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Madonna with Jesus, the Infant John the Baptist, and Two Angels

Andrea del Sarto

Basic information

ID: Ж-1632
Author: Andrea del Sarto
Name: Madonna with Jesus, the Infant John the Baptist, and Two Angels
Technique: oil painting
Material: wood oil
Dimensions (height x width, cm): 91.8 x 72.2

Additionally

Type: painting
Genre: religious
Plot: Madonna and Infant Christ with Saint John the Baptist
Provenance: Collection of Lviv City Gallery
Exposition: Potocki Palace

Information about author

Author: Andrea del Sarto
Artist's lifetime: 1486–1530
Country: Italy
Biography: Andrea del Sarto, real name – Andrea d'Agnolo (16 July 1486, Florence, Florentine Republic – 29 September 1530, Florence, Florentine Republic) was an Italian Renaissance portrait painter and a representative of the Florentine High Renaissance School. Andrea del Sarto was the author of many frescoes and easel paintings. The artist studied under Piero di Cosimo and was influenced by Leonardo da Vinci, Fra Bartolomeo, and later by Michelangelo. He was a friend of Raphael, Titian, and Franciabigio. From 1518 to 1519, the painter worked in France at the invitation of King Francis I and returned to Florence in 1519. By the end of his life, he became the recognised leader of the Florentine School of Painting. The author's works are notable for the clarity and grandeur of the composition, built on the harmonious balance of complex, large spatial and rhythmic forms. The poetic and spiritual nature of del Sarto's painting is achieved through the softness of chiaroscuro and the combination of vibrant, lush colours. The artist's later works reflected critical moments in Renaissance art development. Complex rhythms, expressive colouration, and introducing genre motifs into traditional religious compositions characterise the author's artworks from the 1520s (such as the "Last Supper" in the refectory of the San Salvi monastery in Florence, 1526–1527). The fluid dynamics of composition, vigorous movement, sharp expressiveness of dramatic angles, and the unsettling colour palette of his late easel works (such as "The Sacrifice of Abraham," 1529, in the Picture Gallery in Dresden) seem to foreshadow the art of the Baroque period.

Object description

The composition, in terms of its stylistic features and execution, is delicate and subtle. The artist skilfully reproduces the classical forms of his era with brilliant originality and fills the canvas with exquisite colouring. He demonstrates a dazzling manner of rendering images with a loss of contours in dark shades, which gives his figures a tender appearance. The Virgin Mary holds Christ, who extends his left hand to bless the infant John the Baptist in the left part of the canvas. Saint John is already dressed in animal skins, which he will wear when preaching in the desert. Two angels stand behind him. This scene unfolds against the backdrop of a hill and a minimalistic landscape. The original painting by del Sarto showcases his increasingly mannerist elegance in colours, complex artificial composition, and elegantly refined poses that convey emotions with great immediacy. This work is similar to a slightly smaller composition by Andrea del Sarto, dated around 1517–19, preserved in the Wallace Collection in London.

Legal regulation

Borys Voznytskyi Lviv National Art Gallery

Madonna with Jesus, the Infant John the Baptist, and Two Angels

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