Madonna with Child between Saints Flavian and Onuphrius
Madonna with Child between Saints Flavian and Onuphrius (Virgin and Child with St Ignatius of Antioch and St Onuphrius) is an oil on panel painting (51 x 65 cm) by Lorenzo Lotto, located in the Borghese Gallery. It is signed and dated 1508.
History
The painting was executed in the same year of the Recanati Polyptych when the artist moved to the Eternal City.
Firstly, the artwork was mentioned in a 1693 document, when it was already part of the Borghese Collection.
The artwork uses the Holy Conversation composition, with the Madonna and Child in the center with two saints, a topic frequently used by Giovanni Bellini and other famous Venetian artists. It was sold to the Italian State, together with other paintings, in exchange for the so-called “Cesare Borgia,” attributed to Raphael.
Description
The artwork is signed and dated LAVRENT.LOTVS. M.D.VIIJ. Moreover, it shows the impact of “Christ among the Doctors” by Albrecht Durer (Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection, Madrid); mainly, the figure of St Onuphrius probably has been derived from the scribe in Durer’s painting.
Analysis
The painting shows on a dark background a thoughtful Madonna. The four figures in this “sacra conversazione” are connected by gestures and glances that are exchanged, on the left, between the Child and St Ignatius of Antioch, with his richly decorated vestments, and on the right between the Virgin and St Onuphrius, who is naked with long hair.
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