The Madonna and Child with Saints Louis of Toulouse and John the Evangelist with donors Ludovico Folchi and his wife Tommasa
- Date
- 1486
- Material
- Tempera and oil on panel
- made in
- Florence, Tuscany region, Italy, Europe
- Classification
- Paintings
- Collection
- European Art to 1800
- Current Location
- On View, Gallery 222
- Dimensions
- 59 1/2 x 31 1/2 in. (151.1 x 80 cm)
- Credit Line
- Museum Purchase
- Rights
- Public Domain
- Object Number
- 109:1922
NOTES
On a marble pavilion that opens to the sky, Christ, the Madonna, Saint Louis of Toulouse (left), Saint John the Evangelist (right), and two donors form a figural pyramid, a hallmark of Renaissance composition. To emphasize the spiritual meaning of the work, the artist uses the technique of architectural perspective with a central vanishing point to draw the eye to the pomegranate, a symbol of Christ’s resurrection. Although the individuals share a similar space, seemingly beyond time, the sacred figures’ idealistic, youthful appearance contrasts with the earthly realism of the profiled donors.
Provenance
by 1486 -
Lodovica Pio, Florence, Italy [1]
by 1901 -
Marchese Menafoglio, Modena, Italy [2]
by 1902 - still in 1911
Cavaliere Pietro Foresti (1854-1926), Carpi, Italy, purchased from Marchese Menafoglio [3]
A. J. Sulley (d.1930), London, England [4]
- 1917
Arthur Tooth & Sons, London, England [5]
1917 - 1922
F. Kleinberger Galleries, Inc., New York, NY, USA, purchased from Arthur Tooth & Sons [6]
1922 -
Saint Louis Art Museum, purchased from F. Kleinberger Galleries, Inc. [7]
Notes:
The main source for the provenance is Cadogan's catalogue raisonné, cat. no. DG 13 [Cadogan, Jean K. "Domenico Ghirlandaio: Artist and Artisan." New York and London: Yale University Press, 2000, cat. no. DG 13, pp. 326-28]. Exceptions and other supporting documents are noted.
[1] According to Lionello Venturi, the altarpiece may have been discussed by Giorgio Vasari in his biography of Domenico Ghirlandaio. Vasari mentions that Ghirlandaio painted an altarpiece for "Signor di Carpi," who was a member of the Pio family [Venturi, Lionello. "Italian Paintings in America." Vol. 2. New York: E. Weyhe; Milan: U. Hoepli, 1933, plate 271; Vasari, Giorgio. "Le vite de più eccellenti architetti, pittori, et scultori italiani." Vol. 9. Florence: Sansoni, 1878]. Scholar Everett Fahy expounds upon this notion by stating: "Looking at the names and dates of the Pios listed in Litta's 'Famiglie celebre italiane,' Milan, IX, 1824, pl. II, and bearing in mind the saints in the altarpiece, I wonder if the patron may not have been Lodovica Pio, the daughter of Gianlodovico Pio (beheaded 1469) and Orante Orsini, Lorenzo de Medici's aunt. In 1486, the date of the altarpiece, she married Bernardo Morelli of Florence, so she could have commissioned the Ghirlandaio brothers to furnish an altarpiece with her and her father's patron saints" [letter dated November 23, 1984, SLAM document files].
[2] A letter from Pietro Foresti to Corrado Ricci dated December 14, 1901, mentions the work as being in the collection of the Marchese Menafoglio in Modena [Maramotti, Giovanni Bosi. "Il collezionista e lo storico dell'arte. Pietro Foresti e Corrado Ricci." "Fonsazione Umberto Severi: I Arte Antica." Edited by Jadranka Bentini. Modena: Franco Cosimo Panini, 1991, p. 37]. The date of acquisition by Marchese Menafoglio is not known.
[3] Foresti's 1901 letter (see note [2]) also discusses his negotiations to purchase the panel from Marchese Menafoglio. It is presumed that the panel was in Foresti's collection by 1902 when a letter (dated January 14) mentions that new photography was taken of the panel (the letter notes the attribution as Ghirlandaio). This letter also lists a detailed description of the work which corresponds to the Museum's panel. In 1910, the work was offered for purchase by the Italian government, however, the sale did not take place and the work remained in Foresti's collection until at least 1911 when Venturi's publication notes the work [Venturi, Adolfo. "Storia dell'arte italiana." Vol. VII. Milano: Ulrico Hoepli, 1911, p. 764; Maramotti, Giovanni Bosi. "Il collezionista e lo storico dell'arte. Pietro Foresti e Corrado Ricci." "Fonsazione Umberto Severi: I Arte Antica," Edited by Jadranka Bentini. Modena: Franco Cosimo Panini, 1991, pp. 37-38]. It is not known when the panel left Foresti's collection.
[4] A. J. Sulley is listed as a previous owner in the 2000 catalogue raisonné (see citation above). According to the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D. C., A. J. Sulley was a prominent art dealer and founder of Arthur J. Sulley & Co. ["Arthur J. Sulley & Co.," The National Gallery of Art, accessed April 5, 2005,]. The circumstances regarding Sulley's ownership of the work are unknown.
[5] According to the F. Kleinberger Galleries, Inc. records, housed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Kleinberger purchased the altarpiece from Arthur Tooth & Sons, London, on February 28, 1917 [letter from Keith Christiansen, Curator, Metropolitan Museum of Art, dated November 27, 1984, SLAM document files].
[6] See note [5]. After F. Kleinberger Galleries Inc. purchased the panel, it was consigned to various American collections and institutions including the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA, and French & Company, New York, NY; these actions could account for the citation in a 1920 article which states that the object was in a private American collection [SLAM document files; Síren, Osvald. "Early Italian Pictures at Cambridge." "Burlington Magazine." 37 (December 1920), p. 300]. Thus far, there has been no evidence to indicate that the work did not belong to F. Kleinberger Galleries, Inc. at this time.
[7] Bill of sale from F. Kleinberger Galleries, Inc. dated January 15, 1923 [SLAM document files]. Minutes of the Administrative Board of Control of the City Art Museum, October 24, 1922.
Lodovica Pio, Florence, Italy [1]
by 1901 -
Marchese Menafoglio, Modena, Italy [2]
by 1902 - still in 1911
Cavaliere Pietro Foresti (1854-1926), Carpi, Italy, purchased from Marchese Menafoglio [3]
A. J. Sulley (d.1930), London, England [4]
- 1917
Arthur Tooth & Sons, London, England [5]
1917 - 1922
F. Kleinberger Galleries, Inc., New York, NY, USA, purchased from Arthur Tooth & Sons [6]
1922 -
Saint Louis Art Museum, purchased from F. Kleinberger Galleries, Inc. [7]
Notes:
The main source for the provenance is Cadogan's catalogue raisonné, cat. no. DG 13 [Cadogan, Jean K. "Domenico Ghirlandaio: Artist and Artisan." New York and London: Yale University Press, 2000, cat. no. DG 13, pp. 326-28]. Exceptions and other supporting documents are noted.
[1] According to Lionello Venturi, the altarpiece may have been discussed by Giorgio Vasari in his biography of Domenico Ghirlandaio. Vasari mentions that Ghirlandaio painted an altarpiece for "Signor di Carpi," who was a member of the Pio family [Venturi, Lionello. "Italian Paintings in America." Vol. 2. New York: E. Weyhe; Milan: U. Hoepli, 1933, plate 271; Vasari, Giorgio. "Le vite de più eccellenti architetti, pittori, et scultori italiani." Vol. 9. Florence: Sansoni, 1878]. Scholar Everett Fahy expounds upon this notion by stating: "Looking at the names and dates of the Pios listed in Litta's 'Famiglie celebre italiane,' Milan, IX, 1824, pl. II, and bearing in mind the saints in the altarpiece, I wonder if the patron may not have been Lodovica Pio, the daughter of Gianlodovico Pio (beheaded 1469) and Orante Orsini, Lorenzo de Medici's aunt. In 1486, the date of the altarpiece, she married Bernardo Morelli of Florence, so she could have commissioned the Ghirlandaio brothers to furnish an altarpiece with her and her father's patron saints" [letter dated November 23, 1984, SLAM document files].
[2] A letter from Pietro Foresti to Corrado Ricci dated December 14, 1901, mentions the work as being in the collection of the Marchese Menafoglio in Modena [Maramotti, Giovanni Bosi. "Il collezionista e lo storico dell'arte. Pietro Foresti e Corrado Ricci." "Fonsazione Umberto Severi: I Arte Antica." Edited by Jadranka Bentini. Modena: Franco Cosimo Panini, 1991, p. 37]. The date of acquisition by Marchese Menafoglio is not known.
[3] Foresti's 1901 letter (see note [2]) also discusses his negotiations to purchase the panel from Marchese Menafoglio. It is presumed that the panel was in Foresti's collection by 1902 when a letter (dated January 14) mentions that new photography was taken of the panel (the letter notes the attribution as Ghirlandaio). This letter also lists a detailed description of the work which corresponds to the Museum's panel. In 1910, the work was offered for purchase by the Italian government, however, the sale did not take place and the work remained in Foresti's collection until at least 1911 when Venturi's publication notes the work [Venturi, Adolfo. "Storia dell'arte italiana." Vol. VII. Milano: Ulrico Hoepli, 1911, p. 764; Maramotti, Giovanni Bosi. "Il collezionista e lo storico dell'arte. Pietro Foresti e Corrado Ricci." "Fonsazione Umberto Severi: I Arte Antica," Edited by Jadranka Bentini. Modena: Franco Cosimo Panini, 1991, pp. 37-38]. It is not known when the panel left Foresti's collection.
[4] A. J. Sulley is listed as a previous owner in the 2000 catalogue raisonné (see citation above). According to the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D. C., A. J. Sulley was a prominent art dealer and founder of Arthur J. Sulley & Co. ["Arthur J. Sulley & Co.," The National Gallery of Art, accessed April 5, 2005,
[5] According to the F. Kleinberger Galleries, Inc. records, housed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Kleinberger purchased the altarpiece from Arthur Tooth & Sons, London, on February 28, 1917 [letter from Keith Christiansen, Curator, Metropolitan Museum of Art, dated November 27, 1984, SLAM document files].
[6] See note [5]. After F. Kleinberger Galleries Inc. purchased the panel, it was consigned to various American collections and institutions including the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA, and French & Company, New York, NY; these actions could account for the citation in a 1920 article which states that the object was in a private American collection [SLAM document files; Síren, Osvald. "Early Italian Pictures at Cambridge." "Burlington Magazine." 37 (December 1920), p. 300]. Thus far, there has been no evidence to indicate that the work did not belong to F. Kleinberger Galleries, Inc. at this time.
[7] Bill of sale from F. Kleinberger Galleries, Inc. dated January 15, 1923 [SLAM document files]. Minutes of the Administrative Board of Control of the City Art Museum, October 24, 1922.
We regularly update records, which may be incomplete. If you have additional information, please contact us at provenance@slam.org.