Andrea del Sarto, 'The Madonna and Child, Saint Elizabeth and the Baptist', about 1513
About the work
Overview
The Virgin Mary is seated with her cousin Saint Elizabeth and their sons in a rocky landscape. The infant Christ reclines on his mother’s lap, resting against her arm and laughing mischievously. This is a reduced version of the ‘Tallard Madonna’ (State Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg) signed by Andrea del Sarto, which shows the Madonna and Child with Saints Elizabeth, John the Baptist and Catherine in a lively scene conversing with one another. Saint Catherine is missing from the ÁùºÏ²ÊÔ¤²â version and there are also a few other small differences.
This type of picture in which the Virgin is surrounded by saints is known as a sacra conversazione (‘holy conversation’). The gestures and interconnected glances suggest a psychological exchange.
The infant John the Baptist’s reed cross and scroll inscribed ‘Ecce Agnus Dei’ (‘Behold the Lamb of God’) lie at his feet, reminding the viewer of Christ’s future crucifixion and sacrifice for humanity.
Key facts
Details
- Full title
- The Madonna and Child with Saint Elizabeth and Saint John the Baptist
- Artist
- Andrea del Sarto
- Artist dates
- 1486 - 1530
- Date made
- about 1513
- Medium and support
- oil on wood
- Dimensions
- 106 × 81.3 cm
- Acquisition credit
- Holwell Carr Bequest, 1831
- Inventory number
- NG17
- Location
- Not on display
- Collection
- Main Collection
- Previous owners
- Frame
- 17th-century Italian Frame
Provenance
Additional information
Text extracted from the ‘Provenance’ section of the catalogue entry in Cecil Gould, ‘ÁùºÏ²ÊÔ¤²â Catalogues: The Sixteenth Century Italian Schools’, London 1987; for further information, see the full catalogue entry.
Bibliography
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1787F.W.B. von Ramdohr, Über Mahlerei und Bildhauerarbeit in Rom für Liebhaber des Schönen in der Kunst, Leipzig 1787
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1797G.A. Vasi, Itinéraire instructif de Rome, Rome 1797
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1818H. Tresham, W.Y. Ottley and P.W. Tomkins, The British Gallery of Pictures, London 1818
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1824W. Buchanan, Memoirs of Painting: With a Chronological History of the Importation of Pictures by the Great Masters into England Since the French Revolution, London 1824
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1835A. von Reumont, Andrea del Sarto, Leipzig 1835
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1843W. Hazlitt, Criticisms on Art and Sketches of the Picture Galleries of England with Catalogues of the Principal Pictures, London 1843
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1843L. Viardot, Les musées d'Espagne, d'Angleterre et de Belgique, Paris 1843
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1854G.F. Waagen, Treasures of Art in Great Britain: Being and Account of the Chief Collections of Paintings, Drawings, Sculptures, Illuminated Mss. […], vol. 2, trans. E. Eastlake, London 1854
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1864G.F. Waagen, Die Gemäldesammlungen in der Kaiserlichen Ermitage zu St Petersburg, Munich 1864
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1881F. Reiset, Une visite à la Galerie nationale de Londres, Paris 1881
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1883J.P. Richter, Italian Art in the ÁùºÏ²ÊÔ¤²â, London 1883
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1899H. Guinness, Andrea del Sarto, London 1899
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1901E. Jacobsen, 'Italienische Gemälde in der National Galerie zu London: Kritische Notizen zum Katalog von 1898', Repertorium für Kunstwissenschaft, XXIV, 1901
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1935I. Fraenckel, Andrea del Sarto: Gemälde und Zeichnungen, Strasbourg 1935
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1960P. Della Pergola, 'Gli inventari Aldobrandini: Inventario del 1626', Arte antica e moderna, XII/100, 1960, pp. 425-44
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1961S.J. Freedberg, Painting of the High Renaissance in Rome and Florence, Cambridge MA 1961
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1962Gould, Cecil, ÁùºÏ²ÊÔ¤²â Catalogues: The Sixteenth Century Italian Schools (excluding the Venetian), London 1962
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1963B. Berenson, Italian Pictures of the Renaissance: A List of the Principal Artists and Their Work, with an Index of Places: Florentine School, 2 vols, New York 1963
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1963S.J. Freedberg, Andrea del Sarto: Catalogue Raisonné, Cambridge MA 1963
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1963P. Della Pergola, 'Gli inventari Aldobrandini: L'inventario del 1682, II', Arte antica e moderna, 21, 1963, pp. 61-87
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1964C. Onofrio, 'Inventario dei dipinti del Cardinal Pietro Aldobrandini, compilato da G.B. Agucchi nel 1603', Palatino, VIII, 1964, pp. 15-20, 158-62, 202-11
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1965J. Shearman, Andrea del Sarto, Oxford 1965
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1975C. Gould, Delaroche and Gautier: Gautier's Views on the 'Execution of Lady Jane Grey' and on other Compositions by Delaroche, London 1975
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1978A. Macintyre and K. Garlick (eds), The Diary of Joseph Farington, vol. 5, New Haven 1978-1984
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1982H. Brigstocke and W. Buchanan, William Buchanan and the 19th Century Art Trade: 100 Letters to his Agents in London and Italy, London 1982
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1987Gould, Cecil, ÁùºÏ²ÊÔ¤²â Catalogues: The Sixteenth Century Italian Schools, London 1987
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1989A. Cecchi and A. Natali, Andrea del Sarto: Catalogo completo dei dipinti, Florence 1989
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1993ÁùºÏ²ÊÔ¤²â, 'Pictures Cleaned and Restored in the Conservation Department of the ÁùºÏ²ÊÔ¤²â, October 1993 - September 1994', ÁùºÏ²ÊÔ¤²â Technical Bulletin, XVI, 1995
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1995R. White and J. Pilc, 'Analyses of Paint Media', ÁùºÏ²ÊÔ¤²â Technical Bulletin, XVI, 1995, pp. 85-95
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2001
C. Baker and T. Henry, ÁùºÏ²ÊÔ¤²â: Complete Illustrated Catalogue, London 2001
About this record
If you know more about this painting or have spotted an error, please contact us. Please note that exhibition histories are listed from 2009 onwards. Bibliographies may not be complete; more comprehensive information is available in the ÁùºÏ²ÊÔ¤²â Library.
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