Paolo Veneziano's Madonna and Child marries the Venetian aesthetic—based on color and its unifying, descriptive aspect—with the reserved, hieratic Byzantine style. The Christ Child, looking closely at His mother, holds a palm branch, symbolizing His future entry into Jerusalem and subsequent death. The goldfinch, perched on the Madonna’s hand, is a bird associated with thorns and thistles and so is a further allusion to the Passion of Christ. The artist has woven these solemn reminders of Christ’s sacrifice into a visually rich web of color and line.
Details
- Artist Name: Paolo Veneziano (Italian, c. 1295 - c. 1362)
- Title: Madonna and Child
- Date: c. 1345
- Medium: Tempera and gold leaf on panel
- Dimensions: 43 5/8 x 24 3/8 in. (110.8 x 61.9 cm)
- Credit Line: The Norton Simon Foundation
- Accession Number: F.1973.24.P
- Copyright: © The Norton Simon Foundation
Object Information
[Knoedler’s, London, jointly owned with Pinakos, Inc., New York, Stock A-7997, 1961; Knoedlers half sold back to Pinakos 11 June 1963].
Major Alfred E. Allnatt (d. 1969) by 1963 (sale, London, Sotheby’s, 6 December 1972, lot 35, ill., as The Madonna and Child Enthroned, to);
[Thos. Agnew & Sons, Ltd., London; sold 1973 to];
The Norton Simon Foundation.
[on loan]
- The National Gallery, London, 1963 to 1970
Paolo Veneziano: Art and Devotion in 14th-Century Venice
- J. Paul Getty Museum, 2021-07-13 to 2021-10-03
- Palluchini, Rodolfo, La Pittura Veneziana del Trecento, fig. 116 p. 41
- Muraro, Michelangelo, Paolo da Venezia, 1970, fig. 2 pp. 36, 112
- Masterpieces from the Norton Simon Museum, 1989, p. 12
- Campbell, Sara, Collector Without Walls: Norton Simon and His Hunt for the Best, 2010, cat. 977 p. 358
- Renato Miracco, Italian Treasures in the U.S. An Itinerary of Art, 2014, p. #40
- Llewellyn, Laura, Paolo Veneziano: Art and Devotion in 14th-Century Venice, 2021, cat. 10 p. 20, p. 84, 86, p. 128 ; p. 129 (ill.)
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