The Middle Ages and the 16th Century

Despite its modest size, this painting is a characteristic example of the type of devotional painting which was widespread between the 14th and 17th centuries on the shores of the Adriatic (both on the Dalmatian and on the Italian side), on the Greek islands under the rule of the Venetian Republic and in a number of other littoral areas, the last remnants of the Byzantine empire. There were a number of centres where such devotional paintings, which combine Byzantine elements with the influences of Venetian painting, were produced: they were painted on Crete, where the names of some of the artists are known, and also in Venice and in southern Apulia. They were probably also painted in Dalmatian cities, in Istria and on Corfu. The problems which this art, which we usually call Venetian-Byzantine or Dalmatian, presents to art historians are still far from a solution. The classification and dating of a very large number of panels, which pose a whole series of questions, are still very uncertain. The Byzantine elements on our panel are the gold background, the highlights on the textiles, in particular on the clothing of the Child, and the treatment of the shadows, with a greenish colour base. To these characteristics of ancient origin have been added influences of Venetian painting in the composition, in the treatment of the draping of the clothing and in the motif of the Virgin’s hand. These Venetian influences suggest a dating of the panel around 1475 to 1500, which is also confirmed by the decoration of the halo, which was made free hand with indents of various sizes.

The picture combines the motif of the nursing Virgin with that of the Child taking the orb, the symbol of authority over the world, from his mother’s hands. The orb is divided into three parts: the lower one, which is twice as big as the other two, represents Asia, the upper left part represents Africa, and the right part Europe. This scheme originated from the classical Greek geographical ideas before the time of Ptolemy and we find it on the so-called Sallust maps which circulated all over Europe in the Middle Ages.

Restored: 1975.
Provenance: Unknown. FCC, 1945; Prof. Dr. France Stele received the painting from the FCC; in 1974 the France Stele Art History Institute presented the work to the Narodna galerija.
Exhibitions: 1976, Ljubljana, No. 39; 1983, Ljubljana, No. 3.
Lit: Cevc and Rozman 1976, p. 56, Cat. and Fig. No. 39 (text A. Cevc, Cretan-Venetian school, 16/17C); Zeri [& Rozman] 1983, pp. 101–102, Cat. and Fig. No. 3.