The Madonna and Child with Saints
Moretto da Bresciaabout 1540-5
The National Gallery, London
London, United Kingdom
The saints include Saint Jerome (with his lion) and Saint Joseph (with his flowering staff).
The original destination of this altarpiece was probably a chapel or Franciscan church dedicated to Saint Bernardino, who is shown with his monogram of the name of Jesus (IHS) and three mitres at his feet. The mitres are inscribed with the three bishoprics of Urbino, Siena and Ferrara which the saint refused to accept.
Also represented are Saint Francis (showing his stigmata), Saint Nicholas of Bari (holding three gold spheres), Saint Catherine of Alexandria (accepting a ring from Christ, in allusion to her vision of a 'mystic marriage'), and Saint Clare holding the monstrance.
- Title: The Madonna and Child with Saints
- Creator: Moretto da Brescia
- Date Created: about 1540-5
- Physical Dimensions: 358 x 233 cm
- Type: Painting
- Medium: Oil on canvas
- School: Italian (Brescian)
- More Info: Explore the National Gallery’s paintings online
- Inventory number: NG625
- Full Title: The Virgin and Child with Saint Bernardino and Other Saints
- Artist Dates: about 1498 - 1554
- Artist Biography: Alessandro Bonvicino (called Moretto) was, with Romanino, the leading painter of Brescia in the early 16th century, when the town became part of the Venetian empire. Moretto's work was strongly influenced by Giorgione and Titian, and he may have trained in Titian's studio, though he retained much of the naturalism associated with painting in Lombardy in the 16th century. The majority of Moretto's paintings are large-scale canvases painted for religious foundations in and around Brescia. Portraits by him are rarer, though he excelled in portraiture, passing on his skills to his most famous pupil, Moroni.
- Acquisition Credit: Bought, 1859
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