Bolognini Madonna on:
[Wikipedia]
[Google]
[Amazon]
The ''Bolognini Madonna'' is a 16th century oil on panel painting (later transferred to canvas) by Antonio da Correggio.
The painting's atmosphere is pervaded by a subtle disquiet that characterizes many paintings of this subject. Here, that emotion is damped in favor of an affable and sweet scene, where the two children meet, despite some ominous hints. Only the left hand of Marie, that seems suspended between the desire to protect Jesus and the choice to leave him to his destiny, insinuates her foresight.
The net of light that illuminates the low-relief contrast with the humid and vaporous landscape demonstrates the inspirations of the young Correggio. The chromatic texture, that balances reds, yellows, and blue, joins the figures and the landscape yet emphasizes its protagonists. For example, the mass of foliage of the tree illuminated behind Marie makes her figure stand out and extends her perceived stature.
Given that the work was transferred from a panel to canvas, the colors were certainly once more vivid, as in the impression that the painting is a little out of focus. It is more likely due to the result of that intervention than a stylistic choice.
Compared to the analogous '' Madonna and Child with Saints Elizabeth and John the Baptist'' in the Philadelphia Museum of Art that preceded it, the ''Bolognini Madonna'' appears better articulated and more atmospheric, with the Leonardic landscape in the background and the finely decorated pilaster in the foreground. This combination might be a concession by Correggio to the archaeological fantasies of Mantegna and an homage, perhaps, to his decoration of the doors.
Bolognini Madonna
History
It is dated to around 1514–1519, sometime between his ''Madonna and Child with St Francis
''Madonna and Child with St Francis'' or ''Madonna of St Francis'' is a 1514-1515 painting by Correggio, now held in the Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister in Dresden, Germany. It shows Francis of Assisi, with the stigmata, prostrating himself before a ...
'' (1514–1515) and his lost '' Albinea Madonna'' (1517–1519). http://www.correggioarthome.it/SchedaOpera.jsp?idDocumentoArchivio=2487 It has been attributed to Correggio since the late 19th century.
In 1865, the painting was left by Gian Giacomo Attendolo Bolognini (for whom the painting is now named) to the Pinacoteca del Castello Sforzesco
The Pinacoteca del Castello Sforzesco is an art gallery in the museum complex of the Castello Sforzesco in Milan, northern Italy.
History
Inaugurated in 1878, the gallery displays over 230 artworks, which include masterpieces by Titian, Andrea Ma ...
in Milan, where it now hangs. AA.VV., ''La Pinacoteca del Castello Sforzesco a Milano'', Skira, Milano 2005. It is compositionally related to the artist's '' Madonna and Child with the Infant John the Baptist''.
Description and style
In the painting, a room with a pilaster decorated by candelabras in low relief opens onto a distant river landscape, far behind the portrait subject. Seated and at half figure, the Madonna holds the BabyJesus
Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label= Hebrew/ Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religiou ...
in her lap as he plays with a young Saint John the Baptist
John the Baptist or , , or , ;Wetterau, Bruce. ''World history''. New York: Henry Holt and Company. 1994. syc, ܝܘܿܚܲܢܵܢ ܡܲܥܡܕ݂ܵܢܵܐ, Yoḥanān Maʿmḏānā; he, יוחנן המטביל, Yohanān HaMatbil; la, Ioannes Bapti ...
who is handing him a cross—symbol of the future sacrifice of Jesus. The painting represents one of many variants on the theme of the meeting of Saint John and the Baby Jesus, a theme dear to Leonardo da Vince and to his Milanese Leonardeschi
The Leonardeschi were the large group of artists who worked in the studio of, or under the influence of, Leonardo da Vinci. They were artists of Italian Renaissance painting, although his influence extended to many countries within Europe.
As ...
circle. The painting, in fact, is an example of the Leonardic influence on the young Correggio, both in the physical depiction of the Madonna, and in the landscape and the use of sfumato. The sfumato smudging is accentuated by the effects of shadows as in the veil of Marie that, hanging from the side of her head, casts a melancholy shadow over her face.
The painting's atmosphere is pervaded by a subtle disquiet that characterizes many paintings of this subject. Here, that emotion is damped in favor of an affable and sweet scene, where the two children meet, despite some ominous hints. Only the left hand of Marie, that seems suspended between the desire to protect Jesus and the choice to leave him to his destiny, insinuates her foresight.
The net of light that illuminates the low-relief contrast with the humid and vaporous landscape demonstrates the inspirations of the young Correggio. The chromatic texture, that balances reds, yellows, and blue, joins the figures and the landscape yet emphasizes its protagonists. For example, the mass of foliage of the tree illuminated behind Marie makes her figure stand out and extends her perceived stature.
Given that the work was transferred from a panel to canvas, the colors were certainly once more vivid, as in the impression that the painting is a little out of focus. It is more likely due to the result of that intervention than a stylistic choice.
Compared to the analogous '' Madonna and Child with Saints Elizabeth and John the Baptist'' in the Philadelphia Museum of Art that preceded it, the ''Bolognini Madonna'' appears better articulated and more atmospheric, with the Leonardic landscape in the background and the finely decorated pilaster in the foreground. This combination might be a concession by Correggio to the archaeological fantasies of Mantegna and an homage, perhaps, to his decoration of the doors.
References
External links
Bolognini Madonna
Bibliography
* * {{Authority control 1519 paintings Paintings of the Madonna and Child by Correggio Paintings in the Sforza Castle