Conservation funded by Frank and Phyllis Angello.

Lorenzo Costa was born in Ferrara in 1460, and would later move to Bologna in 1483, where he established himself as a gifted portrait painter and completed many ambitious altarpieces. Following the death of Renaissance master Andrea Mantegna, Costa received an invitation from Isabella d’Este to succeed Mantegna as the new court painter of Mantua.

This depiction of the Madonna and Child dates to circa 1501-1503, when Costa was still living in Bologna. The Virgin Mary is seated in a lush landscape, holding the Christ child in her lap. He tenderly rests his hand upon hers as he turns his glance upward, as if to the heavens, while she gazes down lovingly upon her son. The delicately rendered trees in the background are silhouetted against the pale blue sky, and a lake is visible along the righthand border of the composition. The small scale and intimate quality of this work are typical of devotional paintings intended for the private sphere.

The work was purchased by Vittorio Cini for his art collection in 1952.

Lorenzo Costa’s panel painting of the Madonna and Child was suffering from several condition problems prior to conservation treatment. Numerous non-original surface residues were distorting the colors and details of the painting, including oxidized varnishes and grime. Areas of overpainting that had been applied during a previous treatment had become unstable, and were lifting and flaking. The painting’s intricately carved and gilded frame was also in a poor state of conservation, suffering structural problems caused by damage from an infestation of wood-boring insects.

Conservator Claudia Vittori consolidated and corrected the areas of lifting and flaking paint, before gradually thinning and removing the disfiguring non-original surface residues. Any small surface losses were then integrated using removable conservation paints, and a final layer of protective varnish was applied.

The panel painting and frame were treated for an infestation of wood-boring insects. The wooden support backing and gilded frame were also treated, particularly to repair and resolve the issue structural instability that had resulted from non-ideal methods and materials used during a previous intervention.

Lorenzo Costa (1460-1535)
Madonna and Child
c. 1501-03, oil and gilding on wood panel
58 x 43 cm

Palazzo Cini Gallery