Circle of Sandro Botticelli, (Florence, 1445-1510), The Madonna and Child with Infant Saint John the Baptist, c. 1480

32 1/8 x 26 inches.

Provenance: Albizzi Family, Florence, and by descent to Gherardo di Albizzo degli Albizzi until 1950 With Nicholas Acquavella, New York, 1950 Bruno Pagliai and Merle Oberon, Acapulco, Mexico, 1950-1979 Mr. and Mrs. Bravo-Valdes-Pagliai, Mexico, 1979-1986 Anonymous sale; Christie's London, April 22, 1988, Lot 19 Exhibited: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1966 to July 10, 1975 Literature: Also Lusini, "Un inedito di Sandro Botticelli," Editrice Rassegna Arti, Venice, 1960. Harry Trimborn, "24 Great Paintings Go on Loan to Museum," The Los Angeles Times, September 22, 1966. This captivating devotional image is a quintessential work of the Florentine Renaissance. From the collection of one of the last surviving members of the Albizzi family in Florence--major rivals and later allies of the Medici--it draws together ideas from the leading artists of the late fifteenth century. A young John the Baptist, patron saint of Florence, looks up to the Christ Child, who steadies the saint's cross and blesses him. The Madonna's long, elegant fingers, hallmarks of Sandro Botticelli and his circle, hover over Christ's shoulder. Equally informed by Botticelli are the Madonna's ovoid face, downcast eyes, pouting lips, and narrow chin. Her sober headdress and sensible drapery, on the other hand, derive from the manner of Domenico Ghirlandaio, who famously portrayed Giovanna, a member of the Albizzi clan, in a portrait now in Madrid (c. 1486) and in frescoes commissioned by her in-laws, the Tornabuoni, in their family chapel in Santa Maria Novella (1486-1490). The stone parapet and wall that frame the atmospheric landscape to either side of the background were popularized in Florence by Andrea del Verrocchio and his students, including Lorenzo di Credi and Leonardo da Vinci, both of whom have been associated with the comparable and beguiling Dreyfus Madonna in the National Gallery of Art in Washington. (Professor Gary M. Radke)