Artifact World Gallery
Get the iOS app

Madonna and Child by Benaglio, Francesco

Benaglio, Francesco · late 1460s

This is Francesco Benaglio's Madonna and Child, painted around 1464 in tempera on panel and now transferred to canvas. It sold at a London auction for £45,000 hammer, roughly seven times its low estimate, a striking number for an artist whose fame rank sits near 3,000.

Look at the outer robe. Black is an unusual choice for the Virgin, and the gold brocade edge signals real expense. To the right, a small bowl of cherries sits on the ledge, a quiet prefiguration of the Passion. And deep in the left background, nearly invisible on a phone screen, a tiny sailing vessel anchors the painting in the Veneto trading world.

Benaglio was active in Verona in the late 15th century. Other works of his live in the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., but this one surfaced at auction with limited fanfare. The result suggests at least two bidders recognized a distinctive hand and a sophisticated commission.

A dark robe, a small ship, a bowl of cherries. The market sometimes notices what the catalog overlooks. What detail do you think drove the bidding?

Details

Look at the outer robe.
Look at the outer robe.
The estimate was moderate. Bidding ran to £45,000.
The estimate was moderate. Bidding ran to £45,000.
Before fees, seven times the low estimate.
Before fees, seven times the low estimate.
The nudity is a deliberate theological assertion of Christ's full humanity; the rounded, naturalistic infant form shows Benaglio absorbing Mantegna-era figure modeling.
The nudity is a deliberate theological assertion of Christ's full humanity; the rounded, naturalistic infant form shows Benaglio absorbing Mantegna-era figure modeling.
Unlike the Madonna, the Child looks outward , possibly directly at the devotional viewer , creating a sacred gaze that implicates the audience in the scene.
Unlike the Madonna, the Child looks outward , possibly directly at the devotional viewer , creating a sacred gaze that implicates the audience in the scene.
Transcript

This passed through a London auction quietly. A Madonna and Child, late 1460s, by Francesco Benaglio. Look at the outer robe. Black, with gold brocade. Not standard for the Virgin. A Venetian patron likely paid for costly materials and taste. The estimate was moderate. Bidding ran to £45,000. Before fees, seven times the low estimate.