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Virgin and Child with Saints and a Donor

Vincenzo Catena1500/1505

Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool

Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool
Liverpool, United Kingdom

The kneeling figure is the donor who commissioned the painting. His sober dress suggests he was a notary or legal officer, possibly from the Venetian-controlled town of Parenzo (now Porec in Croatia). On the left is probably Catherine of Siena; on the right are St Nicholas and St Francis of Assisi. The asymmetrical composition and the intimacy of the Child, bending to bless the donor, mark a development from earlier formally composed altarpieces. Catena was a follower of the great Venetian painter Giovanni Bellini.

Details

  • Title: Virgin and Child with Saints and a Donor
  • Creator: Vincenzo Catena
  • Creator Lifespan: 1470-80
  • Creator Nationality: Italian
  • Creator Gender: Male
  • Creator Death Place: Venice, Italy
  • Creator Birth Place: Venice, Italy
  • Date Created: 1500/1505
  • tag / style: Madonna & child; Virgin & child; Christ; Saints; donor; kneeling; religious; altarpiece; Catherine of Siena; St Nicholas; St Francis of Assisi; baby; monk; staff
  • Physical Dimensions: w1100 x h720 x d120 cm (Without frame)
  • Artwork History: This painting was previously owned by William Roscoe. Roscoe (1753-1831) was a successful Liverpool lawyer and Radical politician whose interests included history, poetry, botany, languages and art. Remarkably, he was, on the whole, a self-educated man. To learn more about Roscoe, please follow this link: http://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/online/collectors/williamroscoe.asp
  • Artist biographical information: Catena was a close follower of the great Venetian painter Giovanni Bellini, and this picture contains many details borrowed directly from Bellini’s works.
  • Additional artwork information: This painting was previously owned by William Roscoe. Roscoe (1753-1831) was a successful Liverpool lawyer and Radical politician whose interests included history, poetry, botany, languages and art. Remarkably, he was, on the whole, a self-educated man. To learn more about Roscoe, please follow this link: http://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/online/collectors/williamroscoe.asp
  • Type: Oil on poplar wood panel
  • Rights: Presented by Liverpool Royal Institution in 1948

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