Cima da Conegliano
Madonna and Child in a Landscapecirca 1496-1499

On view:

Geffen Galleries

Oil painting, seated woman in red dress and blue mantle with gold halo holds a nude infant on her lap, before an open landscape with hills, a hilltop town, and blue sky

Oil painting in an ornate gilded frame with carved acanthus decoration. A seated woman in a red dress and blue mantle holds a standing nude infant before an Italian landscape with buildings, trees, and cloudy sky.

Oil painting of a haloed woman in red robe and blue veil holding a haloed infant, both depicted against a landscape with hilltop buildings and cloudy sky; smooth modeling and fine detail characteristic of Italian Renaissance panel painting.

Oil painting detail, an adult hand with a decorated cuff cradling the bare feet and legs of a standing infant, against deep blue and red drapery with smooth, refined brushwork.

Detail of an oil painting showing deep blue and crimson drapery beside a marble column, with a reddish-brown stone ledge in the foreground inscribed with the Latin text "IOANNE S BAPTISTA · P ·" in serif capitals.

Artist or Maker: Cima da Conegliano
Italy, Conegliano, circa 1459-1517
Title: Madonna and Child in a Landscape
Date Made: circa 1496-1499
Medium: Oil on panel
Dimensions: Panel: 28 3/4 × 23 3/8 in. (73.03 × 59.37 cm) Framed: 44 × 40 × 5 1/2 in. (111.76 × 101.6 × 13.97 cm)
Credit Line: Gift of The Ahmanson Foundation in memory of Robert H. Ahmanson
Accession Number: M.2008.9
Classification: Paintings
Collecting Area: European Painting and Sculpture
Curatorial Notes: Established as an artist in Venice by the mid-1480s, Cima da Conegliano produced large altarpieces and small paintings intended for private devotion, such as Madonna and Child in a Landscape. In the foreground, Mary attentively watches over the Christ Child, who is precariously balanced over her lap. Below them is a parapet of brocatello, the orange-red marble from Verona frequently used in Venetian architecture, inscribed with the painter’s signature. Warm light bathes the figures, highlighting the sumptuous primary colors of Mary’s gown. The background, strongly evocative of the Veneto landscape, may allude to the painter’s hometown of Conegliano, located about forty miles north of Venice. Cima skillfully incorporates scenic elements from the Alps in the background, along with scenes from the life of Mary and Christ, such as the Flight into Egypt and the Visitation, to enrich the sacred context.

The painting likely served as an aid for individual prayer and meditation, typically practiced in the seclusion of one’s bedroom. The use of devotional images was rooted in a desire for visionary experiences. Such objects evolved from the Eastern Christian tradition of “Holy Icons,” or images of sacred figures, venerated in Byzantium and subsequently in the Venetian region. The subject of the Madonna and Child—considered especially appropriate for worship by women and children—was favored since Mary is an important patron saint of Venice, second only to Saint Mark. The tender glance shared between the Madonna and Christ Child underscores their humanity, perhaps strengthening the painting’s function as a devotional object.

2024
Provenance: Purchased in England at the end of the 19th century. William Egmont Bieber, London, from at least the 1920s.(1) Wilhelm Ernst Schramm, Hamburg, to; Johann Gottfried Schramm (1894–1982), Hamburg,(2) by descent. Anonymous (sale, New York, Christie’s, 19 Apr. 2007, lot 64, sold to); [Adam Williams Fine Arts Ltd., New York, sold 2008 to]; LACMA.
Footnotes
(1) William Egmont Bieber may be identical to George William Egmont Bieber (b. 1840), whose "select and valuable
collection of English coins and medals, in gold, silver and copper" was sold at Sotheby's, London, 13 May 1889. George William Egmont Bieber, a London businessman, is listed in the electoral register in London until 1924.
(2) Johann Gottfried Schramm was an architect known as Gottfried Schramm, who was active in Hamburg from 1929-1931.
Selected Bibliography: Marandel, J. Patrice. Abecedario: Collecting and Recollecting. Los Angeles: Art Catalogues; LACMA, 2017.
Lehmbeck, Leah, editor. Gifts of European Art from The Ahmanson Foundation. Vol. 1, Italian Painting and Sculpture. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 2019.
Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Transformation: the LACMA Campaign. Los Angeles: Museum Associates, 2008.

Related Unframed

Cima da Conegliano
Madonna and Child in a Landscapecirca 1496-1499

On view:

Geffen Galleries

Artist or Maker: Cima da Conegliano
Italy, Conegliano, circa 1459-1517
Title: Madonna and Child in a Landscape
Date Made: circa 1496-1499
Medium: Oil on panel
Dimensions: Panel: 28 3/4 × 23 3/8 in. (73.03 × 59.37 cm) Framed: 44 × 40 × 5 1/2 in. (111.76 × 101.6 × 13.97 cm)
Credit Line: Gift of The Ahmanson Foundation in memory of Robert H. Ahmanson
Accession Number: M.2008.9
Classification: Paintings
Collecting Area: European Painting and Sculpture
Curatorial Notes: Established as an artist in Venice by the mid-1480s, Cima da Conegliano produced large altarpieces and small paintings intended for private devotion, such as Madonna and Child in a Landscape. In the foreground, Mary attentively watches over the Christ Child, who is precariously balanced over her lap. Below them is a parapet of brocatello, the orange-red marble from Verona frequently used in Venetian architecture, inscribed with the painter’s signature. Warm light bathes the figures, highlighting the sumptuous primary colors of Mary’s gown. The background, strongly evocative of the Veneto landscape, may allude to the painter’s hometown of Conegliano, located about forty miles north of Venice. Cima skillfully incorporates scenic elements from the Alps in the background, along with scenes from the life of Mary and Christ, such as the Flight into Egypt and the Visitation, to enrich the sacred context.

The painting likely served as an aid for individual prayer and meditation, typically practiced in the seclusion of one’s bedroom. The use of devotional images was rooted in a desire for visionary experiences. Such objects evolved from the Eastern Christian tradition of “Holy Icons,” or images of sacred figures, venerated in Byzantium and subsequently in the Venetian region. The subject of the Madonna and Child—considered especially appropriate for worship by women and children—was favored since Mary is an important patron saint of Venice, second only to Saint Mark. The tender glance shared between the Madonna and Christ Child underscores their humanity, perhaps strengthening the painting’s function as a devotional object.

2024
Provenance: Purchased in England at the end of the 19th century. William Egmont Bieber, London, from at least the 1920s.(1) Wilhelm Ernst Schramm, Hamburg, to; Johann Gottfried Schramm (1894–1982), Hamburg,(2) by descent. Anonymous (sale, New York, Christie’s, 19 Apr. 2007, lot 64, sold to); [Adam Williams Fine Arts Ltd., New York, sold 2008 to]; LACMA.
Footnotes
(1) William Egmont Bieber may be identical to George William Egmont Bieber (b. 1840), whose "select and valuable
collection of English coins and medals, in gold, silver and copper" was sold at Sotheby's, London, 13 May 1889. George William Egmont Bieber, a London businessman, is listed in the electoral register in London until 1924.
(2) Johann Gottfried Schramm was an architect known as Gottfried Schramm, who was active in Hamburg from 1929-1931.
Selected Bibliography: Marandel, J. Patrice. Abecedario: Collecting and Recollecting. Los Angeles: Art Catalogues; LACMA, 2017.
Lehmbeck, Leah, editor. Gifts of European Art from The Ahmanson Foundation. Vol. 1, Italian Painting and Sculpture. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 2019.
Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Transformation: the LACMA Campaign. Los Angeles: Museum Associates, 2008.

Related Unframed

From the Collection: Madonna and Child in a Landscape

February 2, 2015
Linda Theung