Fidelity
c. 1485
Francesco di Giorgio Martini (Italian, 1439-1501/02)
On View

A painter, sculptor, architect and military engineer, Francesco di Giorgio typified the ideal of the Renaissance man. As the outstanding artistic personality in Siena during the first half of the fifteenth century, he chose a style that combined the refined elegance of the Sienese tradition with the most forward-looking innovations of the Florentine school.

This fresco, transferred to canvas, exemplifies a popular interior decoration of the Renaissance: the cycle of famous persons and the allegorical personifications of the virtues. Here, Faith is identified by the collared dog ("fidelitas") on which she stands, a symbol of fidelity. The pair exchange a devoted glance as Faith points heavenward with her right hand and to the dog with her left. This image implies that the trust and loyalty shared between a master and servant also exists between God and the devout.

Details

  • Artist Name: Francesco di Giorgio Martini (Italian, 1439-1501/02)
  • Title: Fidelity
  • Date: c. 1485
  • Medium: Fresco transferred to canvas, mounted on wood panel
  • Dimensions: 49-1/2 x 29-3/4 in. (125.7 x 75.6 cm)
  • Credit Line: The Norton Simon Foundation
  • Accession Number: F.1965.1.022.P
  • Copyright: © The Norton Simon Foundation

Object Information

Maurice Leclanché, Paris (sale, Paris, Galerie Georges Petit, 23-25 May 1892, lot 47, ill., as Ecole Florentine, Figure allégorique de la Fidélité, to);
Georges Chalandon, Paris, still in 1905.
R. Langton Douglas, London (1864-1951).
Otto H. Kahn, New York (d. 1924);
Mogmar Art Foundation, New York, sold 6 September 1949 to;
[Duveen Bros., New York, orig. stock no. 12764, stock no. 30093, sold 1965 to];
The Norton Simon Foundation.

Fourteenth and Fifteenth Century Frescoes

  • New York, Duveen Brothers, 1958 to

Prima Mostra mercato internazionale dell'antiquariato

  • Florence, Palazzo Strozzi, 1959-09-12 to 1959-10-11

Major Masters of the Renaissance

  • Rose Art Museum, 1963-05-03 to 1963-06-09

[on loan]

  • New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1966 to 1969

[on loan]

  • Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1969 to 1973

[on loan]

  • Detroit Institute of Arts, 1974-11-08 to

Art of Tuscany: Exhibition of Painting and Sculpture

  • New York, Duveen Galleries, 1963-11 to 1963-12

[on loan]

  • Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1965 to

Lock, Stock and Barrel: Norton Simon's Purchase of Duveen Brothers Gallery

  • Norton Simon Museum, 2014-10-24 to 2015-02-16
  • Migeon, Gaston, Les Arts, p. 28
  • Masterpieces from the Norton Simon Museum, p. 18
  • Marani, Pietro C., The Burlington Magazine, pp. 710-712
  • Sutton, Denys, Apollo, no. 14, color pl. XIV pp. 186, 193
  • Crowe, J. A.; and G. B. Cavalcaselle, A History of Painting in Italy, p. 157
  • The Connoisseur, cover
  • La Farge, Henry A., Art News,
  • Van Marle, Raimond, The Development of the Italian Schools of Painting, fig. 140 p. 262
  • Venturi, Adolfo, L'Arte, p. 53
  • Perkins, F. Mason, Rassegna d'arte senese, 1907, p. 81
  • Jacobsen, Emil, Das Quattrocento in Siena. Studien in der Gemäldegalerie der Akademie, 1908, p. 96
  • Berenson, Bernhard, The Central Italian Painters of the Renaissance, 1909, p. 170
  • Perkins, F. Mason, Rassegna d'arte, 1912, p. 102
  • Schubring, Paul, Cassoni: Truhen und Truhenbilder der italienischen Frührenaissance in Beitrag zur Profanmalerei im Quattrocento, 1915, under no. 460 p. 327
  • McComb, Arthur, Art Studies, 1924, fig. 24 p. 21
  • Venturi, Adolfo, Le Muse, 1924, p. 200
  • Douglas, R. Langton, La Balzana, 1927, p. 105
  • Comstock, Helen, International Studio, 1931, pp. 31, 34
  • Van Marle, Raimond, La Diana, 1931, p. 173
  • Berenson, Bernhard, Italian Pictures of the Renaissance, 1932, p. 202
  • Brinton, Selwyn, Francesco di Giorgio Martini of Siena, 1934, pl. 9 pp. 33-34, 109
  • Weller, Allen Stuart, Francesco di Giorgio 1439-1501, 1943, fig. 93 pp. 107, 185, 226-228, 301, 305
  • Pope-Hennessy, John, Sienese Quattrocento Painting, 1947, pl. LXXIX, fig. 20 pp. 32
  • Prima Mostra mercato internazionale dell'antiquariato, 1959, p. 86
  • Perocco, G., Emporium, 1960, p. 24
  • Berenson, Bernhard, Italian Pictures of the Renaissance, Central and North Italian Schools, 1968, p. 140
  • Beltrame Quattrocchi, Enrichetta, Disegni toscani e umbri del primo Rinascimento dalle collezione del Gabinetto Nazionale delle Stampe, 1979, fig. 15 pp. 35-37
  • Toledano, Ralph, Francesco di Giorgio Martini, Pittore e Scultore, 1987, no. 38 pp. 100-101
  • Christiansen, Keith, Painting in Renaissance Siena 1420-1500, 1988, under no. 75a p. 347
  • Campbell, Sara, Collector Without Walls: Norton Simon and His Hunt for the Best, 2010, cat. D19 p. 442
Listen
Audio Tour
English | Español
Read
Audio Tour Transcript
English | Español
Escuchar
Audioguía
English | Español
Leer
Transcripción de Audioguía
English | Español

Image reproduction permission may be granted for scholarly or arts related commercial use. All image requests, regardless of their intended purpose, should be submitted via the reproduction request form.

Images may be protected by copyright and other intellectual property rights. Additional permission may be required.

Approved requests for the reproduction of an image will receive a contract detailing all fees and conditions of use of the image. Upon receipt of both the signed contract and full payment, the Office of Rights and Reproductions will provide the image. A complimentary copy of the published material must be provided to the Norton Simon Museum.

Reproduction Request Form