Madonna and Child with Saint Jerome and Saint Bernardino of Siena
Benvenuto di Giovanni·c. 1480/1485
Historical Context
Benvenuto di Giovanni's Madonna and Child with Saint Jerome and Saint Bernardino from around 1480-85 shows his characteristic combination of the Virgin and Child subject with the Franciscan saints who were central to Sienese devotional culture. Saint Bernardino of Siena was the greatest Franciscan preacher of the fifteenth century, born in the contado of Siena and celebrated throughout Italy for his popular preaching missions; his presence alongside Jerome in a Sienese devotional panel reflected the local pride in the saint whose cult was particularly intense in his native city. Benvenuto's figure types reflect the Sienese tradition's preference for elegant linear figures within gold-ground devotional compositions.
Technical Analysis
The tempera on panel showcases Benvenuto's refined Sienese style with rich, jewel-like color, careful gold leaf work, and the decorative precision characteristic of the city's long tradition of panel painting.
Provenance
Possibly by 1810 kept at the collecting point of the Istituto di Belle Arti, Siena,[1] transferred there from one of the suppressed convents or monasteries. Probably acquired c. 1896 in Italy by (Charles Fairfax Murray, London and Florence), for (Thomas Agnew & Sons, Ltd., London); sold March 1898 to John G. Johnson [1841-1917], Philadelphia; apparently returned to (Thomas Agnew & Sons, Ltd., London); sold 30 September 1898 to Peter A.B. Widener, Lynnewood Hall, Elkins Park, Pennsylvania;[2] inheritance from Estate of Peter A.B. Widener by gift through power of appointment of Joseph E. Widener, Elkins Park, Pennsylvania; gift 1942 to NGA. [1] This is suggested by the wax seal on the reverse of the painting. [2] The details of ownership by Murray and Agnew's (the painting was Agnew's number 8273) come from the Getty Provenance Index, which indicates the painting was sold to Johnson in March 1898, then to Widener in September of that year. This differs from the Widener collection card (in NGA curatorial files), which documents the 1898 purchase as being in March 1898.
