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Painting of seated woman with child and two standing men.

A light-skinned woman in a pink-and-blue robe holds a nude light-skinned baby on her lap. The baby has small rays coming from the top and sides of his head. He holds a large silver key in each hand. On the left, a white-haired, light-skinned man grabs one of the keys with his right hand. On the right, another light-skinned man faces the baby. He holds an open book in his right hand and a sword by his left hip. The adult figures have ring-shaped golden halos behind their heads. The background features a rocky cave, grassy hills, and blue skies.

Gallery Text

Painted in Lombardy, this altarpiece shows Christ handing the large, gleaming keys of the kingdom of heaven to Saint Peter. The saint rests one foot on what resembles a cornerstone, symbolizing his role as a founder of the Church — the “rock” upon which it was built. The image thus confirms that the authority of the Church was granted by Christ himself, a central tenet of the Counter-Reformation. On the right is Saint Paul, holding the sword with which he was martyred and a book representing his epistles.

The throne of the Virgin seems to be carved out of the living rock, from which sprout roots and foliage. The emphasis on nature reveals the continuing influence of Leonardo da Vinci on the Lombard school of painting, though the crisp delineation of forms is more linear and straightforward than the ambiguity and subtlety of the great master’s work.

Identification and Creation

Object Number
1968.116
People
Girolamo Figino, Italian (active c. 1540 - c. 1570)
Previously attributed to Master of the Solomon Altarpiece, Italian (active 1550 - 1575)
Previously attributed to Gaudenzio Ferrari, Italian (Valduggia, Italy 1480 - 1546 Milan, Italy)
Title
The Virgin and Child with Saints Peter and Paul
Other Titles
Alternate Title: Madonna and Child with Saints Peter and Paul
Classification
Paintings
Work Type
painting
Date
16th century
Culture
Italian, Lombard, Milanese
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/228140

Location

Location
Level 2, Room 2540, European Art, 13th–16th century, The Renaissance
View this object's location on our interactive map

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Oil on panel
Dimensions
sight: 149 x 146.8 cm (58 11/16 x 57 13/16 in.)
framed: 185.4 x 182.9 x 10.5 cm (73 x 72 x 4 1/8 in.)

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History
[Stirling sale, Sotheby's, London, July 3, 1963, lot 39 as by Gaudenzio Ferrari or Lieutenant Colonel William Joseph Stirling sale, Sotheby’s, London, July 3, 1963]]. [Julius Weitzner, London], sold; to Arthur K. Solomon, gift; to Fogg Art Museum, 1982.

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Fogg Museum, Gift of Dr. Arthur K. Solomon in memory of Susan Pulitzer Freedberg
Accession Year
1968
Object Number
1968.116
Division
European and American Art
Contact
am_europeanamerican@harvard.edu
Permissions

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Publication History

  • Fogg Art Museum Acquisitions Report (Cambridge, MA, 1968), p. 123, repr. [as by Master XL]
  • Giovanni Romano, Gaudenzio Ferrari e la sua scuola: I cartoni cinquecenteschi dell'Accademia Albertina, exh. cat., Accademia Albertina di Belle Arti (Turin, 1982), p. 252
  • Edgar Peters Bowron, European Paintings Before 1900 in the Fogg Art Museum: A Summary Catalogue including Paintings in the Busch-Reisinger Museum, Harvard University Art Museums (Cambridge, MA, 1990)

Exhibition History

  • 32Q: 2540 Renaissance, Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, 11/16/2014 - 01/01/2050

Subjects and Contexts

  • Google Art Project

Verification Level

This record was created from historic documentation and may not have been reviewed by a curator; it may be inaccurate or incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For more information please contact the Division of European and American Art at am_europeanamerican@harvard.edu