Madonna and Child with Saints and Angels

The work, an oil panel painting of the Madonna and Child with saints and angels, was created by Luca Signorelli in the mid‑to‑late 1510s. It was commissioned for the Albergotti chapel in the Cathedral of Arezzo, built around 1517, and remained there until the early 17th century, after which it passed to the Marchesi Albergotti family. By 1845 the piece entered the collection of Francesco Lombardi and Ugo Baldi in Florence, later passing through the hands of Ludwig Metzger before being acquired by Alexander Lindsay, 25th Earl of Crawford, in 1875.

The painting subsequently descended through his descendants, was sold at Christie, Manson & Woods in 1946, bought by Wildenstein & Co., then purchased by the Samuel H. Kress Foundation in 1949, gifted to the Honolulu Academy of Arts in 1961, and finally donated to the National Gallery of Art.

The painting is currently held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., as part of the Samuel H. Kress Collection. Its ownership history traces from an Albergotti chapel in Arezzo to the Lindsay family earls of Crawford, who sold it at Christie's in London on October 11, 1946. Following transactions with dealers Koetser and Wildenstein & Co., the Samuel H. Kress Foundation acquired the work in June 1949.

It was initially gifted to the Honolulu Academy of Arts in 1952 but returned to the Foundation in 1960 before being donated to the National Gallery of Art in 1961. The provided sources do not list specific temporary exhibition records for this artwork.

The painting entered the National Gallery of Art through the Samuel H. Kress Collection, underscoring its recognized importance in early 20th‑century American holdings, and its provenance traces a continuous ownership from an Albergotti chapel to the Crawford family before acquisition by the Kress Foundation, reflecting its enduring scholarly and collector interest. Its presence in a major public institution facilitates continued study of Signorelli's compositional treatment of the Madonna and Child, reinforcing his reputation within Renaissance art history [1][2]

Luca Signorelli, an Italian Renaissance painter, created Madonna and Child with Saints and Angels around 1514. This religious composition, executed in oil on panel (later transferred to hardboard), showcases the artist's characteristic skill in draftsmanship. The painting depicts the Virgin Mary and the infant Christ surrounded by a celestial court of saints and angels, reflecting the devotional themes prevalent in early sixteenth-century art.

Luca Signorelli, originally from Cortona in Tuscany, was active across major artistic centers of Italy, including Florence, Siena, and Rome. His career, spanning the Italian Renaissance and extending into the early sixteenth century, included significant commissions such as the expansive fresco cycle of the Last Judgment in Orvieto Cathedral. This work from around 1514 reflects the stylistic developments of the period.