Artwork
Madonna and Child with Saint Jerome and Saint John the Baptist
Madonna and Child with Saint Jerome and Saint John the Baptist is an oil painting by the High Renaissance artist Giovanni Battista Cima da Conegliano. It dates from 1494 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.
- Inscription
- Inscribed:lower center on the pedestal: IOANNES BAPTISTA PINXIT
About this work
A spurious inscription on the pedestal reads "IOANNES BAPTISTA PINXIT," but the hand is unmistakably Cima da Conegliano's.
A spurious inscription on the pedestal reads "IOANNES BAPTISTA PINXIT," but the hand is unmistakably Cima da Conegliano's. Painted around 1492–1495 on a poplar panel, the sacra conversazione places the Virgin and Christ Child between Saint Jerome and Saint John the Baptist in a deep, atmospheric landscape. The work later passed through the collections of Giovanni Castelli in Venice and Baron Maurizio Marochetti in Turin before Bernard Berenson pronounced it "one of the grandest and noblest works of the Venetian School" in 1919. It entered the National Gallery of Art in 1937 as part of the Andrew W. Mellon Collection.
Subject & Meaning
This work belongs to the sacra conversazione genre, in which the Virgin and Child appear with saints in a unified space, fostering devotional meditation. The central group of Mary and the standing Christ Child is placed on a marble pedestal inscribed “Ioannes Baptista Pinxit” (John the Baptist painted [this]), serving as the artist’s signature. To the left, Saint Jerome is depicted with a long white beard, while to the right, Saint John the Baptist, with hands clasped and a rustic cross at his side, adores the infant Jesus.
The background features a hilly landscape with a rocky outcrop topped by a partially ruined castle, likely symbolizing the transition from the Old Law to the New Covenant. The iconography thus combines adoration, penitence, and the salvific role of Christ, reinforcing the painting’s function as an aid to private prayer.
Technique & Style
The painting is executed in oil on a poplar panel, measuring 102 × 144 cm. Stylistically, it is a sacra conversazione: the Virgin and Child are centrally enthroned, flanked on the left by Saint Jerome (with a long white beard) and on the right by Saint John the Baptist (hands joined, holding a rustic cross). The Christ Child stands upon a marble pedestal inscribed with the Latin signature “Ioannes Baptista Pinxit.” Behind the figures, a hilly landscape features a rocky cliff surmounted by a partially ruined castle.
The handling reflects Cima’s characteristically serene and balanced composition, typical of late 15th-century Venetian painting. No details about the condition are provided in the sources.
History & Provenance
The painting was likely created around 1492–1495 by Cima da Conegliano. Its earliest documented ownership is a possible appearance in the 1712 posthumous inventory of Giovanni Castelli's collection in Venice. It later belonged to Baron Carlo Marochetti or his son Baron Maurizio Marochetti, then passed by inheritance to Maurizio's daughter Elena, wife of Carlo Corrigioni d'Orelli.
The work was acquired by Jacques Seligmann & Co. and sold in December 1919 to Sir Edgar Vincent (later 1st Viscount D'Abernon). After 1925, it was with Duveen Brothers, who sold it on 15 December 1936 to The A.W. Mellon Educational and Charitable Trust; it was gifted to the National Gallery of Art, Washington, in 1937. No specific commission details are recorded.
The painting is in the collection of the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., as part of the Andrew W. Mellon Collection, accessioned via a 1937 gift from The A.W. Mellon Educational and Charitable Trust. No museum accession number is specified in the sources, and its exhibition history is not documented.
Overview
Cima da Conegliano's painting, Madonna and Child with Saint Jerome and Saint John the Baptist, was created around 1492–1495. This oil on poplar panel depicts a sacred conversation, featuring the Virgin Mary and Christ Child flanked by two prominent saints. The work is now held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art in Washington.
Legacy
The painting garnered significant critical acclaim, notably from art historian Bernard Berenson. In 1919, Berenson described it as "one of the grandest and noblest works of the Venetian School," a testament to its perceived quality and importance within the broader context of Renaissance art. This assessment underscores its established reputation among scholars and collectors during the early 20th century.
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Artist & collection
Artist
Giovanni Battista Cima da Conegliano
Giovanni Battista Cima, also called Cima da Conegliano (c. 1459 – c. 1517), was an Italian Renaissance painter, who mostly worked in Venice. He can be considered part of the Venetian school, though he was also…
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