection. No commission or original patronage context is recorded in the available documentation.

Madonna and Child with Saints is part of the National Gallery of Art's collection in Washington, D.C., where it has been housed since its donation in 1943. The work entered the museum as a gift from the Samuel H. Kress Foundation, which acquired it in 1940 from Duveen Brothers, Inc. It is catalogued within the Samuel H. Kress Collection, though the specific accession number is not provided in the available documentation.

The painting's provenance traces from an early 20th‑century private collection through several dealers before its purchase by Kress. No exhibition records are mentioned in the cited sources.

Overview

This painting, titled Madonna and Child with Saints, depicts the Virgin Mary cradling the infant Jesus, surrounded by various holy figures. Originally executed in oil on a wooden panel, the artwork has undergone a complex conservation history, involving its transfer first to canvas and then back to a new wooden support. The composition features vibrant hues that stand out against a muted background, drawing attention to the central figures.