Artwork
The Expectant Madonna with Saint Joseph
The Expectant Madonna with Saint Joseph is a tempera painting. It dates from 1438 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.
- Inscription
- Inscribed:center on edge of Madonna's mantle: ALELVI REGINA CELI LET[ARE ALLE]LVIA QVIA EVAM (Alleluia, Queen of Heaven, rejoice because He whom) [inscription is from the _Regina Coeli_, an Easter antiphon]
About this work
Technique & Style
The painting's classification as a religious genre work and its place within the Samuel H.
The Expectant Madonna with Saint Joseph is executed in tempera on a European walnut panel, a support and medium characteristic of early fifteenth-century French panel painting. The work's date of 1425 places it within the late International Gothic period in France, a context that informs its formal and stylistic qualities as a religious devotional image. The use of tempera, pigment bound with egg yolk, on walnut reflects standard practice for French painters of this era, who favored locally available hardwood supports.
The painting's classification as a religious genre work and its place within the Samuel H. Kress Collection at the National Gallery of Art provide additional context for its preservation and current condition, though specific details of its handling or conservation history are not recorded in the available sources.
History & Provenance
The Expectant Madonna with Saint Joseph was created around 1425 by a French artist of the 15th century, as indicated by its dating in the National Gallery of Art’s corpus records.
The painting’s provenance traces to a private collection in Lyon, France, before passing to Alessandro Contini Bonacossi in Florence. It was purchased from Contini Bonacossi in July 1950 by the Samuel H. Kress Foundation in New York. Two years later, in 1952, the foundation donated the work to the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., where it remains in the Samuel H. Kress Collection.
The Expectant Madonna with Saint Joseph is currently held by the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., as part of the Samuel H. Kress Collection. The work entered the museum's inventory in 1952 as a gift from the Samuel H. Kress Foundation, following its acquisition by the foundation in July 1950. Prior to this transfer, the painting was in the possession of Alessandro Contini Bonacossi in Florence, and earlier records suggest it resided in a private collection in Lyon, France.
The National Gallery of Art lists the object in its digital archive under the specific Kress Collection accession details.
Overview
The Expectant Madonna with Saint Joseph is a tempera painting executed on European walnut. It depicts a central female figure, identified as the Madonna, accompanied by an older male figure, Saint Joseph. An angel stands behind them, while two children occupy the lower right.
The composition is characterized by a richly patterned background of gold, red, and green, creating a visually dense and ornate setting for the sacred figures.
Subject & Meaning
The painting centers on the Virgin Mary, here presented as "expectant," dressed in a dark robe with gold accents, her expression serene yet solemn. Saint Joseph, cloaked in red, stands beside her. An angel with wings, holding a feathered staff, formally attends the Madonna.
The two small children in the foreground, simply attired, contribute to the devotional scene, which is imbued with a sense of sacred anticipation and reverence.
Context
The extensive use of gold leaf in the background of this painting serves a traditional function in religious art. This shimmering, reflective material was commonly employed by artists to symbolize divine light, holiness, and the ethereal realm, thereby elevating the sacred figures and their narrative beyond the earthly sphere. Its presence here reinforces the spiritual significance of the depicted scene.
Artist & collection
- Verkündigung Mariae, Rückseite: Hl. Dorothea
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