The ''Niccolini-Cowper Madonna,'' also known as the ''Large Cowper Madonna,''
is a
painting
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ai ...
by the
Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance language
*** Regional Ita ...
High Renaissance
In art history, the High Renaissance was a short period of the most exceptional artistic production in the Italian states, particularly Rome, capital of the Papal States, and in Florence, during the Italian Renaissance. Most art historians stat ...
artist
Raphael
Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino, better known as Raphael (; or ; March 28 or April 6, 1483April 6, 1520), was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. His work is admired for its clarity of form, ease of composition, and visual a ...
, depicting
Mary
Mary may refer to:
People
* Mary (name), a feminine given name (includes a list of people with the name)
Religious contexts
* New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below
* Mary, mother of Jesus, also calle ...
and
Child, against a blue sky.
The painting
The painting may have been the last of Raphael's
Florentine paintings before he left for Rome. It is more complex than a similar painting the ''
Small Cowper Madonna
The ''Small Cowper Madonna'' is a painting by the Italian High Renaissance artist Raphael, depicting Mary and Child, in a typical Italian countryside. It has been dated to around 1504–1505, the middle of the High Renaissance.
Story
It is not ...
'' of a few years earlier. The
Virgin and Child
In art, a Madonna () is a representation of Mary, either alone or with her child Jesus. These images are central icons for both the Catholic and Orthodox churches. The word is (archaic). The Madonna and Child type is very prevalent ...
fill the canvas, creating an imposing effect. The two are more closely related, both by positioning of their bodies and their intimacy. Raphael may have derived the talent for creating a natural intimacy through
Leonardo da Vinci
Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci (15 April 14522 May 1519) was an Italian polymath of the High Renaissance who was active as a painter, Drawing, draughtsman, engineer, scientist, theorist, sculptor, and architect. While his fame initially res ...
.
The portrayal of the infant's energy is reminiscent of works of
Michelangelo.
The compelling, playful Child reaches for the Madonna's top as if wanting to
nurse
Nursing is a profession within the health care sector focused on the care of individuals, families, and communities so they may attain, maintain, or recover optimal health and quality of life. Nurses may be differentiated from other health c ...
.
Both paintings bear the name of their former owners.
An inscription on the painting, center right on the border of Madonna's bodice: MDVIII.R.V.PIN tells that it was painted in 1508 by Raphael of
Urbino
Urbino ( ; ; Romagnol: ''Urbìn'') is a walled city in the Marche region of Italy, south-west of Pesaro, a World Heritage Site notable for a remarkable historical legacy of independent Renaissance culture, especially under the patronage of F ...
.
Provenance
* In the Niccolini family, Casa Niccolini,
Florence
Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany Regions of Italy, region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilan ...
, from 1677 or earlier to sometime after 1772,
* The artist
Johann Joseph Zoffany (1733–1810) purchased the painting after 1772
* the painting came into the line of the
Earls of Cowper about 1775
** sold first to
George Clavering-Cowper, 3rd Earl Cowper
George Nassau Clavering-Cowper, 3rd Earl Cowper (1738 – 22 December 1789) was an English peer who went on the Grand Tour as a young man, but actually emigrated. Despite becoming a member of parliament and later inheriting lands and the title ...
(d. 1789), Panshanger,
Hertford,
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
, and then subsequent inheritances,
** George Augustus Clavering-Cowper, 4th Earl Cowper (d. 1799), Panshanger
** Peter Leopold Louis Francis Nassau Clavering-Cowper, 5th Earl Cowper (d. 1837), Panshanger
**
George Augustus Frederick Cowper, 6th Earl Cowper
George Augustus Frederick Cowper, 6th Earl Cowper (26 June 1806 – 15 April 1856), styled Viscount Fordwich until 1837, was a British Whig politician. He served briefly as Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs under his uncle Lord Melbo ...
(d. 1856), Panshanger
**
Francis Thomas De Grey Cowper, 7th Earl Cowper and 7th
Baron Lucas
Baron Lucas is a title that has been created twice in the Peerage of England. The second creation is extant and is currently held with the title Lord Dingwall in the Peerage of Scotland.
Barons Lucas (of Shenfield) (1645)
The title Baron Lucas, ...
(d. 1905), Panshanger and
Wrest Park
Wrest Park is a country estate located in Silsoe, Bedfordshire, England. It comprises Wrest Park, a Grade I listed country house, and Wrest Park Gardens, also Grade I listed, formal gardens surrounding the mansion.
History
Thomas Carew (1 ...
,
Bedfordshire
Bedfordshire (; abbreviated Beds) is a ceremonial county in the East of England. The county has been administered by three unitary authorities, Borough of Bedford, Central Bedfordshire and Borough of Luton, since Bedfordshire County Council ...
, England
** Francis' widow, Katrine Cecilia Compton Cowper, Countess Cowper (d. 1913), Panshanger;
** Lady Ethel Grenfell,
Baroness Desborough, granddaughter of the 6th Earl, Panshanger
* sold for $875,000 in 1928 to
Duveen Brothers
Henry Joseph Duveen (26 October 1854Bierman, Stanley M. ''The World's Greatest Stamp Collectors''. New York: Frederick Fell Publishers Inc., 1981, p. 90. – 15 January 1919) was an art dealer who co-founded the firm of Duveen Brothers with his ...
,
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
,
New York, and
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...
, who purchased ''The Small Cowper Madonna'' from Lady Ethel Grenfall of Desborough in 1913.
* sold for $1,166,000 in November 1928 to
Andrew W. Mellon
Andrew William Mellon (; March 24, 1855 – August 26, 1937), sometimes A. W. Mellon, was an American banker, businessman, industrialist, philanthropist, art collector, and politician. From the wealthy Mellon family of Pittsburgh, Pennsylv ...
,
Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsylva ...
and
Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
(1855–1937)
* deeded 30 December 1930 to
The A.W. Mellon Educational and Charitable Trust, Pittsburgh
* gifted in 1937 to the
National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC
Story
Cowper's art collection absorbed a great deal of his time and money. His most notable possessions are probably the two Cowper Madonna paintings
Raphael
Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino, better known as Raphael (; or ; March 28 or April 6, 1483April 6, 1520), was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. His work is admired for its clarity of form, ease of composition, and visual a ...
: ''
Small Cowper Madonna
The ''Small Cowper Madonna'' is a painting by the Italian High Renaissance artist Raphael, depicting Mary and Child, in a typical Italian countryside. It has been dated to around 1504–1505, the middle of the High Renaissance.
Story
It is not ...
'' and this painting, the ''Niccolini-Cowper Madonna''. ''
Tribuna of the Uffizi'' shows Cowper looking at the ''Niccolini-Cowper Madonna'' painting as it is offered by
Johann Zoffany. Zoffany had purchased the painting from the Niccolini family in 1782 and sold it to Cowper in 1785.
See also
*
List of paintings by Raphael
The following is a list of paintings by Italian Renaissance painter Raphael. Together with Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci he forms the traditional trinity of great masters of that period. He was enormously prolific, despite his early death at ...
References
External links
The ''Niccolini-Cowper Madonna''*
{{Raphael
Paintings of the Madonna and Child by Raphael
1508 paintings
Collections of the National Gallery of Art
Nude art