Collections: European Art: Madonna and Child Enthroned with Angels

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Madonna and Child Enthroned with Angels

The altarpiece of which this is a direct replica was commissioned from Luini in 1523 for the church of San Magno in the Northern Italian town of Legnano. Luini’s debt to his contemporary Leonardo da Vinci can be seen in the soft transitions in the modeling of the faces of the Madonna and Child, and in the similar sweetness of the angels’ expressions. The artistic mastery is evident not only in the rendering of human form, but also in the bravura artistry of the bubble above the Child’s hand; only the lightest touches of white paint indicate the reflection of light off the bubble’s transparent surface and reveal its presence.

The cherub at the extreme top of the panel was uncovered during recent conservation treatment of the altarpiece. Incision marks, visible to the naked eye in raking light, reveal that this composition was probably traced from the same cartoon, or full-size preparatory drawing, as the original altarpiece.


• Artist: Workshop of Bernardino Luini, Italian, Milanese School, circa 1480-1532
• Medium: Oil on poplar panel
• Place Made: Italy
• Dates: mid 16th century
• Dimensions: 96 3/4 x 54 1/16 in. (245.7 x 137.3 cm) Frame: 106 1/2 x 69 x 6 1/2 in. (270.5 x 175.3 x 16.5 cm)
• Collections: European Art
• Museum Location: This item is not on view
• Accession Number: 16.441
• Credit Line: Purchased with funds given by Martin Joost, Frank S. Jones, L. W. Lawrence, Dick S. Ramsay, John T. Underwood, Henry H. Benedict, Herman Stutzer, F. Healy, Horace J. Morse, Luke V. Lockwood, Henry L. Batterman, Edward C. Blum, Frank L. Babbott, William H. Crittenden, W.C. Courtney, Frederic B. Pratt, H. I. Pratt, Alfred T. White, E. LeGrand Beers, C. D. Pratt, C. J. Peabody, Wallace A. Putnam, and A. Augustus Healy
• Image: Overall, 16.441.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph
Workshop of Bernardino Luini (Italian, Milanese School, circa 1480-1532). Madonna and Child Enthroned with Angels, mid 16th century. Oil on poplar panel, 96 3/4 x 54 1/16 in. (245.7 x 137.3 cm) Frame: 106 1/2 x 69 x 6 1/2 in. (270.5 x 175.3 x 16.5 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Purchased with funds given by Martin Joost, Frank S. Jones, L. W. Lawrence, Dick S. Ramsay, John T. Underwood, Henry H. Benedict, Herman Stutzer, F. Healy, Horace J. Morse, Luke V. Lockwood, Henry L. Batterman, Edward C. Blum, Frank L. Babbott, William H. Crittenden, W.C. Courtney, Frederic B. Pratt, H. I. Pratt, Alfred T. White, E. LeGrand Beers, C. D. Pratt, C. J. Peabody, Wallace A. Putnam, and A. Augustus Healy, 16.441 (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 16.441.jpg)