Attributed to Gerolamo Colleoni - Madonna and Child in the Robe of Salvator Mundi

The iconography of motherhood is closely linked to the subject of the Madonna and Child. It is probably one of the most popular iconographies throughout the history of both Western and Eastern art. The Madonna and Child appears since the dawn of medieval painting and remained a constant subject as long as religious themes dominated artistic production (that is, until the 19th century, when themes inspired by everyday life began to be introduced). In the case of the present work, the artist invents a type of iconography that, among the Madonnas and Child in the history of Italian art, constitutes a true rarity. Indeed, the artist introduces an unusual element, depicting the Baby Jesus as the so-called "Salvator Mundi." He appears in a solemn, blessing pose, holding a globe, a symbol of creation. This type of iconography was reserved for depictions of the adult Christ, and it is truly exceptional to find it in a Madonna and Child, making this work truly unique and extraordinary. Furthermore, the “Salvator Mundi” is an iconographic theme that is particularly widespread in Northern Europe, and its appearance in this work is undoubtedly due to the many contacts that Flemish artists had in the Veneto region, the area from which the painter who executed the work in question comes.

Formally, the work fully respects all the prerogatives of Venetian painting from the late Renaissance. This is especially true in the composition, which places extraordinary emphasis on the natural setting. The group with the two subjects is in the foreground, reclining on a canopied chair, while a splendid landscape opens up to the left. Thus, the work mirrors the most famous prototypes of Giovanni Bellini or, going even further back, Cima da Conegliano, certifying its Venetian origins. The fact that we are now in the 16th century, however, is attested by the artist's leap to a mature tonality, which constructs the work's space through subtle passages of color and light. Thus, the figures blend perfectly into the landscape, thanks to an atmospheric rendering that, while enhancing their monumental, quintessentially 16th-century forms, nuances them naturally. Within this undoubted Venetian affiliation, it should be noted, however, that this artist shows some affinities with Nordic painting, in a certain hardness of the draperies due to a considerable importance given to the drawn structure.

As effectively noted in Dr. Federica Spadotto's study of this work, the combination of elements attributable to the Veneto region and a certain influence from Flemish painting links this painter to Lotto's circle, which consisted of artists who, like the great master, combined the classical spirit of the late Renaissance with a certain desire for typically Northern realism (such as the exponents of the Brescian School, Moretto, Savoldo, and Romanino). Based on this assumption, Dr. Federica Spadotto has attributed the work in question to Gerolamo Colleoni, an artist born in Calusco d'Adda around 1500 and who died in Bergamo in 1570. He was an artist very close to Lorenzo Lotto, whose work seems to follow the master's footsteps, although the painter's Lombard heritage remains strong.

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