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Virgin and Child with Saint Jerome
Pinturicchio (Bernardino di Betto) (Italian (Umbrian), about 1452–1513)
about 1475–80
Medium/Technique
Oil on panel
Dimensions
52.7 x 39 cm (20 3/4 x 15 3/8 in.)
Credit Line
Gift of Mrs. Walter Scott Fitz
Accession Number20.431
NOT ON VIEW
CollectionsEurope
ClassificationsPaintings
This early work displays the hallmarks of Pintoricchio's style-serene figures, a remarkable play of light on surfaces, and the skillful rendering of such minute details as the hair of the figures here. Pintoricchio's nickname, which means "little painter," referred to his small size and not to his artistic reputation. During his lifetime he was considered one the outstanding painters in Italy and worked for popes and their families. This painting is in excellent condition except for the Virgin's mantle, which has darkened from its original brilliant blue.
ProvenanceAbout 1907, Giuseppe Bachetoni, San Gemini and Rome [see note 1]. 1917, Piero Tolentino (b. 1879 - d. 1948), Trieste, Italy; July 1917, sold by Tolentino to Duveen Brothers, New York (stock no. X-61); March 9, 1920, sold by Duveen to Mrs. W. Scott Fitz (Henrietta Goddard Wigglesworth) (b. 1847 - d. 1929), Boston [see note 2]; 1920, gift of Mrs. Fitz to the MFA. (Accession Date: April 1, 1920)
NOTES:
[1] According to a letter from A. E. M. Paff to Arthur Fairbanks of the MFA (April 24, 1920), the painting had been owned by Signor Bacchettoni [sic], the mayor of San Gemini, near Narni, who was then living in Rome. In his letter, he refers to Mr. Forbes (probably MFA trustee Edward Waldo Forbes) having seen the picture 13 years earlier. Paff had been told that the painting may have come from the Vatican through a family member who was a cardinal, but "this, however, is only supposition."
[2] Attributed at the time to Fiorenzo di Lorenzo. Information about Duveen's acquisition of the painting is taken from the Duveen stock book (1914-1915), p. 200; Getty Research Institute, Duveen Brothers Records, Box 10, microfilm reel 10.
NOTES:
[1] According to a letter from A. E. M. Paff to Arthur Fairbanks of the MFA (April 24, 1920), the painting had been owned by Signor Bacchettoni [sic], the mayor of San Gemini, near Narni, who was then living in Rome. In his letter, he refers to Mr. Forbes (probably MFA trustee Edward Waldo Forbes) having seen the picture 13 years earlier. Paff had been told that the painting may have come from the Vatican through a family member who was a cardinal, but "this, however, is only supposition."
[2] Attributed at the time to Fiorenzo di Lorenzo. Information about Duveen's acquisition of the painting is taken from the Duveen stock book (1914-1915), p. 200; Getty Research Institute, Duveen Brothers Records, Box 10, microfilm reel 10.