''Cimabue's Celebrated Madonna'', originally called ''Cimabue's elebratedMadonna sCarried in Procession through the Streets of Florence'', is an

oil painting Oil painting is the process of painting with pigments with a medium of drying oil as the binder. It has been the most common technique for artistic painting on wood panel or canvas for several centuries, spreading from Europe to the rest of ...

by English artist

Frederic Leighton Frederic Leighton, 1st Baron Leighton, (3 December 1830 – 25 January 1896), known as Sir Frederic Leighton between 1878 and 1896, was a British painter, draughtsman, and sculptor. His works depicted historical, biblical, and classical subjec ...

. Measuring more than two metres tall and more than five metres wide, the canvas was painted by Leighton from 1853 to 1855 in Rome as his first major work. Since 1988 the work has been displayed in the

National Gallery, London The National Gallery is an art museum in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, in Central London, England. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of over 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The current Director o ...

, on long-term loan from the

Royal Collection The Royal Collection of the British royal family is the largest private art collection in the world. Spread among 13 occupied and historic royal residences in the United Kingdom, the collection is owned by King Charles III and overseen by the ...

, where it was long hung prominently, high above the main vestibule, directly beyond the entrance to the gallery, but more recently it has been in Room 45. In 2018 it was displayed at the top of the Sainsbury Wing staircase. Leighton House has an

oil sketch An oil sketch or oil study is an artwork made primarily in oil paint in preparation for a larger, finished work. Originally these were created as preparatory studies or modelli, especially so as to gain approval for the design of a larger commissi ...

for the painting, and several preparatory drawings.Public Catalogue Foundation/BBC "Your Paintings" websitewebpage

The Art Fund Art Fund (formerly the National Art Collections Fund) is an independent membership-based British charitable organization, charity, which raises funds to aid the acquisition of artworks for the nation. It gives grants and acts as a channel for man ...

Description

The picture shows a scene from the 16th century

art historian Art history is the study of aesthetic objects and visual expression in historical and stylistic context. Traditionally, the discipline of art history emphasized painting, drawing, sculpture, architecture, ceramics and decorative arts; yet today ...

Giorgio Vasari's description of the 13th century procession of an

altarpiece An altarpiece is an artwork such as a painting, sculpture or relief representing a religious subject made for placing at the back of or behind the altar of a Christian church. Though most commonly used for a single work of art such as a painting o ...

of the Madonna and Child through the streets of

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...

. The Madonna is being carried from the studio of the Florentine artist Cimabue to the church of

Santa Maria Novella Santa Maria Novella is a church in Florence, Italy, situated opposite, and lending its name to, the city's main railway station. Chronologically, it is the first great basilica in Florence, and is the city's principal Dominican church. The chu ...

. Cimabue himself is depicted immediately in front of the Madonna wearing a

laurel wreath A laurel wreath is a round wreath made of connected branches and leaves of the bay laurel (), an aromatic broadleaf evergreen, or later from spineless butcher's broom (''Ruscus hypoglossum'') or cherry laurel (''Prunus laurocerasus''). It is a sy ...

upon his head. He is followed by a group including several leading Florentine artistic figures of the day, including his pupil

Giotto Giotto di Bondone (; – January 8, 1337), known mononymously as Giotto ( , ) and Latinised as Giottus, was an Italian painter and architect from Florence during the Late Middle Ages. He worked during the Gothic/Proto-Renaissance period. Giot ...

, the poet

Dante Alighieri Dante Alighieri (; – 14 September 1321), probably baptized Durante di Alighiero degli Alighieri and often referred to as Dante (, ), was an Italian poet, writer and philosopher. His ''Divine Comedy'', originally called (modern Italian: '' ...

(leaning on the wall at right), the architect

Arnolfo di Cambio Arnolfo di Cambio (c. 1240 – 1300/1310) was an Italian architect and sculptor. He designed Florence Cathedral and the sixth city wall around Florence (1284–1333), while his most important surviving work as a sculptor is the tomb of Cardin ...

, the painters

Gaddo Gaddi Gaddo Gaddi (c. 1239, Florence – c. 1312, Florence) was a painter and mosaicist of Florence in a Gothic art style. Almost no works survive. He was the father of Taddeo Gaddi. He completed mosaics on the facade of Santa Maria Maggiore in Rom ...

, Andrea Tafi,

Buonamico Buffalmacco Buonamico di Martino, otherwise known as Buonamico Buffalmacco (active c. 1315–1336), was an Italian Renaissance painter who worked in Florence, Bologna, and Pisa. Although none of his known work has survived, he is widely assumed to be the ...

and Simone Memmi; the sculptor Nicola Pisano, and on horseback at the right edge of the image, the King of Naples, Charles of Anjou. The Madonna depicted, seen at a very narrow angle in the centre of the painting, is actually not by Cimabue, but instead it is the ''

Rucellai Madonna The ''Rucellai Madonna'' is a panel painting representing the Virgin and Child enthroned with Angels by the Sienese painter Duccio di Buoninsegna. The original contract for the work is dated 1285; the painting was probably delivered in 1286. The ...

'' by Sienese artist Duccio di Buoninsegna. This error is the result of the misattribution of this altarpiece by Vasari which lasted into Leighton's time, an error which was not corrected until 1889 by

Franz Wickhoff Franz Wickhoff (7 May 1853 – 6 April 1909) was an Austrian art historian, and is considered a member of the Vienna School of Art History. Early life Franz Wickhoff was born on 7 May 1853 in Steyr. He studied at the University of Vienna under ...

. Both the ''Rucellai Madonna'' and a similar work that is correctly attributed to Cimabue, the ''

Santa Trinita Maestà The ''Santa Trinita Maestà'' (Italian: ''Maestà di Santa Trinita'') is a panel painting by the Italian medieval artist Cimabue, dating to c. 1290-1300. Originally painted for the church of Santa Trinita, Florence, where it remained until 1471, ...

'', are displayed at the

Uffizi Gallery The Uffizi Gallery (; it, Galleria degli Uffizi, italic=no, ) is a prominent art museum located adjacent to the Piazza della Signoria in the Historic Centre of Florence in the region of Tuscany, Italy. One of the most important Italian museums ...

in Florence. File:Duccio - Maestà - Google Art Project.jpg, The ''Rucellai Madonna'' by Duccio di Buoninsegna File:Leighton's version of Rucellai Madonna.jpg, Detail from Leighton's painting, rectified projection of the Madonna File:Cimabue Trinita Madonna.jpg, The ''Santa Trinita Maestà'' by Cimabue

Reception

The painting was an immediate success for Leighton when he presented it at the 1855 summer exhibition of the

Royal Academy of Arts The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly in London. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its purpo ...

in London where it received near-universal acclaim.

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...

purchased it on the first day of the exhibition for 600 guineas. The National Gallery notes Victoria's diary entry about the painting: "There was a very big picture by a man called Leighton. It is a beautiful painting, quite reminding one of a

Paul Veronese Paolo Caliari (152819 April 1588), known as Paolo Veronese ( , also , ), was an Italian Renaissance painter based in Venice, known for extremely large history paintings of religion and mythology, such as ''The Wedding at Cana'' (1563) and ''The ...

, so bright and full of light.

Albert Albert may refer to: Companies * Albert (supermarket), a supermarket chain in the Czech Republic * Albert Heijn, a supermarket chain in the Netherlands * Albert Market, a street market in The Gambia * Albert Productions, a record label * Albert ...

was enchanted with it—so much so that he made me buy it." The English artist Dante Gabriel Rossetti wrote that the work proved Leighton's "great power of rich arrangement." His brother, the art critic and writer

William Rossetti William Michael Rossetti (25 September 1829 – 5 February 1919) was an English writer and critic. Early life Born in London, Rossetti was a son of immigrant Italian scholar Gabriele Rossetti and his wife Frances Rossetti ''née'' Polidor ...

, was not as enchanted: "His picture has largeness, but not greatness; style, but not intensity; design rather than thought; arrangement rather than conception: it is individual, not specially original."

Notes

References

* * * * * {{Cimabue Paintings by Frederic Leighton 1850s paintings Collections of the National Gallery, London History paintings Religious paintings Horses in art Paintings of children Musical instruments in art Paintings in the Royal Collection of the United Kingdom