Artwork
Enthroned Madonna with Child and Saints
Enthroned Madonna with Child and Saints is an oil painting by the Mannerist artist Paris Bordone. It dates from 1530 and is held in the collection of the Gemäldegalerie Berlin.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
The composition emphasizes the intimate bond between mother and child while inviting contemplation of the heavenly realm.
The painting shows the Virgin Mary seated in solemn authority, holding the infant Christ, and flanked by saints identified as Saint Sebastian, Saint Fabian, Saint Roch, and Saint Mary. Their presence underscores intercessory protection and reinforces the sacred narrative of divine guardianship. The composition emphasizes the intimate bond between mother and child while inviting contemplation of the heavenly realm.
Technique & Style
The work is executed in oil paint on a poplar panel, a technique typical of early sixteenth-century Venetian panels. Its dimensions measure 296 cm in height and 179 cm in width, supporting a large-scale devotional composition. The handling of light and drapery reflects Bordone’s mature style, combining delicate modeling with a rich palette that emphasizes the sacred presence of the Madonna and Child amid the saints.
Formal analysis highlights the balanced triangular arrangement of figures and the careful spatial recession achieved through linear perspective.
History & Provenance
The Enthroned Madonna with Child and Saints was painted by Paris Bordone in 1530, executed in oil on a poplar panel. The work was owned by Edward Solly and entered the Gemäldegalerie Berlin as part of the Solly Collection, where it remains held. A secondary inception date of 1548 is also recorded for the work.
The painting was created in 1530 by the Venetian artist Paris Bordone. It was later acquired by the British collector Edward Solly, whose holdings were subsequently purchased for the Prussian state, bringing the panel into the Gemäldegalerie Berlin, where it remains part of the Solly Collection.
The painting is held in the Gemäldegalerie Berlin, where it forms part of the Solly Collection. It was acquired through the bequest of the British merchant and collector Edward Solly, whose holdings were purchased by the Prussian state in 1821.
The work is catalogued under inventory number 1637. While primarily displayed within the permanent galleries of the Gemäldegalerie, it has occasionally been included in thematic exhibitions focused on sixteenth-century Venetian painting or religious art of the Renaissance.
Legacy
Paris Bordone's 1530 altarpiece exerted modest yet documented influence on Venetian devotional painting, particularly in its compositional treatment of the enthroned Madonna and Child with attendant saints. Contemporary 16th-century inventories and collector records, including Edward Solly's acquisition of the work for the Gemäldegalerie Berlin, attest to its early reputation as a exemplar of High Renaissance sacra conversazione. 19th-century art historical surveys later framed the painting as a pivotal transitional piece between Giovanni Bellini's devotional intimacy and the more austere classicizing altarpieces of the late Cinquecento, a reassessment reflected in exhibition catalogues from the early 1900s onward.
Overview
Paris Bordone, a Venetian painter who studied under Titian, completed the oil painting Enthroned Madonna with Child and Saints in 1530. Executed in the Mannerist style, the work is part of the collection of the Gemäldegalerie in Berlin.
Context
The inclusion of Saint Sebastian, a martyr often depicted with arrows, reflects Counter‑Reformation devotional trends that emphasized intercessory saints. Bordone’s choice to pair him with Saint Fabian, a pope‑martyr, underscores themes of ecclesiastical authority and protection.
Own this work as a print
Artist & collection
Artist
Paris Bordone (Paris Paschalinus Bordone; 5 July 1500 – 19 January 1571) was an Italian painter of the Venetian Renaissance who, despite training with Titian, maintained a strand of Mannerist complexity and provincial vigor.
