The Nativity with the Infant Saint John
Piero di Cosimo·c. 1495/1505
Historical Context
Piero di Cosimo's Nativity with the Infant Saint John, painted around 1495-1505, presents the birth of Christ in a characteristically unconventional manner. Piero's Nativities depart from the standard Florentine formula, incorporating unusual landscape settings and eccentric details that reflect his famously independent artistic vision. The inclusion of the infant Baptist establishes a Florentine connection, as Saint John was the patron saint of the city.
Technical Analysis
The oil-on-canvas technique demonstrates Piero's evolving approach to atmospheric landscape, with distant vistas rendered in cool, hazy tones. The figures in the foreground are painted with greater precision and warmer tones, creating an effective spatial recession.
Provenance
Grand Duchess Maria Nicolaievna de Leuchtenberg [1819-1876], Saint Petersburg, Russia, after 1852;[1] by inheritance to her son, Nicholas de Beauharnais, duc de Leuchtenberg [1843-1891], Saint Petersburg, Russia; by inheritance to Nicholas' son, Nicholas de Beauharnais, duc de Leuchtenberg [1868-1928], Saint Petersburg, Russia; acquired by A.-B. Nordiska Kompaniet, Stockholm, by 1917, as by Ridolfo Ghirlandaio.[2] (Count Alessandro Contini Bonacossi, Florence and Rome); sold 1937 to the Samuel H. Kress Foundation, New York;[3] gift 1939 to NGA. [1] The painting is not included in the 1851 catalogue of the Leuchtenberg collection. [2] Eugène de Beauharnais, _Leuchtenbergska tavelsamlingen_, Stockholm, 1917, catalogues 93 pictures acquired by the AB Nordiska Kompaniet from the Leuchtenberg collection; this picture is no. 9, as by Ghirlandaio. [3] See also The Kress Collection Digital Archive, https://kress.nga.gov/Detail/objects/2261.
See It In Person
More by Piero di Cosimo
Virgin and Child with the Young Saint John the Baptist, Saint Cecilia, and Angels
Piero di Cosimo·c. 1505
The Return from the Hunt
Piero di Cosimo (Piero di Lorenzo di Piero d'Antonio)·ca. 1494–1500
Allegory
Piero di Cosimo·probably c. 1500
The Visitation with Saint Nicholas and Saint Anthony Abbot
Piero di Cosimo·c. 1489/1490
