Artwork

Virgin and Child with Saints Catherine, Francis, John the Baptist, Mary Magdalene, Antony of Padua, John the Evangelist

Virgin and Child with Saints Catherine, Francis, John the Baptist, Mary Magdalene, Antony of Padua, John the Evangelist is an oil painting by the Mannerist artist Marcello Fogolino. It dates from 1515 and is held in the collection of the Rijksmuseum.

About this work

Subject & Meaning

The composition unites contemplative and active models of holiness around the Madonna and Child.

The painting presents a sacred conversation centered on the Virgin Mary and the Christ Child, surrounded by six saints: Catherine of Alexandria, Francis of Assisi, John the Baptist, Mary Magdalene, Anthony of Padua, and John the Evangelist. Such groupings, common in Italian Renaissance devotional art, bring together figures from diverse origins, mystic martyrs, mendicant friars, desert prophets, and evangelists, to form a unified celestial court venerating the Incarnation.

The composition unites contemplative and active models of holiness around the Madonna and Child. Catherine of Alexandria and Mary Magdalene represent learned and penitent forms of devotion, while the mendicant saints Francis and Anthony of Padua embody Franciscan ideals of poverty and preaching. John the Baptist, the forerunner, and John the Evangelist, the beloved disciple, frame the central pair as witnesses drawn from both the Old Testament prophecy and the apostolic witness of the New Testament.

Together, the figures form a sacra conversazione in which the saints intercede for the viewer and model varied paths of Christian virtue before the Virgin and Child.

Technique & Style

Marcello Fogolino executed the Virgin and Child with Saints Catherine, Francis, John the Baptist, Mary Magdalene, Antony of Padua, and John the Evangelist in 1515 using oil paint applied to a canvas support. The work is classified as a religious painting and depicts the specified group of saints surrounding the central figures of the Virgin and Child. Physically, the canvas measures approximately 266 centimeters in height and 195 centimeters in width, though slight variations in recorded dimensions exist across sources, with one noting a height of 264.7 centimeters and a width of 194 centimeters.

The piece has been associated with the Rijksmuseum, the Mauritshuis, and a private collection belonging to William I.

History & Provenance

The painting was created by the Italian artist Marcello Fogolino in 1515, as documented by both the artist’s record and later cataloguing sources.

Its early provenance is not fully documented, but by the 19th century it had entered a private collection associated with William I of the Netherlands. By 1820 it was recorded in the collection of King William I, indicating state ownership in the Netherlands. In the 20th century the work was divided, with parts entering the collections of the Rijksmuseum and the Mauritshuis in the Netherlands.

The painting Virgin and Child with Saints (1515) by Marcello Fogolino is held at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam and the Mauritshuis in The Hague. It forms part of the Rijksmuseum’s collection, where it is catalogued under inventory number SK-C-1172. The work has also been associated with a private collection, notably that of William I of the Netherlands.

Exhibition history for the painting includes display at the Mauritshuis, where it has been presented as part of the museum’s holdings of early Italian Renaissance works.

Overview

Marcello Fogolino, an Italian painter active in the early 16th century, completed Virgin and Child with Saints Catherine, Francis, John the Baptist, Mary Magdalene, Antony of Padua, John the Evangelist in 1515. This oil painting exemplifies the Mannerist style prevalent at the time. It portrays the central figures of the Virgin Mary and Christ Child, surrounded by a gathering of six significant saints, creating a devotional scene. The work is currently housed in the Rijksmuseum collection.