Virgin Enthroned and Child with Musician Angels

The Virgin is seated on a richly decorated and inlaid marble throne and holds the completely naked Child in her lap. Two musician angels are kneeling at the foot of the throne, playing a rebeck, the small three-stringed viola, and a flute. A cartouche lies on the floor made of marble tiles laid in an intricate geometric design and rendered in perspective. This cartouche most probably contained the name of the artist and perhaps also the date of execution, now unfortunately lost due to past restoration.
Considerably cut down along the upper edge, the panel was probably part of a polyptych, although the other parts are not at present known. The extremely low viewpoint indicates that the panel was positioned high up, perhaps in the middle of the upper register of the altarpiece that contained it.
The work has recently been attributed to Cristoforo Caselli, a painter from Parma who was active for many years in Venice, where he was able to study works by Giovanni Bellini, Alvise Vivarini, Cima da Conegliano and Carpaccio.
The painting was most probably executed between 1507 and about 1510 During this period, alongside influences from the Venetian painters, the artist, now definitively returned to Parma, shows remarkable knowledge of Lombard figurative painting, in particular that of Milan and of Cremona.