The Virgin adoring the Christ Child on the Cross with St John the Baptist and an angel

Marco Pino or Marco da Siena (1521–1583) began to paint at the age of twelve in Domenico Beccafumi's studio in Pino's native Siena, Italy. By the age of seventeen, Pino had worked on collaborative projects with several leading painters of his day. He travelled extensively, collaborating with Michelangelo's famous follower Daniele da Volterra mid-century, and by the age of 32 he had settled in Naples, where he received numerous commissions for paintings. Under the influence of Michelangelo, Pino painted large figures in twisting poses, yet retained his own graceful rendering of faces. His later paintings reflect the influence of the Counter-Reformation in their emotionally charged depictions of human suffering. The latter is to some extent conveyed by the figure of St John on the right, who seems to turn away from us and kneels devoutly towards the Christ Child who lies on a cross, foreshadowing his future tragedy. This contrasts with the beautiful angel on the left, holding a tablet and who turns towards the viewer.

This pen and wash drawing is a study for a larger and considerably more refined one, focussing on the kneeling Virgin Mary, in the Louvre, Paris (<em>Kneeling Virgin Mary holding the Christ Child</em>). Another related drawing which has closer resemblances to the position of the Christ Child, as well as kneeling attendant saints and floating angels or crowning putti as here up above, is also in the Louvre (<em>Adoration of the Shepherds</em>).

See:

http://www.getty.edu/art/collection/artists/707/marco-pino-italian-neapolitan-before-1520-15871588/

Peter Tomory, <em>Old Master Drawings from the National Collection</em> (Wellington, 1983).

Dr Mark Stocker      Curator, Historical International Art         February 2017