Images(2)

Virgin and Child with Donor

Datelate 1340s

Maker Bernardo Daddi Italian, Florence, active ca. 1280-1348

Label TextThis intimate but formal image encompasses the Virgin Mary's numerous roles: protective mother, Queen of Heaven, and embodiment of the living Church. The donor, much smaller and kneeling at the lower left, intended the altarpiece to be an eternal document of religious devotion that would assure his reception into heaven. This splendid panel is remarkable for the intensity of color and the rich variety of gilding effects in the garments and the halos. Although the panel is in very good condition, the upper part of the throne is a skillful reconstruction. Compare the restorer's punchwork, gilding and brushstrokes to those of the artist.

Object number61.151

ProvenancePrivate collection, England; Prince Vladmir Galitzin (Golitzyn), London, until sold 1927; [Durlacher Brothers, New York, by 1928]; purchased from gallery by Marquis H. de Talleyrand, Palazzo Orsini, Rome, December 28, 1929 [1]; Count Alessandro Contini Bonacossi (1878-1955), Rome-Florence; purchased from Contini-Bonacossi by Samuel H. Kress (1863-1955), New York, September 1, 1939; gift of the Samuel H. Kress collection to National Gallery of Art, 1943; deaccessioned and returned to the Samuel H. Kress Foundation, 1952; gift from Kress Foundation to Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, Washington, 1961 [1] Durlacher Bros. Records, 1919-1973, Getty Research Institute, Los Anglees. Record Number 950003, Series II, Box 4, Folder 17. The painting was lent by Durlacher to the Exhibition of Old Masters and Works of Art, Art Insitute Kansas City, 1928, no. 3

Photo CreditPhoto: Eduardo Calderon

Exhibition HistoryKansas City, Missouri, Kansas City Art Institute, Exhibition of Old Masters and Works of Art, 1928. Cat. no. 3. Washington, D.C., National Gallery of Art, 1941-1952. Seattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, Renaissance Art in Focus: Neri di Bicci and Devotional Paintings in Italy, Mar. 25, 2004 - Dec. 31, 2005. Text by Elizabeth Darrow and Nicholas Dorman. No cat. no., pp. 54-56, 72, reproduced figs. 1-6. Seattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, Body Language, Dec. 22 - 2018 - ongoing. Published ReferencesSuida, William and Richard Fuller. European Paintings and Sculpture from the Samuel H. Kress Collection. Seattle: Seattle Art Museum, 1954; p. 18, reproduced p. 19. Ishikawa, Chiyo. The Samuel H. Kress Collection at the Seattle Art Museum. Seattle: Seattle Art Museum, 1997; fig. 12, pp. 28-29, 33. Sciacca, Christine, ed. Florence at the Dawn of the Renaissance: Painting and Illumination: 1300 - 1350. Exh. Cat. Los Angeles: J. Paul Getty Museum, 2012; checklist no. 22, p. 107, detail p. 109. Ishikawa, Chiyo. "Seattle Art Museum." In Italian Treasures in the U.S.: An Itinerary of Art. Edited by Renato Miracco. Rome: Gangemi Editore International Publishing, 2015; p. 200.

Credit LineSamuel H. Kress Collection

Dimensions43 x 18 1/2 in. (109.2 x 47 cm)

MediumEgg tempera with gold on wood