The Virgin Mary rises up like a giant Tower of Babel in a close-up
view, separated from us by a slender railing along which runs the
painter's signature. The Virgin appears to be sitting on a marble
slab, slightly raised, and her right shoulder is thrust forward to
show us her nude son. Madonna and Child, also known as 'Dudley
Madonna', was painted in c. 1508 by Giovanni Bellini (Venice, c.
1430-1516), one of the most celebrated of Italian artists. This
book tells the story of the painting, its painter and its
provenance - the journey from Bellini's 16th-century Venice to
Dudley's 19th-century London - and the context in which it was
created, and later collected. The painting was probably acquired in
Bologna by John William Ward (1781-1833), who in 1827 became the
1st Earl of Dudley. He was described by his contemporaries as a
cultured and educated man, but also, especially in his later years,
tending to madness. The Dudley collection was one of the most
outstanding in 19th-century England. The years 1505-10 were crucial
ones in Giovanni Bellini's career, and this book examines anew the
part he played in Venetian High Renaissance painting - his
influence upon and response to the upcoming Giorgione, Titian and
Sebastiano del Piombo; it looks in particular at the importance of
the visit to the Venice of the Florentine Fra Bartolommeo in 1508.
Antonio Mazzotta was Pidem Curatorial Assistant at the National
Gallery, London, between 2008 and 2010, and he curated the
exhibition, Titian's First Masterpiece: The Flight into Egypt, at
the National Gallery, London, 4 April - 19 August 2012. The Virgin
Mary rises up like a giant Tower of Babel in a close-up view,
separated from us by a slender railing along which runs the
painter's signature. The Virgin appears to be sitting on a marble
slab, slightly raised, and her right shoulder is thrust forward to
show us her nude son. The Madonna and Child, also known as 'Dudley
Madonna', was painted in c. 1508 by Giovanni Bellini (Venice, c.
1430-1516), one of the most celebrated of Italian artists.
Recognised as an important composition by Bellini in the early 20th
century, for a hundred years until its sale at auction in 2010 this
picture had hardly ever been seen. This book places the painting
within Bellini's career and development even though he was over 75
years old when he painted it. Bellini was extraordinarily sensitive
to the new generation of High Renaissance artists, responding
instantly to new ideas. The publication also discusses the earlier
critical fortune of the painting, explaining how it was kept out of
the limelight for so long when it is clearly an autograph Bellini.
The years 1505-10 were crucial ones in Giovanni Bellini's career,
and this publication examines anew the part he played in Venetian
High Renaissance painting, his influence upon and response to the
upcoming Giorgione, Titian and Sebastiano del Piombo. It looks in
particular at the importance of the visit to the Venice of the
Florentine Fra Bartolommeo in 1508, a key figure in early
16th-century Florence, who came with a wealth of important new
ideas to share and disseminate. His influence on Bellini is most
obviously evident in the Madonna's - for him - comparatively
oblique pose. It is not known how and when the painting came from
Italy to England but it is very likely that is was acquired in
Bologna by John William Ward (1781-1833) who, in 1827, became the
1st Earl of Dudley. Described by his contemporaries as a cultured
and educated man, he (and later his nephew William Ward) assembled
one of the most outstanding collections in 19th-century England
but, although talented, tended to madness especially in his later
years. The collection was broken up at the end of the 19th century
and the painting, having been attributed to the obscure Rocco
Marconi by Berenson, was kept in a private collection in a country
house in Wiltshire.
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