Currently not on view

Virgin, Child, Infant John, and Saint Margaret,

1545–50

Carlo Portelli da Loro, before 1510–1574; born Loro Ciuffenna, Italy; died Florence, Italy
y340

Carlo Portelli was a founding member of the Florentine Academy of Design, the first European art academy, established in 1563. It replaced the older artists’ guild, the Compagnia di San Luca, in which artists were considered craftsmen. As members of the Academy, they became gentlemen of higher social standing and peers of the members of the literary and philosophical academies that flourished in the Renaissance.

This painting exemplifies the sophisticated Mannerist style that prevailed in sixteenth-century Florence with regal, impossibly elongated figures packed into shallow spaces. The Virgin and Saint Margaret are fashionably dressed in robes of unusual color harmonies—pinks, peaches, acid greens, and blues.

More Context

Handbook Entry

Information

Title
Virgin, Child, Infant John, and Saint Margaret
Dates

1545–50

Medium
Oil on wood panel
Dimensions
125.5 × 97 cm (49 7/16 × 38 3/16 in.) frame: 175.3 × 144.1 × 10.5 cm (69 × 56 3/4 × 4 1/8 in.)
Credit Line
Gift of Harold Godwin, Class of 1879
Object Number
y340
Culture
Materials

<p>Panciatici Palace, Florence, possibly by the early 17th century; [1]</p> <p>Emilie Grigsby, New York; [2]</p> <p>Emilie Grigsby Auction, Eighth Session, January 25, 1912 Evening Sale, Anderson Auction Company, New York, Lot 1174. [3]</p> <p>Mr. and Mrs. W. G. Oakman, New York (?);</p> <p>Mrs. W. G. Oakman Auction, April 24, 1914, Fifth Avenue Art Galleries, New York (?); [4]</p> <p>Gifted in 1914 by Harold Godwin to The Princeton University Art Museum. [5]</p> <p>NOTES:</p> <p>[1] See curatorial file for letter from Harold Godwin; The Anderson Galleries, <em>Illustrated Catalogue of the Art and Literary Collections of Miss Emilie Grigsby of New York City, Part I – Objects of Art [...] On Exhibition in the Anderson Galleries and to be Sold by Unrestricted Public Auction During the Week Beginning January 22, 1912</em>, New York: Anderson Auction Company, 1912, Lot 1174, p. 182.</p> <p>[2] Emilie Grigsby (ca. 1880-1964) was the mistress of industrialist and art collector Charles T. Yerkes (1837-1905), and became an avid art collector herself with Yerkes’ support. In 1912 when her collection was sold at auction, she also sold her mansion at 660 Park Avenue that Yerkes had built for her and moved to London. See https://research.frick.org/directory/detail/4803. For Yerkes, see https://research.frick.org/directory/detail/1159.</p&gt; <p>[3] The auction catalogue description of the painting states: "Francesco dei Rossi (Called Salviati) 1510- 1563. 1174. Madonna and Child with St. John and an Angel. The fair-haired mother in a pink dress with her blue mantle across her knees is seated, the nude boy in her lap. Her head is seen in profile as she turns to an angel seen at her back. The Child turns away from her to take a reed cross from the young St. John at his side. Salviati who took his name from his patron Cardinal Salviati, was a friend of Vasari while both were pupils of Andrea del Sarto and later of Bandinelli. The frame is Italian carved wood of XVI Century. Bought from Prince Panciatici’s Palace in Florence where it was said to have hung for three hundred years. Canvas. Height, 50 inches; width, 37 1-2 inches." See The Anderson Galleries, <em>Illustrated Catalogue of the Art and Literary Collections of Miss Emilie Grigsby of New York City, Part I – Objects of Art [...] On Exhibition in the Anderson Galleries and to be Sold by Unrestricted Public Auction During the Week Beginning January 22, 1912</em>, New York: Anderson Auction Company, 1912, p. 182. In the copy of the auction catalogue uploaded to the Internet Archive and digitized by The Getty Research Institute, the number "100." is written in pencil to the left of the lot number, perhaps indicating the painting’s sale price. See https://archive.org/details/illustratedcatal02ande/page/182/mode/2up.</…] See curatorial file for letter from Harold Godwin, which notes "W. G. Oakman sale." At this time an auction catalogue cannot be found, but there are published reports of an auction of the belongings of Mrs. W. G. Oakman (Eliza Conkling Oakman, 1856-1931, wife of financier Walter G. Oakman, 1845- 1922) sold at her home in New York City on April 24, 1914 through Fifth Avenue Art Galleries. Eliza Conkling Oakman was a noted art collector, but more research is needed to confirm this is the correct collection and auction. See <em>American Art Annual </em>XI, ed. Florence N. Levy (New York: The American Federation of Arts, 1914): 471, 473; https://www.nytimes.com/1914/04/24/archives/chinese-ginger-jars- 164-crowd-at-sale-of-mrs-wg-oakman-furnishings.html.</p> <p>[5] Harold Godwin (1858-1931) was the brother-in-law of Allan Marquand (1853-1924).</p>