The Virgin and Child with Saint John the Baptist

Description

This tender composition of the Virgin and Child is a beautiful example of Andrea Andreani’s use of chiaroscuro woodcut, an early color-printing technique he revived and brought to new levels of technical sophistication. Using four different woodblocks printed in succession, Andreani created a tonally complex monochrome, carving highlights into one of the blocks that let the white of the paper shine through. This crisp, early impression shows corrections to the Virgin’s shoulder, perhaps added by hand in the artist’s workshop.

Provenance

John Barnard (died 1784), London [his initials (Lugt 1419), inscribed verso, upper right, in pen and brown ink]; sold, Thomas Philipe, London, June 19, 1798, probably part of lot 24. William Roscoe (1753–1831), Liverpool [not stamped, cf. Lugt 2645]; Joseph Weld, Ince Blundell Hall, Lancashire; sold, Christie’s, London, June 30, 1976, lot 139. Colnaghi, New York, by 1988 [New York 1988 exh. cat.]. Samuel Josefowitz (1921–2015), Pully, to 2004. Robert M. Light & Co, Santa Barbara. C. G. Boerner, New York. Private collection, from 2007 [all provenance after 1988 is according to C. G. Boerner]. Sold by C. G. Boerner, New York, to the Art Institute of Chicago, 2023.

The Virgin and Child with Saint John the Baptist

Andrea Andreani

1591

Accession Number

269851

Medium

Chiaroscuro woodcut, in brown and black, from four blocks, with touches of brown watercolor, on cream laid paper

Dimensions

33.9 × 19.9 cm (13 3/8 × 7 7/8 in.)

Classification

prints and drawing

Museum

The Art Institute of Chicago

Chicago, United States

Credit Line

The Amanda S. Johnson and Marion J. Livingston Endowment Fund