Virgin and Child (c. 1490–1500): Art, History and Details

Virgin and Child (c. 1490–1500) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection. The museum's creator attribution is Pintoricchio (Italian, c. 1454–1513).

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

Bernardino di Betto, called Pinturicchio, is said to have acquired his nickname ("little painter") because of his small stature, and used it to sign some of his paintings. Born in Perugia, the provincial capital of Umbria, he trained under local artists, eventually becoming a paid assistant of the painter Perugino. He is known to have assisted Perugino on his frescoes in the Sistine Chapel and eventually established his own reputation as a respected artist. Many of his commissions were for churches and wealthy families in Umbria and elsewhere. Though the source of this painting is unknown, it was likely produced for a home or private chapel.

Object facts

• Title: Virgin and Child
• Date: c. 1490–1500
• Creator attribution: Pintoricchio (Italian, c. 1454–1513)
• Culture: Italy, late 15th Century
• Type: Painting
• Technique: tempera and oil on wood
• Dimensions: Framed: 75.5 x 60 x 11 cm (29 3/4 x 23 5/8 x 4 5/16 in.); Unframed: 45.5 x 34.2 cm (17 15/16 x 13 7/16 in.)
• Collection: MED - Medieval Art
• Department: Medieval Art
• Accession number: 1944.89

Collection credit

The Elisabeth Severance Prentiss Collection

Further reading listed by the museum

• Catalogue of the Elisabeth Severance Prentiss Collection : Bequest of Elisabeth Severance Prentiss, 1944. [Cleveland]: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1944.
• Francis, Henry. "Paintings in the Prentiss Bequest." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 31, no. 6, pt. 1 (June 1944): 87-89.
• The Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art Handbook. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1958.

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.