Artwork

Madonna and Child with Saints Roche and Mary Magdalene

Madonna and Child with Saints Roche and Mary Magdalene, unspecified, 1504
Madonna and Child with Saints Roche and Mary Magdalene, unspecified, 1504

Madonna and Child with Saints Roche and Mary Magdalene is an unspecified painting. It dates from 1504 and is held in the collection of the Bavarian State Painting Collections. The work presents a modest interior scene illuminated by a single, focused light source.

About this work

Subject & Meaning

This religious painting depicts a sacred conversation featuring the Virgin Mary holding the Christ Child, flanked by Saint Roche and Mary Magdalene.

This religious painting depicts a sacred conversation featuring the Virgin Mary holding the Christ Child, flanked by Saint Roche and Mary Magdalene. The work functions as a devotional image, bringing together these specific holy figures within a single composition. As a copy based on an original by Jacopo Palma il Vecchio, the panel preserves the iconographic arrangement established by the earlier master, presenting the saints alongside the central mother-and-child group.

Technique & Style

The work is an oil painting on wood panel, created circa 1504. It depicts the Virgin Mary holding the infant Christ Child, accompanied by Saints Roch and Mary Magdalene. The composition shows figures positioned against a flat gold background, with the Madonna occupying the central vertical axis.

The formal execution reflects Venetian Renaissance stylistic conventions, particularly in the rendering of drapery and figure types associated with Jacopo Palma il Vecchio.

History & Provenance

The painting, dated 1504, is a copy executed after Jacopo Palma il Vecchio. It is held in the Bavarian State Painting Collections and housed at the Alte Pinakothek in Munich. No further details regarding its commission, original ownership chain, or intermediate provenance are recorded in the available sources.

The painting is held in the collection of the Bavarian State Painting Collections and is currently located at the Alte Pinakothek. While the work is dated to 1504, it is identified as a copy after an original by Jacopo Palma il Vecchio. The provided sources do not contain specific inventory numbers or details regarding the work's exhibition history.

Context

The attribution to Jacopo Palma il Vecchio sparked scholarly discussion regarding the work's place within Venetian Renaissance painting traditions. Research situates this composition within the broader context of early 16th-century devotional imagery, particularly examining Palma's influence on religious imagery in Venice and its echoes in contemporary workshops. The painting's presence in the Bavarian State Painting Collections at the Alte Pinakothek since its acquisition has made it a subject of ongoing study on provenance and workshop practices.

Its depiction of Saint Roch and Saint Mary Magdalene alongside the Virgin and Child reflects evolving devotional emphases in post-plague Italy.

Overview

The work presents a modest interior scene illuminated by a single, focused light source. Central to the composition is a woman in a red garment cradling an infant, flanked by a bearded figure leaning on a staff and another woman in red with an uplifted hand. A faint landscape can be discerned through a window, its trees and structures rendered in muted tones.

Mystic marriage of Saint Catherine of Alexandria
Mystic marriage of Saint Catherine of Alexandria, Paolo Veronese

Artist & collection

Frequently asked questions

Where can I see Madonna and Child with Saints Roche and Mary Magdalene?

Madonna and Child with Saints Roche and Mary Magdalene is held by Bavarian State Painting Collections.

What movement is Madonna and Child with Saints Roche and Mary Magdalene?

Madonna and Child with Saints Roche and Mary Magdalene is associated with High Renaissance.