Artwork
Mary with Child
Mary with Child is an oil painting by the High Renaissance artist Benvenuto Tisi. It dates from 1520 and is held in the collection of the Bavarian State Painting Collections.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
The work portrays the Virgin Mary cradling the infant Christ, a standard iconographic representation of the divine motherhood central to Christian sacred art.
The work portrays the Virgin Mary cradling the infant Christ, a standard iconographic representation of the divine motherhood central to Christian sacred art. As a religious painting, it embodies the theological theme of maternal protection and the incarnation, reflecting Counter-Reformation emphases on the humanity of Christ and the nurturing role of Mary. Rendered in oil on poplar panel, the composition adheres to established devotional conventions that communicate spiritual intimacy and heavenly grace.
Technique & Style
Mary with Child is executed in oil paint on a poplar panel, a support combination typical of Italian Renaissance devotional works. The modest format, 48.4 cm in height by 37.2 cm in width, is consistent with a private devotional object rather than a large altarpiece. The work is classified as a religious painting, depicting the Madonna and Child as its main subject.
Stylistically, the painting belongs to the early sixteenth-century Ferrarese tradition associated with Benvenuto Tisi, also known as Benvenuto Garofalo, whose religious works of this period are characterized by refined handling of oil glazes and a softly modeled, devotional figural style. The piece is held in the Bavarian State Painting Collections at the Alte Pinakothek.
History & Provenance
The painting titled Mary with Child was created by the artist Benvenuto Tisi, also known as Benvenuto Garofalo, in 1520. Executed in oil paint on a poplar panel, the work depicts the Madonna and Child within the religious art genre. The piece is currently held in the collection of the Bavarian State Painting Collections, specifically located at the Alte Pinakothek.
While the specific commission details and original ownership chain prior to its current location are not detailed in the provided records, the work's inception is firmly dated to the year 1520.
Context
The work titled Mary with Child painted by Benvenuto Tisi in 1520 depicts the Madonna and Child in a religious composition. It was created using oil paint on a poplar panel measuring 48.4 centimeters in height and 37.2 centimeters in width. The painting belongs to the religious art genre and is part of the Bavarian State Painting Collections housed in the Alte Pinakothek in Munich.
Legacy
The work Mary with Child by Benvenuto Tisi was acquired by the Bavarian State Painting Collections and displayed at the Alte Pinakothek in Munich, establishing its enduring presence in a major European museum. Its religious subject matter, characteristic of early 16th-century Italian art, has been studied within the context of devotional painting practices of the period. The painting's dimensions of 48.4 cm by 37.2 cm and use of oil on poplar panel reflect technical approaches common in Renaissance art.
Its inclusion in the Alte Pinakothek's collection contributed to the institutional recognition of Tisi's work within art historical scholarship.
Overview
Created in 1520 by the Lombard painter Benvenuto Tisi, this oil on canvas presents a quiet devotional scene known as Mary with Child. The work is part of the collection of the Alte Pinakothek in Munich, where it is displayed among other Renaissance religious pieces.
Artist & collection
Artist
Benvenuto Tisi (Italian:; 1481 – September 6, 1559), also known as Il Garofalo (Italian: ), was a Late-Renaissance-Mannerist Italian painter of the School of Ferrara.
