Lorenzo di Credi
(Florence c. 1546–1536)
The Virgin and Child Before a Landscape
oil on panel
76.8 x 57.5 cm (30¼ x 22⅝ in.)
c. 1500–10
‘The fine texture of her veil with Credi’s inimitable folds is a feature which the celebrated Leonardo might well have envied.’
Robert Brewer, A Study of Lorenzo di Credi, Florence 1970, p. 74
Hover to zoom to maximum level or click to enlarge
Artwork details
The son of a goldsmith, Lorenzo di Credi was born in Florence in about 1456. He was first recorded in the workshop of Andrea del Verrocchio (c. 1435–1488) in 1480, where he trained alongside Leonardo da Vinci (1452–1519) and Pietro Perugino (1446–1523). He quickly became Verrocchio’s trusted assistant, taking over the workshop in his master’s absences, and was Verrocchio’s heir upon his death in 1488. Lorenzo produced technically outstanding paintings, meticulously detailed and with enamel-like surfaces.
Lorenzo di Credi remained faithful to Verrocchio’s style well into the sixteenth century and guided the workshop’s activities towards a conservative specialisation, supplying mainly portraits, altarpieces and paintings for personal devotion, such as this Virgin and Child. His steadfast commitment to a more traditional aesthetic resonated with more conservative patrons and ensured that demand for his work continued well into the 1520s. He died in 1536.
Sir Samuel Scott, Bt, London;
By descent to Sir E.H. Scott, Bt, London;
By whose Trustees sold posthumously (Sold by Order of the Trustees), Sotheby’s, London, 21 November 1934, lot 105, for £760, to
Edward Speelman, London;
With Firma D. Katz, Dieren, 1936;
In association with Schaeffer Galleries, New York, 1936–40;
From whom acquired by the Wickwire Collection, New York, in 1940;
By descent in the Wickwire Collection until 2009;
Private collection, France;
The Klesch Collection.
Nijmegen, Tentoonstelling van 16de en 17de Eeuwsche Schilderijen en Antiquiteiten in Huize ‘Belvoir’ te Nijmegen, 15 July – 1 September 1936, no. 15;
Toronto, Art Gallery of Ontario, Trends in European Painting, 1937;
San Francisco, San Francisco Museum of Art, Exhibition of Paintings by Old Masters lent by Schaeffer Galleries, March 1938, no. 1 repr.;
Los Angeles, Los Angeles Museum, Exhibition of Paintings by Old Masters lent by Schaeffer Galleries, April 1938, no. 1, repr.;
San Francisco, California Palace of the Legion of Honor, Seven Centuries of Painting, 29 December 1939 – 28 January 1940, no. L-5.
A. Frankfurter, ‘Masterpieces in the Art Market; Part I: The Old Masters’, The Art News, XXXV, 19 December 1936, p. 17, repr. on the cover;
Art News, XXXV, 22 December 1936, p. XX;
E. Strauss, ‘The Picture Plane and its Interpretation’, Pacific Art Review, II, nos 3–4, Winter 1942–43, p. 9, fig. 9;
G. Dalli Regoli, Lorenzo di Credi, Cremona 1966, pp. 59, 74 and 173, no. 159, fig. 211;
R. Brewer, A Study of Lorenzo di Credi, Florence 1970, pp. 74–75;
G. Dalli Regoli, ‘I “maltrattati” delle Vite vasariane; riflessioni e marginali risarcimenti’, Critica d’arte, 8 ser, LXX, no. 33–34, January–June 2008, pp. 29–30, fig. 37.
If you would like to use this image for educational purposes, please contact us.
Hover to zoom to maximum level or click to enlarge
Lorenzo di Credi
(Florence c. 1546–1536)
The Virgin and Child Before a Landscape
oil on panel
76.8 x 57.5 cm (30¼ x 22⅝ in.)
c. 1500–10
‘The fine texture of her veil with Credi’s inimitable folds is a feature which the celebrated Leonardo might well have envied.’
Robert Brewer, A Study of Lorenzo di Credi, Florence 1970, p. 74
Artwork details
The son of a goldsmith, Lorenzo di Credi was born in Florence in about 1456. He was first recorded in the workshop of Andrea del Verrocchio (c. 1435–1488) in 1480, where he trained alongside Leonardo da Vinci (1452–1519) and Pietro Perugino (1446–1523). He quickly became Verrocchio’s trusted assistant, taking over the workshop in his master’s absences, and was Verrocchio’s heir upon his death in 1488. Lorenzo produced technically outstanding paintings, meticulously detailed and with enamel-like surfaces.
Lorenzo di Credi remained faithful to Verrocchio’s style well into the sixteenth century and guided the workshop’s activities towards a conservative specialisation, supplying mainly portraits, altarpieces and paintings for personal devotion, such as this Virgin and Child. His steadfast commitment to a more traditional aesthetic resonated with more conservative patrons and ensured that demand for his work continued well into the 1520s. He died in 1536.
Sir Samuel Scott, Bt, London;
By descent to Sir E.H. Scott, Bt, London;
By whose Trustees sold posthumously (Sold by Order of the Trustees), Sotheby’s, London, 21 November 1934, lot 105, for £760, to
Edward Speelman, London;
With Firma D. Katz, Dieren, 1936;
In association with Schaeffer Galleries, New York, 1936–40;
From whom acquired by the Wickwire Collection, New York, in 1940;
By descent in the Wickwire Collection until 2009;
Private collection, France;
The Klesch Collection.
Nijmegen, Tentoonstelling van 16de en 17de Eeuwsche Schilderijen en Antiquiteiten in Huize ‘Belvoir’ te Nijmegen, 15 July – 1 September 1936, no. 15;
Toronto, Art Gallery of Ontario, Trends in European Painting, 1937;
San Francisco, San Francisco Museum of Art, Exhibition of Paintings by Old Masters lent by Schaeffer Galleries, March 1938, no. 1 repr.;
Los Angeles, Los Angeles Museum, Exhibition of Paintings by Old Masters lent by Schaeffer Galleries, April 1938, no. 1, repr.;
San Francisco, California Palace of the Legion of Honor, Seven Centuries of Painting, 29 December 1939 – 28 January 1940, no. L-5.
A. Frankfurter, ‘Masterpieces in the Art Market; Part I: The Old Masters’, The Art News, XXXV, 19 December 1936, p. 17, repr. on the cover;
Art News, XXXV, 22 December 1936, p. XX;
E. Strauss, ‘The Picture Plane and its Interpretation’, Pacific Art Review, II, nos 3–4, Winter 1942–43, p. 9, fig. 9;
G. Dalli Regoli, Lorenzo di Credi, Cremona 1966, pp. 59, 74 and 173, no. 159, fig. 211;
R. Brewer, A Study of Lorenzo di Credi, Florence 1970, pp. 74–75;
G. Dalli Regoli, ‘I “maltrattati” delle Vite vasariane; riflessioni e marginali risarcimenti’, Critica d’arte, 8 ser, LXX, no. 33–34, January–June 2008, pp. 29–30, fig. 37.
If you would like to use this image for educational purposes, please contact us.