Giovan Pietro Rizzoli, known as Giampietrino and assistant
Madonna nursing the Child
Oil on panel, 65 x 51 cm
Private collection
The work, an unpublished work accompanied by an undated note by Mina Gregori who assigns it to Giampietrino, takes up an intimate domestic scene with the Virgin breastfeeding the Child, a theme widely developed by Leonardo's workshop and masterfully exemplified by the Madonna Litta. Le figure in primo piano sono inquadrate in un plinto triangolare, con la Madonna - avvolta in ampi panneggi rosa, grigio e marrone chiaro – che rivolge il capo alla sua sinistra, mentre lo sguardo basso tende a perdersi fuori dal campo della scena; il Bambino, quasi disteso sulle gambe della madre e accomodato su un cuscino, trattiene tra le labbra il capezzolo di lei, orientando lo sguardo verso l’osservatore e stringendo in una manina una mela, simbolo del peccato originale ma anche di conoscenza del bene e del male.
Even if this small domestic painting finds thematic precedents in other works in Giampietrino's catalog such as, for example, those in the collection of the Borghese Gallery, the Art Museum of São Paulo in Brazil and in the former collection of the counts of Suffolk (Berenson, 1907) -, this singular and specific iconographic solution pertains to explorations suggested by Leonardo, such as the famous study for the Nursing Madonna in Winsor (RL 12276 r), testifying to the This artist's direct access to the master's materials. It is no coincidence that, as already reported by Geddo (1994), it is not difficult to identify at the base of the panel on display two well-known studies - one entirely by Leonardo and the other partially polluted by revisions by a pupil - for the Our Lady of the Fuses (Windsor Castle, RL 12514; Gallerie dell'Accademia di Venezia, n. 141), which express the same attitude as the Virgin, who with her twisted bust makes the same energetic leap to the left. This interesting theoretical reconciliation harmonizes both starting from the pupil that Giampietrino completes in the master's workshop starting from the last five years of the fifteenth century - and during Leonardo's second stay in Milan. Further proof of this painter's interest in the graphic works of Vinci is also represented by the Lead alla Gemäldegalerie di Kassel, in cui il egli mostra pienamente la ricezione del verbo leonardesco attraverso la trasposizione in pittura degli sviluppi teorici del maestro per lo stesso tema.
Nell’esame dell’iconografia a cui afferisce il brano in mostra, la Geddo riferisce l’esistenza di altre due versioni a lei note, di analoga composizione: la prima, conservata nella raccolta della Nuova Fondazione Rossana e Carlo Pedretti, totalmente autografa del Giampietrino e completata dalla figura del san Giuseppe stante raffigurato sulla sinistra, esposta in questa mostra; ed un’altra documentata nella collezione Rizzotti a Novara (1943), di mano di un allievo/imitatore del pittore.
Aside from pacing the detail of Leonardo's two drawings, this graceful easel painting shows expressions also gathered from other cultural environments: the delightful backdrop meditated on through the posing of an elegant green curtain refers to attention received from Flemish culture, to which the painter also referred for solutions such as that for the Madonna of the cherries (ex Marczell Nemes in Budapest), the masterpiece which owes its fortune to the variants developed in Flanders by the imitators of Joos van Cleve. Another interesting account offered by this painting is the declination of Leonardo in broader resonances, such as the one suggested by Solario in his Madonna of the milk all’Accademia di Carrara, con l’ideazione del cuscino su cui posa il piccolo Gesù, elemento che dovette costituire per Giampietrino un espediente figurativo di sicuro interesse.
Così come con la tavoletta di maggiore qualità della Fondazione Pedretti, anche questo dipinto condivide con altre opere di avanzata cronologia la medesima fisionomia del volto delle Vergine, talvolta cadenzata dai volumi monumentali delle figure e da un taglio classico ma più disinibito dei corpi.
Bibliography:
B. Berenson, North Italian Painters of the Renaissance, New York – London , 1907 , p. 233.
Private collections, in «L’arte», XLVI, 14, 1943, pp. 11 – 111.
C. Geddo, The Madonna of Castel Vitoni by Giampietrino, in «Academia Leonardi Vinci», ed. by C. Pedretti, Vol. VII, 1994, Florence, pp. 57 - 66.
C. Geddo, Leonardeschi between Lombardy and Europe: the 'Giampietrino' of Central Europe, in “Lombardia ed Europa. Incroci di Storia e Cultura”, ed. by D. Zardin, Milan, 2014, pp. 69 – 108.
Nicola Barbatelli
This artwork is an unpublished piece, accompanied by an undated note by Mina Gregori, who identifies the author as Giampietrino. The painting presents a variation on the theme of the Virgin suckling the infant Christ, a motif that was extensively explored within Leonardo's workshop following his creation of the Madonna Litta. The two figures in the foreground are positioned on a triangular plinth. The Virgin is draped in pink, grey, and light brown fabrics. She turns her head to the left, gazing beyond the image. The child is lying on a pillow placed on his mother's lap. He is depicted suckling her nipple and holding an apple, symbolizing both sin and knowledge, while directly engaging with the observer's gaze.
Small paintings like the one in question, likely intended for domestic worship, are not uncommon in Giampietrino's body of work, as evidenced by similar-sized pieces found in the Borghese Gallery, the São Paulo Museum of Art, and the former Suffolk Collection (Berenson, 1907). However, this particular iconography appears to be inspired by Leonardo's exploration of the theme, as seen in his celebrated study of the Virgin nursing Christ in the Windsor Collection (RL 12276 r). This suggests that Giampietrino might have had free access to his master's drawings, allowing him to draw inspiration from Leonardo's research.
As Geddo argued (1994), the Virgin suckling the infant Christ in question is based on two drawings for the Madonna of the Yarnwinder (Windsor Castle, RL 12514; Gallerie dell'Accademia of Venice, n. 141) - both by Leonardo, although one of them is heavily traced over by his students. Both drawings depict the Virgin with a striking and dynamic torsion on the left, which serves as a significant source of inspiration for the artwork in question.
The seamless harmonisation of Leonardo's models in Giampietrino's work is likely a result of his time spent studying in Leonardo's atelier during both the last decade of the 15th century and Leonardo's second stay in Milan. Furthermore, the Leda at the Gemäldegalerie of Kassel provides further evidence of Giampietrino's keen interest in Leonardo's drawings. In this painting, Giampietrino demonstrates a complete understanding of Leonardo's artistic language, successfully transferring Leonardo's research on the theme into his own artwork.
Geddo mentioned the existence of two other versions of the iconography depicting the Virgin suckling the infant Christ. The first version includes the addition of Saint Joseph standing on the left and is currently held in the collection of the Nuova Fondazione Rossana e Carlo Pedretti. This particular version is signed by Giampietrino and is being presented in this exhibition. The second version, which is housed in the Rizzotti Collection in Novara (1943), is believed to be the work of a student or imitator of Giampietrino.
In addition to the evident connection with Leonardo's drawings, this artwork of the Virgin suckling the infant Christ also incorporates elements derived from other cultural sources. The Flemish painting tradition likely served as the main reference for the architectural setting where the scene takes place. This visual tradition might have also influenced Giampietrino's work in the Madonna of the Cherries (formerly Marczell Nemes Collection in Budapest), which is considered one of his masterpieces and gained popularity through various copies made in Flanders by imitators of Joos van Cleve.
Furthermore, this artwork of the Virgin suckling the infant Christ reflects the profound impact of Leonardo's art on Giampietrino. Inspired by Leonardo's approach, Giampietrino decided to include the pillow on which Christ is resting, similar to what Andrea Solario did in his Nursing Madonna at the Accademia Carrara. Similar to the little painting at the Fondazione Pedretti, the Virgin suckling the infant Christ also exhibits a shared characteristic with other works from Giampietrino's late period. This similarity lies in the typology of the face of Mary, which is portrayed with monumental volumes but with a more relaxed or loosely rendered body.
Bibliography:
B. Berenson, North Italian Painters of the Renaissance, New York – London , 1907 , p. 233.
Private collections, in «L’arte», XLVI, 14, 1943, pp. 11 – 111.
C. Geddo, The Madonna of Castel Vitoni by Giampietrino, in «Academia Leonardi Vinci», ed. by C. Pedretti, Vol. VII, 1994, Florence, pp. 57 - 66.
C. Geddo, Leonardeschi between Lombardy and Europe: the 'Giampietrino' of Central Europe, in “Lombardia ed Europa. Incroci di Storia e Cultura”, ed. by D. Zardin, Milan, 2014, pp. 69 – 108.
Nicola Barbatelli