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Madonna and Child with Saints

ca. 1520
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 961
The saints (left to right) are Catherine of Alexandria, Leonard, Augustine, and Apollonia.

Painted in about 1520 for the Augustinian church of San Leonardo nel Monte outside Verona, the picture was described at length by the sixteenth-century biographer Giorgio Vasari, who especially admired the landscape and enormous laurel tree. While the Madonna and Child reflect the work of Andrea Mantegna, the distant hill crowned with a fortress and the dead tree are taken over directly from Dürer's well-known engraving of Saint Eustace. The juxtaposition of the dead tree with the flourishing laurel refers to Death and Resurrection, while the peacock is a traditional symbol of immortality.

A versatile artist, Girolamo dai Libri was equally famous as an illuminator of books, whence his name dai Libri ("of the books"). Of modern manufacture, the frame is based on Renaissance prototypes.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Madonna and Child with Saints
  • Artist: Girolamo dai Libri (Italian, Verona 1474–1555 Verona)
  • Date: ca. 1520
  • Medium: Tempera and oil on canvas
  • Dimensions: Arched top, 157 x 81 1/2 in. (398.8 x 207 cm)
  • Classification: Paintings
  • Credit Line: Fletcher Fund, 1920
  • Object Number: 20.92
  • Curatorial Department: European Paintings

More Artwork

More Artwork
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Manuscript Illumination with David in Prayer in an Initial M, from a Psalter, Girolamo dai Libri Italian, Tempera, ink, and gold on parchment, Italian
Manuscript Illumination with David in Prayer in an Initial M, from a Psalter
Girolamo dai Libri
1501–2
Manuscript Illumination with Singing Monks in an Initial D, from a Psalter, Girolamo dai Libri Italian, Tempera, ink, and gold on parchment, Italian
Manuscript Illumination with Singing Monks in an Initial D, from a Psalter
Girolamo dai Libri
1501–2
Manuscript Illumination with the Holy Women at the Tomb in an Initial A, from an Antiphonary, Girolamo dai Libri Italian, Tempera, gold, and ink on parchment, Italian
Manuscript Illumination with the Holy Women at the Tomb in an Initial A, from an Antiphonary
Girolamo dai Libri
ca. 1490–1500
Madonna and Child Enthroned with Saints, Raphael (Raffaello Sanzio or Santi) Italian, Oil and gold on wood
Madonna and Child Enthroned with Saints
Raphael (Raffaello Sanzio or Santi)
ca. 1504
Madonna and Child Enthroned, Carlo Crivelli Italian, Tempera on wood, gold ground
Madonna and Child Enthroned
Carlo Crivelli
1472

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