Because of his eclectic style, Botticini’s identity (and name) was rediscovered only in the second half of the nineteenth century. Early twentieth-century scholars variously attributed this painting to an anonymous painter of the fifteenth century from the Umbrian or Florentine schools. By 1907, the art historian Bernard Berenson dubbed it a work by Francesco Botticini, the early Florentine Renaissance painter whose style derives from several other Florentine artists, most importantly Andrea del Verrocchio (1435–88), Sandro Botticelli (1444/45–1510), and Filippino Lippi (1457–1504), but also from the Umbrian Pietro Perugino (1446–1523). Botticini had a productive workshop that included his son Raffaello (1477–after 1520).
During Duveen’s ownership in the 1930s, the panel was worked on by the conservator Stephen Picchetto, who favored using very thick resins and varnishes to mask distortions and uneven surfaces due to damage or heavy retouching. Most of this heavy coating was removed in the 1980s, where losses in the background on the right were revealed, as well as a number of badly worn areas in the Madonna’s face. However, despite these losses, most experts agree today that the painting is by Botticini, an artist whose work is represented in fewer than a dozen American museums.
Details
- Artist Name: Francesco Botticini (Italian, 1446-1497)
- Title: Virgin and Child with Four Angels and Two Cherubim
- Date: c. 1470-75
- Medium: Tempera on panel
- Dimensions: 25-3/4 x 19-1/2 in. (65.4 x 49.5 cm)
- Credit Line: The Norton Simon Foundation
- Accession Number: F.1965.1.009.P
- Copyright: © The Norton Simon Foundation
Object Information
[Martin Colnaghi, London].
Robert H. (1850-1929) and Evelyn Holford Benson, London, by 1902, sold 1 June 1927 to;
[Duveen Bros., New York, stock no. 29351, sold 1965 to];
The Norton Simon Foundation.
Exhibition of Works by The Old Masters including a special collection of Paintings and Drawings by Claud
- London, Royal Academy, 1902-01-06 to 1902-03-15
Catalogue of a Collection of Pictures, Drawings, Prints, China, and Decorative Furniture
- Burlington Fine Arts Club, 1903 to
Catalogue of a Collection of Pictures from the Umbrian School and Other Works of Art
- Burlington Fine Arts Club, 1909 to 1909
[on loan]
- Denver Art Museum, 1949-11 to 1949-12
Paintings of the Italian Renaissance: Commencement Exhibition
- Northampton, Smith College, Tryon Gallery, 1929 to
Lock, Stock and Barrel: Norton Simon's Purchase of Duveen Brothers Gallery
- Norton Simon Museum, 2014-10-24 to 2015-02-16
Loan Exhibition of the Benson Collection of Old Italian Masters
- Manchester, City Art Gallery, 1927-04-27 to 1927-07-30
Leonardo da Vinci 1452-1519: Loan Exhibition
- Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1949-06-03 to 1949-07-17
Art of Tuscany: Exhibition of Painting and Sculpture
- New York, Duveen Galleries, 1963-11 to 1963-12
The Expressive Body: Memory, Devotion, Desire (1400-1750)
- Norton Simon Museum, 2021-10-15 to 2022-03-07
- Cust, L., Les Arts, p. 30
- Fry, Roger, The Burlington Magazine, p. 274
- Comstock, Helen, The Connoisseur,
- Royal Academay, Exhibition of Works by The Old Masters including a special collection of Paintings and Drawings by Claud, 1902, no. 32, as Ubrian School
- Burlington Fine Arts Club, Catalogue of a Collection of Pictures, Drawings, Prints, China, and Decorative Furniture, 1903, no. 46, as Florentine School
- Berenson, Bernard, Florentine Painters of the Renaissance, 1909, p. 120
- Burlington Fine Arts Club, A Collection of Pictures from the Umbrian School and other works of art, 1909, no. 43, as Umbrian School, Madonna and Child, with Four Angels crowned with Garlands
- Borenius, Tancred, Catalogue of the Benson Collection, 1912, no. 41
- Graves, A., A Century of Loan Exhibtions, 1913, p. 348; p. 1363
- Lawrence, H., Loan Exhibition of the Benson Collection of Old Italian Masters, 1927, no. 74, as Umbro Florentine School, Madonna and Child with Four Angels
- Smith College, Paintings of the Italian Renaissance: Commencement Exhibition, 1929, no. 7, as Botticini, The Madonna and Child with Four Angels
- Valentiner, W. R., and W. Suida, Leonardo da Vinci, 1452-1519; Loan Exhibition, 1949,
- Valentiner, W. R. and W. Suida, Leonardo da Vinci, 1452-1519: Loan Exhibition, 1949, no. 2, as Botticini, The Virgin Adoring Her Child, Accompanied by Four Adoring Angels
- Duveen Bros., The Art of Tuscany: Exhibition of Painting and Sculpture, 1963, no. 6, as Botticini, The Madonna and Child with Four Angels and Two Cherubim
- Campbell, Sara, Collector Without Walls: Norton Simon and His Hunt for the Best, 2010, cat. D9 p. 441
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