Altarpiece in the Chapel of the Immaculate Conception

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Altarpiece in the Chapel of the Immaculate Conception
Schema retable Immaculee Conception.png
Proposal for reconstruction of the altarpiece
Artist
  • Giacomo del Maino (structure)
  • Evangelista de Predis (painting and gilding of the structure)
  • Leonardo da Vinci and Giovanni Ambrogio (creation of the painted panels)
Completion date1208
ConditionAltarpiece dismantled in 1806
Location Milan

The altarpiece in the Chapel of the Immaculate Conception in the Church of San Francesco Grande (Italian : Chiesa di San Francesco Grande, destroyed 1806), Milan, was an altarpiece built between 1480 and 1482, decorated between 1483 and 1508, and dismantled in the early 19th century.

Contents

Dedicated to the Immaculate Conception, it was displayed throughout its life in the chapel of the Church of San Francesco Grande.

Built by woodcarver Giacomo del Maino  [ fr ], it is most famous for featuring Leonardo da Vinci's painting the Virgin of the Rocks, now in London's National Gallery. It also includes two side panels, the Angel musicians, painted by Francesco Napoletano  [ fr ] and Giovanni Ambrogio de Predis. The gilding and painting of its structure and sculpted parts were entrusted to the latter's brother, Evangelista.

Although Leonardo's painting is famous, its appearance is still the subject of debate among art historians, especially as it may have undergone changes over the centuries as it was moved around the church, restored and pieces removed or sold.

Subject

The theme of the altarpiece is the Immaculate Conception. [1]

Official Catholic dogma states that Mary, receiving in anticipation the fruits of the resurrection of her son Jesus, was conceived free of original sin: she was not corrupted by the initial fault that has since given every human being a tendency to commit evil. At the time of the altarpiece's creation, this dogma was still recent and controversial: it had only been accepted by the Catholic Church since 1470, and was so hotly debated that the Papacy did not officially proclaim it until 1854. [2]

History of the

Sponsorship

The Virgin of the Rocks by Leonardo da Vinci at the National Gallery, London Leonardo da Vinci Virgin of the Rocks (National Gallery London).jpg
The Virgin of the Rocks by Leonardo da Vinci at the National Gallery, London

The work's patron is clearly identified: the Immaculate Conception Brotherhood, a lay confraternity in Milan, attached to the church of San Francesco Maggiore (Italian : San Fransesco Grande). [3]

The brotherhood is richly endowed, since its members belong to the local aristocracy. [4] As its name suggests, the church was founded Francis of Assisi, in 1210, a member of the Franciscans. A few years before the altarpiece was created, a chapel dedicated to the Virgin Mary and in particular to the Immaculate Conception was erected within it. [5] It was built on a plot of land close to the atrium, against the chapel of St. John the Evangelist, on the way to Via Santa Valeria and Via San Ambrogio. [6] The altarpiece was obviously installed at the very end of this construction, after the frescos decorating the vault [7] had been created. Finally, it was designed according to the project drawn up by Prior Giacomo and three other scholars of the brotherhood. The arbitrator chosen to judge its quality was Giovanni Antonio Amadeo. [8]

Allocations

Art historians are unanimous in attributing the various parts of the altarpiece to the artists involved in its creation.

The structure is the work of woodcarver Giacomo del Maino (before 1469 - 1503 or 1505). He owned a woodcarving workshop, and is known to have carved elements in the choir of the Basilica of Sant'Ambrogio as early as 1469, in collaboration with Lorenzo da Origgio and Giacomo da Torre. Between 1491 and 1505, in the church of San Maurizio del Ponte, he created another altarpiece dedicated to the same dogma, albeit on a smaller scale. [9] [10]

Evangelis de Predis was responsible for the gilding and painting of the sculpted and bas-relief parts of the structure. [11] The central panel is the London version of the Virgin of the Rocks, created jointly by Giovanni Ambrogio de Predis, Leonardo da Vinci and certainly his workshop. [12]

As for the panels of the Angel musicians, they were created between 1495 and 1499 by Giovanni Ambrogio de Predis and Francesco Napoletano, almost certainly under the supervision of Leonardo da Vinci. [13]

Chronology of the altarpiece's creation

Giacomo del Maino, Entombment, between 1450 and 1475, at Castello Sforzesco, Milan Giacomo del maino (attr.), deposizione nel sepolcro, 1450-75 ca.JPG
Giacomo del Maino, Entombment, between 1450 and 1475, at Castello Sforzesco, Milan

The Altarpiece of the Immaculate Conception was built on the basis of two successive commissions: the assembly of a wooden structure comprising sculptures and bas-relief; and the painting and gilding of the latter, as well as the creation of painted panels to be placed side by side to form a polyptych.

On April 8, 1480, the wooden structure [8] was commissioned from the sculptor Giacomo del Maino. The contractual delivery date was September 29, 1480, [8] on the occasion of Michaelmas Day. [9] On July 28, 1482, the brotherhood received a necklace from a certain Innocenzo Della Croce, intended to "adorn the neck of the Virgin in progress". [14] On August 7, 1482, the Brotherhood signed a receipt for the altarpiece structure, which scholars describe as "monumental". [14] On November 22 of the same year, the statue of the Virgin [15] was delivered, which del Maino seems to have completed as early as July, and for which he asked for no payment. [14]

On April 25, 1483, a notarized contract was signed between the Brotherhood and Leonardo da Vinci and the Predis brothers for the gilding and painting of the sculpted parts of the altarpiece, as well as three painted panels - the central panel, later known as the Virgin of the Rocks, and the two side panels of the Angels musicians. [8] The contractual delivery date for the three panels stipulates "December 8", with no further details. [16] Researchers generally agree on the year 1483. [8] However, art historian Frank Zöllner pushes this date back to December 1484. [15] In fact, the painting of La Vierge aux rochers would have been completely finished in early 1485, [17] [18] or even in 1486. [15] However, after the painting was rejected by the brotherhood, Leonardo da Vinci and Ambrogio de Predis sold it to a third party - perhaps Ludovico Sforza (Ludovico el Moro) - around 1493, with the commissioner's agreement. This is the painting now in the Louvre. [19]

A possible early version of Les Anges musiciens, now lost, may have suffered a similar fate. [20] Between 1490 and 1499, and again between 1506 and 1508, the London version of La Vierge aux rochers was produced jointly by Giovanni Ambrogio de Predis, Leonardo da Vinci and probably his workshop [12] while the panels of the Angels musicians were produced between 1495 and 1499 by Giovanni Ambrogio de Predis and Francesco Napoletano. [13] On April 4, 1506, arbitrators declared that the panel of the Virgin of the Rocks had not been completed, [21] and it was not until October 23, 1508 that the Confraternity of the Immaculate Conception signed a receipt for it. [8] The altarpiece of the Immaculate Conception was therefore completed at this date.

However, between 1576 and 1579, the altarpiece may have been rearranged after its relocation within the church: from a position in the upper register, the two panels of the Angel musicians may have been moved to frame the panel of the Virgin of the Rocks. [22]

Francesco Napoletano's Angel musician in green playing the vielle, between 1495 and 1500, National Gallery, London Leonardesco, forse ambrogio de predis, angelo di sx della vergine delle rocce di londra.jpg
Francesco Napoletano's Angel musician in green playing the vielle, between 1495 and 1500, National Gallery, London
Angel musician in red by Giovanni Ambrogio de Predis, playing the lute, between 1495 and 1500, National Gallery, London Ambrogio de predis, angelo di dx della vergine delle rocce di londra.jpg
Angel musician in red by Giovanni Ambrogio de Predis, playing the lute, between 1495 and 1500, National Gallery, London

Financial aspects

Portrait of Ludovico Sforza, also called Ludovico il Moro (the Moor) in the Pala Sforzesca , 1494-1495 (Pinacoteca di Brera in Milan) Pala Sforzesca - detail 01.jpg
Portrait of Ludovico Sforza, also called Ludovico il Moro (the Moor) in the Pala Sforzesca, 1494–1495 (Pinacoteca di Brera in Milan)

This fraternity of aristocrats may be wealthy, [4] but they are no less stingy with their means. [23]

The total amount promised to the sculptor Giacomo del Maino was 710 lire. By August 7, 1482, del Maino, who had already received 490 lire, was struggling to receive the remainder. The situation necessitated the intervention of arbitrators from the Franciscan monastery: del Maino finally obtained his due, but with the obligation to place a votive object, today undetermined, in front of the image of the Virgin. [6]

The contract between the Confraternity and the painters (Leonardo da Vinci and the Predis brothers) specifies the latter's remuneration. The sum allocated to them totaled 800 lire, covering not only their salaries but also the purchase of materials and, in particular, gold at a fixed price. A deposit of 100 lire was paid immediately, followed by monthly payments of 40 lire until the end of December 1484. Finally, a promise was made to pay an additional sum on completion of the work, to be decided by the friar Agostino Ferrari, who acted as expert on the occasion: it was this sum that formed the basis of a conflict destined to last twenty-five years between the commissioning parties and the artists. [15] The artists argued that the 800 lire would barely cover the cost of the altarpiece, [24] and asked for an additional 400 lire, in opposition to the 100 lire proposed by the confraternity. [18] In the end, the artists rejected the mediation of the commissioned "common friend" on the grounds that he had no understanding of art - or, as they put it in a letter to Ludovico Sforza, also called Ludovico il Moro (the Moor), "a blind man cannot judge colors" and was therefore unable to assess the value of the works in question. [25] However, this mediation is contractual, and the mediator has the power to settle any problems relating to the interpretation or performance of the contract, as well as to order the party he deems to be in default to pay penalties to the other party.

In the end, it was certainly the personal intervention of Ludovico Sforza, through the intermediary of certain jurists who were members of his council of justice, that resolved the dispute: he bought back the first version of the work, although we don't really know whether his action went beyond that. [6]

Possible appearance of the altarpiece

The order of April 25, 1483

The 1483 contract by which the brotherhood hired Vinci and the Predis brothers for the painted panels is interesting in that it describes the structure already built. [18]

"List of ornaments for the altarpiece of the Immaculate Conception of the Glorious Virgin Mary in the Church of San Francesco Grande, Milan:

1503-1576: the Hannelore Glasser hypothesis

In the 2000s, based on Hannelore Glasser's [27] doctoral thesis, art historians Rachel Billinge, Luke Syson and Marika Spring put forward a hypothesis that is far from unanimous among scholars: initially and until 1576, the two panels of the Angel musicians would have been above Leonardo da Vinci's, i.e. in the upper register, with the Virgin of the Rocks occupying the central register. This is based on the fact that the list in the commission contract for the painted panels describes the altarpiece from top to bottom: [9] the two paintings of the Angel musicians are mentioned before what appears to be the votive statue of the Virgin and before the Leonardo da Vinci painting. [26] This initial arrangement would explain the disharmony of the initial colors. [28] of the Angel musicians' backgrounds and, according to Luke Syson, their " poor quality ". [9]

1579-late 18th century: appearance as traditionally described

Design of the altarpiece based on hypotheses by Carlo Pedretti, Malaguzzi-Valeri, Frank Zollner and Gerolamo Biscaro, according to the commission contract. Blue: Figures in bas-relief Yellow: Altarpiece support structure 1. Panel of the Virgin of the Rocks 2. Side panels depicting the Angel musicians 3. Scenes from the life of the Virgin 4. Scenes from the life of the Virgin 5. Unknown 6. The Virgin with a glory of angels 7. Representation of God the Father with a glory of seraphim Schema de reconstitution du retable de la Vierge aux rochers.png
Design of the altarpiece based on hypotheses by Carlo Pedretti, Malaguzzi-Valeri, Frank Zöllner and Gerolamo Biscaro, according to the commission contract.
  • Blue: Figures in bas-relief
  • Yellow: Altarpiece support structure
  • 1. Panel of the Virgin of the Rocks
  • 2. Side panels depicting the Angel musicians
  • 3. Scenes from the life of the Virgin
  • 4. Scenes from the life of the Virgin
  • 5. Unknown
  • 6. The Virgin with a glory of angels
  • 7. Representation of God the Father with a glory of seraphim

In 1576, when the chapel of the Immaculate Conception was destroyed, the altarpiece was moved to another chapel in the church, where it would be installed for a longer period of time, taking on the name of the "Immaculate Conception". On this occasion, it may be restructured to adopt the form that art historians have since described. [22] Nevertheless, this need for restructuring remains largely conjectural, since the hypothesis of a different structural scheme for the altarpiece prior to 1576 remains very much in the minority among researchers. [1] [29] [6] What's more, the list of requests made in the contract does indeed use the term "laterals": "Idem, on the side panels, four angels of different aspects, etc.". [26] In any case, a testimony from 1671 describes the altarpiece with the panel of La Vierge aux rochers framed by the panels of the Angel musicians: [22] the panel on the left is the Angel musician in green playing the vielle, and the panel on the right is the Angel musician in red playing the lute. [30]

The commission contract dated April 25, 1483 is an excellent means of obtaining a somewhat accurate picture of the now lost altarpiece. Overall, it consisted of bas-reliefs, sculptures, including the statue of the Virgin Mary, and painted panels. [8] Contrary to what the modern viewer might imagine, influenced by the fame of the painting Virgin of the Rocks and its creator Leonardo da Vinci, it is indeed the votive statue of the Virgin created by del Maino that constitutes for the contemporary viewer the point around which the altarpiece is built. [9]

The cymatium

The content of the cymatium - the highest part of the altarpiece - is, thanks to a reading of the contract, unanimously recognized: it features a sculpture of God the Father surrounded by angels and seraphim. [9] [1] [31]

Surprisingly, the contract goes on to mention "mountains and rocks", without researchers knowing exactly where to situate them. [9]

The upper register

The altarpiece features a statue of the Virgin Mary created by del Maino, wearing a garment painted to imitate "gold and ultramarine brocade". [14] Researchers disagree, however, as to its place on the piece: either in the upper register, i.e. above the panel of the Virgin of the Rocks, for some, or hidden by the latter, [3] i.e. in the lower register, for others. [1] Also visible is a necklace offered by a donor, [3] made up of fourteen solid fine gold flowers adorned with as many pearls and, between each flower, a letter, the whole of which most probably makes up the name "Maria Immacolata". [31] Its location is also uncertain: around the statue's neck, [1] or directly on the painting. In the 1990s, scientific imaging enabled Pietro C. Marani to detect a clue in Leonardo da Vinci's painting corroborating the latter hypothesis: two holes on either side of the Virgin's neck, filled in with plaster and repainted. [19]

The lower register: the Virgin of the Rocks and the musician angels

The altarpiece features a central panel painted by Leonardo da Vinci entitled the Virgin of the Rocks. This is the second version of the painting, preserved in London, and the only one actually displayed in the altarpiece. Many art historians speculate that this painting was in fact a removable panel designed to conceal the votive statue of the Virgin sculpted by del Maino and intended to be unveiled every December 8, the feast of the Immaculate Conception. [1] According to Costantino D'Orazio, this possible mechanism denotes "a futuristic work, like the mobile altarpieces that were particularly fashionable in the 17th century". [32] However, Pietro C. Marani points out that the panel of La Vierge aux rochers conserved in London shows no trace of a hinge or hanging system that could confirm this hypothesis. [14]

Two panels were intended to accompany it, the Angel musicians, for which Giovanni Ambrogio de Predis. [5] was contractually responsible. From then on, the three panels were hung together to form a polyptych. The vast majority of scholars agree that these two paintings frame the Virgin of the Rocks as early as the altarpiece's creation. [29] [16] [33] [6] In the two triangular sections above the arch of Leonardo's painting appear images of sibyls, prophetesses, symbols of the expectation of gentiles who had glimpsed Christ. [9]

Lateral pilasters

Gerolamo Biscaro is the only researcher to mention them, pointing out the presence of lateral pilasters depicting sculpted scenes from the life of the Virgin Mary. [6]

The predella

The predella - the lowest part of the altarpiece - is made up of sculpted, painted and gilded panels depicting scenes in relief from the life of the Virgin Mary. [6] [1] One of these could have depicted Jesus in a crib. [9]

Location in the church of Saint-François-Majeur

Saint-Francois-Majeur Church: the altarpiece, originally located in the chapel Chiesa di San Francesco Grande.svg
Saint-François-Majeur Church: the altarpiece, originally located in the chapel

At the time of reception

From 1503 onward, the altarpiece can be considered almost complete: only the painting of the Virgin of the Rocks remains unfinished, until 1508, when the brotherhood can sign the certificate of receipt marking the completion of the whole. [3] The altarpiece stands in the Chapel of the Immaculate Conception, near the atrium. [20]

Movements inside the church and modifications

The chapel of the Immaculate Conception was destroyed in 1576, and in 1579 the altarpiece was moved to the chapel of Saint-Jean-Baptiste, not far from the choir. This chapel was then renamed the "Chapel of the Immaculate Conception". [20]

On this occasion, the altarpiece was dismantled and restructured, [22] as evidenced by the saw marks on the two panels of the Angel musicians, indicating that their dimensions had been altered. [34] Similarly, the background colors underwent profound changes: the Angel musician in green, playing the vielle, featured a background dominated by green and a landscape of green and blue, while the Angel musician in red, playing the lute, featured a reddish niche, certainly imitating stone. [35] However, the backgrounds were repainted in gray, probably with the aim of standardizing the colors. [28]

In 1671, a witness describes the altarpiece with the panel of La Vierge aux rochers framed by those of the Angels musicians. [22] This description is confirmed by another account dating from 1716: "On the sides, it has two isolated chapels dedicated to the Conception of the Blessed Virgin devoid of any original fault, here we see a painted picture by Leonardo da Vinci with two lateral angels". [36]

In 1781, an inventory of the furnishings in the chapel of the Immaculate Conception was drawn up, providing a brief description of the altarpiece. As the altarpiece shows significant differences in color and form from the contract specifications, it is possible to assume that restoration work had been carried out in previous centuries: the flesh tones of the faces and exposed parts of the bodies were replaced by a uniform bronze color; the size of the altarpiece was reduced, certainly by removing decomposed parts of the wood, notably by eliminating its upper half. [6]

A dismantled altarpiece

In 1781, the three paintings making up the altarpiece of the Immaculate Conception were separated: the Virgin of the Rocks was sold to an English collector. An account dating from 1798 indicates that the Angel musicians, still in their place in the altarpiece, frame the void left by Leonardo da Vinci's painting. [22] [20] As for the panels of the musician angels, they were sequestered in the "Fonds de la religion de la République Cisalpine (Italian : Fondo di religione della Republica Cisalpina) after the creation of the Cisalpine Republic by General Bonaparte [20] and they were then sold in 1802 to an Italian art collector, Giacomo Melzi. [22] Finally, in 1806, the Church of St. Francis Maggiore (basilica vetus), deemed dilapidated and dangerous, was demolished, and since then, the structure of the altarpiece and the statue of the Madonna sculpted by del Maino have been considered lost. [37]

Analysis

Marco Palmezzano, Immaculate Conception with God the Father and Saints Anselm, Augustine, and Stephen and, on the picture rail, The Resurrection, 1509, Forli, Abbey of Saint Mercuriale Marco palmezzano, immacolata coi ss. agostino, anselmo e stefano, e lunetta con resurrezione, 1509, 01,0.jpg
Marco Palmezzano, Immaculate Conception with God the Father and Saints Anselm, Augustine, and Stephen and, on the picture rail, The Resurrection , 1509, Forlì, Abbey of Saint Mercuriale
Pala de ll'Imacolata Concezione by Giorgio Vasari, 1543, Museum of Medieval and Modern Art, Arezzo Giorgio vasari, pala dell'immacolata concezione, 1543, da s. pier cigoli, lucca 01.JPG
Pala de ll'Imacolata Concezione by Giorgio Vasari, 1543, Museum of Medieval and Modern Art, Arezzo

Colors and setting

The altarpiece, painted and gilded by Evangelis de Predis, is polychrome. [11]

Nevertheless, two colors dominate the whole:Marian blue, and gold. It therefore appears that Leonardo da Vinci took this into account when he created the National Gallery's version of the Virgin of the Rocks, which is also dominated by blue. [9] What's more, he proceeded by contrasting light and shade: whereas the Louvre version featured warm skin tones against a cool background, the London version features cool skin tones [38] against a warm background, giving the colors "the edge of moonlight". [39]

The altarpiece's environment also needs to be taken into account: it is exhibited in a chapel, which can be imagined as quite dark, lit by candles, and which can be seen as an extension of the cavernous decor offered by the work's sculpted parts and Leonardo da Vinci's panel. [40]

The theme of the Immaculate Conception

The Immaculate Conception is a relatively late dogma in the Catholic Church, developed in particular in the writings of Duns Scotus (John Duns Scotus, c. 1266 - 1308), a Scottish theologian and Franciscan friar. [41] This dogma was opposed to the Dominican view that Mary was purified only in the womb of her mother Anne, after conception, and that the Franciscans' idea was heretical. [37] At the time of the altarpiece's creation, there was little or no artistic representation of the doctrine and, in any case, it was not yet the subject of established and stable artistic conventions: [42] it is therefore possible to consider the altarpiece a precursory work in the field. In fact, it could be the result of a composite assemblage of theological writings, representations of other dogmas linked to the Virgin (the Annunciation or the Assumption of Mary, for example) and Christian symbols that were fixed or in the process of being established. [43] Thus, the figures of sibyls and Christian prophets, visible on the void left by the top of the painting's arch, are beginning to establish themselves in contemporary painting specifically dedicated to the Immaculate Conception, notably in Tuscany. [43]

This may explain why, in the first version of the Virgin of the Rocks, Leonardo da Vinci took the liberty of drawing inspiration from a Gnostic and Christian mystical work entitled the Apocalypsis nova (preserved in the Biblioteca Ambrosiana in Milan), authored by Amadeus of Portugal (born João de Menezes da Silva, c.1420-1482 ) - a Portuguese Catholic religious reformer of the Franciscan order who ministered in Milan - who affirms the primacy of the figures of Mary and John the Baptist in the mystery of the Immaculate Conception. Nevertheless, Leonardo's proposal was deemed heterodox by the brotherhood, who rejected it and asked for a second one. [44]

Finally, the study of the Virgin of the Rocks as a representation of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception can be problematic. Indeed, this idea is not evident in the painting, which is more concerned with the meeting between the Holy Family and John's family during the flight to Egypt, at the time of the massacre of the Innocents: it should be considered that it is indeed the statue of the Virgin created by Giacomo del Maino that bears this idea. [24]

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Zöllner (2017 , p. 93)
  2. ↑ Bramly (2019 , p. 268)
  3. 1 2 3 4 Keith et al. (2011 , p. 32)
  4. 1 2 Bramly (2019 , p. 272)
  5. 1 2 Zöllner (2017 , p. 92)
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Biscaro (1910)
  7. ↑ Bramly (2019 , p. 267)
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Marani & Villata (1999 , p. 127)
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Syson & Keith (2011 , p. 168)
  10. ↑ "Chiesa di S. Maurizio, Piazza Luini - Ponte in Valtellina (SO) – Architetture – Lombardia Beni Culturali". www.lombardiabeniculturali.it. Retrieved February 9, 2024.
  11. 1 2 Nicholl (2006 , p. 240)
  12. 1 2 Nicholl (2006 , p. 242)
  13. 1 2 Syson & Keith (2011 , p. 174)
  14. 1 2 3 4 5 Marani & Villata (1999 , p. 128)
  15. 1 2 3 4 Zöllner (2017 , p. 356)
  16. 1 2 Zöllner (2017 , p. 111)
  17. ↑ Pedretti & Taglialagamba (2017 , pp. 23 and 240)
  18. 1 2 3 Nicholl (2006 , p. 241)
  19. 1 2 Marani & Villata (1999 , p. 142)
  20. 1 2 3 4 5 Marani & Villata (1999 , p. 133)
  21. ↑ Marani & Villata (1999 , p. 134)
  22. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Billinge, Syson & Spring (2011 , p. 60)
  23. ↑ Nicholl (2006 , p. 501)
  24. 1 2 Zöllner (2017 , p. 357)
  25. ↑ Blatt (2018 , p. 38)
  26. 1 2 3 Zöllner (2017 , p. 112)
  27. ↑ Glasser, Hannelore (1977). Artists' Contracts of the Early Renaissance [" Les contrats d'artistes de la haute Renaissance "] (Thèse de doctorat). New York: Garland Pub. p. 417. ISBN   9780824026943. OCLC   644932802.
  28. 1 2 Billinge, Syson & Spring (2011 , p. 74)
  29. 1 2 Pedretti & Taglialagamba (2017 , p. 204)
  30. ↑ Bonoldi (2015 , p. 48)
  31. 1 2 Marani & Villata (1999 , p. 129)
  32. ↑ D'Orazio (2019 , p. 63)
  33. ↑ Zöllner (2017 , pp. 93, 111 and 355)
  34. ↑ Billinge, Syson & Spring (2011 , p. 61)
  35. ↑ Billinge, Syson & Spring (2011 , p. 57)
  36. ↑ Calderini, Aristide (1940). Tiene ne i lati due isolate cappelle dedicate d'una alla Beata Vergine concetta senza colpa di macchia originale, tenendo sua tavola colorita, si vede, da Leonardo da Vinci, con due angioli laterali (in Italian). Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore. pp. 213–214.
  37. 1 2 Angela (2018 , p. 142)
  38. ↑ Angela (2018 , p. 144)
  39. ↑ Nicholl (2006 , pp. 240–241)
  40. ↑ Blatt (2018 , p. 6)
  41. ↑ Syson & Keith (2011 , p. 161)
  42. ↑ Blatt (2018 , p. 1)
  43. 1 2 Syson & Keith (2011 , p. 169)
  44. ↑ Marani & Villata (1999 , p. 138)

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<i>Lady with an Ermine</i> Painting by Leonardo da Vinci, 1489–1491

The Lady with an Ermine is a portrait painting by the Italian Renaissance artist Leonardo da Vinci. Dated to c. 1489–1491, the work is painted in oils on a panel of walnut wood. Its subject is Cecilia Gallerani, a mistress of Ludovico Sforza, Duke of Milan; Leonardo was painter to the Sforza court in Milan at the time of its execution. It is the second of only four surviving portraits of women painted by Leonardo, the others being Ginevra de' Benci, La Belle Ferronnière and the Mona Lisa.

<i>Portrait of a Musician</i> Unfinished painting by Leonardo da Vinci (1483–1487)

The Portrait of a Musician is an unfinished painting by the Italian Renaissance artist Leonardo da Vinci, dated to c. 1483–1487. Produced while Leonardo was in Milan, the work is painted in oils, and perhaps tempera, on a small panel of walnut wood. It is his only known male portrait painting, and the identity of its sitter has been closely debated among scholars.

<i>Isleworth Mona Lisa</i> Copy or earlier version of the Mona Lisa

The Isleworth Mona Lisa is an early 16th-century oil on canvas painting depicting the same subject as Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa, though with the subject depicted as being a younger age. The painting is thought to have been brought from Italy to England in the 1780s, and came into public view in 1913 when the English connoisseur Hugh Blaker acquired it from a manor house in Somerset, where it was thought to have been hanging for over a century. The painting would eventually adopt its unofficial name of Isleworth Mona Lisa from Blaker's studio being in Isleworth, West London. Since the 1910s, experts in various fields, as well as the collectors who have acquired ownership of the painting, have asserted that the major elements of the painting are the work of Leonardo himself, as an earlier version of the Mona Lisa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Giovanni Antonio Boltraffio</span> Italian painter (1467–1516)

Giovanni Antonio Boltraffio was an Italian painter of the High Renaissance from Lombardy, who worked in the studio of Leonardo da Vinci. Boltraffio and Bernardino Luini are the strongest artistic personalities to emerge from Leonardo's studio. According to Giorgio Vasari, he was of an aristocratic family and was born in Milan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Giovanni Ambrogio de Predis</span> Italian painter

Giovanni Ambrogio de Predis was an Italian Renaissance painter, illuminator and designer of coins active in Milan. Ambrogio gained a reputation as a portraitist, including as a painter of miniatures, at the court of Ludovico Sforza.

<i>Saint Jerome in the Wilderness</i> (Leonardo) Unfinished painting by Leonardo da Vinci

Saint Jerome in the Wilderness is an unfinished painting by the Italian Renaissance artist Leonardo da Vinci, dated c. 1480–1490. A recent study linked to the Lady with an Ermine carried out by Leonardo da Vinci at the same time supports this hypothesis. The composition of the painting has been drafted in monochrome onto the primed wooden panel. At an unknown date after Leonardo's death, the panel was cut into five pieces before eventually being restored into its original form.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bernardino de' Conti</span> Italian painter (1465–1525)

Bernardino de 'Conti was an Italian Renaissance painter, born in 1465 in Castelseprio and died around 1525.

<i>La Scapigliata</i> Painting by Leonardo da Vinci

La Scapigliata is an unfinished painting generally attributed to the Italian High Renaissance artist Leonardo da Vinci, and dated c. 1506–1508. Painted in oil, umber, and white lead pigments on a small poplar wood panel, its attribution remains controversial, with several experts attributing the work to a pupil of Leonardo. The painting has been admired for its captivating beauty, mysterious demeanor, and mastery of sfumato.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leonardeschi</span> Group of artists who worked under the influence of Leonardo da Vinci

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.

Luke Syson is an English museum curator and art historian. Since 2019, he has been the director of the Fitzwilliam Museum at the University of Cambridge, prior to which he held positions at the British Museum (1991–2002), the Victoria and Albert Museum (2002–2003), the National Gallery (2003–2012) and the Metropolitan Museum of Art (2015–2019). In 2011 he curated the acclaimed Leonardo da Vinci exhibition at the National Gallery: Leonardo da Vinci: Painter at the Court of Milan, which included his pivotal role in the controversial authentication by the National Gallery of da Vinci's Salvator Mundi.

Pietro Cesare Marani is an Italian art historian and curator. He is among the leading authorities on the life and works of Leonardo da Vinci having written of over 200 publications on the artist. These include book-length studies on the Portrait of a Musician and The Last Supper, an overview on Leonardo's time in Venice, and one of the two modern catalogue raisonné of Leonardo's works, the other being by Frank Zöllner.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">San Francesco Grande</span> Demolished church in Milan

The Church of San Francesco Grande was an ancient church in Milan built in the 4th century and demolished in 1806. It was originally called Basilica di San Nabore after the saint whose remains it houses, but from the 13th century onwards, as the adjoining Franciscan monastery took possession of the monument, it took its new name from Francis of Assisi, founder of the order.

<i>The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne</i> (cartoon) Lost cartoon by Leonardo da Vinci

The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne is a cartoon said to have been created by Leonardo da Vinci as part of his "Virgin and Child with Saint Anne" project, and now considered lost. It is known from a letter written on April 3, 1501, by Fra Pietro Novellara, Isabella d'Este's envoy to the painter. For this reason, it is sometimes referred to as "Fra Pietro's cartoon". Although still hypothetical, its existence seems to be confirmed by paintings by Raffaello and Andrea del Brescianino that are said to have been made from it, as well as by various pencil studies.

<i>Angel musicians</i> (National Gallery) Panels for the Virgin of the Rocks

The Angel musicians are two paintings created in the late 15th century to frame Leonardo da Vinci's Virgin of the Rocks. Their purpose was to decorate the side panels of the Altarpiece in the Chapel of the Immaculate Conception, created to decorate a chapel in the Church of San Francesco Grande in Milan. Separated from their original altarpiece at the very end of the 18th century, they have been in the National Gallery in London since 1898.

<i>Tête denfant de trois quarts à droite</i> Drawing by Leonardo da Vinci

The Tête d'enfant de trois quarts à droite is a silverpoint drawing on paper by the Florentine painter Leonardo da Vinci. It belongs to the Codex Vallardi and is preserved at the Department of Graphic Arts of the Louvre Museum in Paris.

References

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