
Francesco Francia
approximately 1450-1517.
Virgin and Child with SS. Dominic and Barbara
Bologna, Italy, 15th to 16th century.
Oil on panel.
panel: 32 1/2 x 26 5/8 inches (815 x 675 mm); framed: 46 1/4 x 40 1/8 inches (1175 x 1020 mm)
AZ025
Provenance
Padre Ferdinando Francesco Sampieri (d. 1787), Bologna; from whom inherited in 1787, Luigi Sampiere (1758-1797); from whom inherited, Francesco Sampieri; from whom purchased by Prince Eugène de Beauharnais, Duke of Leuchtenberg, Munich; Leuchtenberg Gallery, St. Petersburg (according to Sulley invoice); Sulley & Co., London; from whom purchased by J. Pierpont Morgan, 15 March 1907.
Inscriptions/Markings
The wood label on bottom center of frame reads, "Francesco Raibolini, called Francia".
Summary
The Virgin and Child with S. Dominic at her right and Saint Barbara at her left. St. Barbara is holding an arrow and a tower. S. Dominic holds a lily and a book. He wears the religious garb of the Domenican order.
The lily may signify St. Dominic's purity while the tower represents St. Barbara's martyrdom, her incarceration by her father.
The lily may signify St. Dominic's purity while the tower represents St. Barbara's martyrdom, her incarceration by her father.
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