FJK 008
Beccafumi (Domenico di Pace) (Italian, Cortine in Valdibiana Montaperti 1484–1551 Siena)
Virgin and Child with Two Saints. Study for an Altarpiece
1524
9 11/64 × 6 9/64 in. (233 × 156 mm)
Medium
Pen, brown ink and brown wash with traces of watercolor on paper
Inscription on mount: Perrin del Vague
Origin
Anc. Salamander Fine Arts Limited, London
Jan Krugier Collection, Monaco (acquired from previous owner on April 3, 2007), JK 6734
Jan Krugier Foundation
Notes
This recently rediscovered drawing could be linked to a commission from the Chiesa della Madonna in Pian delle Fornaci in Siena dating back to 1524. In 1967, Sanminiatelli suggested that a drawing at the Louvre, previously in the Jabach Collection, could be a study for the high altar lost today.
Though Andrea de Marchi dates the Louvre study to an earlier time (1517-1518), the disposition of the figures shows a striking similarity in both drawings: the enthroned Virgin and Child and the two standing saints by her side, so typically arranged as such. Yet, they are more sketched in the Louvre drawing, conceding a greater role to the architectural project which extends beyond the main altar.
Beccafumi uses distinctive composition schemes. The artist plays with the proportions of the Virgin and Child, placed at the top of the steps and framed by the coffered ceiling of a loggia, while the slender saints rise elegantly like columns. The use of brown wash structures the geometry of the space.
Anonymous author (translated from French)
Request for information/loan
The Jan Krugier Foundation is devoted to increasing the impact of the collection of drawings through regular loans to major exhibitions. Loan applications should include a complete presentation of the project.