Bernardino Luini (circle of) (Dumenza ca. 1481 - Milan 1532) Madonna and Child between Saints Jerome and John the Baptist

Lot description

Bernardino Luini (circle of) (Dumenza c. 1481 - Milan 1532) Madonna and Child between Saints Jerome and John the Baptist, tempera and oil on panel, 44.5 x 40.5 cm - with frame, 67.5 x 62.5 cm. On the back: coat of arms and metal plate with the inscription: POZZI GIUSEPINNA + Luigi + Triacca Amalia - Born in Varese. This is a devotional half-length composition with the Virgin holding the naked Child, in a tender and meditative pose. On the left is Saint Jerome in cardinal's robes, on the right is Saint John the Baptist in a camel-hide tunic. Symbolic objects are arranged on the surface: a book (the Scriptures), two cherries (referring to original sin and the blood of the Passion), and a rose, an allusion to Marian purity, in keeping with the motif of the Madonna del Roseto. Given the sweetness of the faces, the inclination of the Virgin's head, and the soft modulation of light, the work fits within the context of Leonardo's Lombard culture and suggests attribution to a painter from Bernardino Luini's circle, in relation to the models widespread in Milan in the early decades of the 16th century. The comparison seems particularly pertinent with the Madonna dell'Aiuto in the Basilica of Sant'Ambrogio, given the similarities in the composition of the mother-child group and the rendering of the facial features.