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