5 December 2024 ‒ 9 March 2025
Image: Parmigianino, 'The Madonna and Child with Saints', 1526-7
As part of our 200th anniversary year, the National Gallery celebrates Parmigianino’s Madonna and Child with Saints (1526‒7) which returns to public view for the first time in a decade, following meticulous conservation treatment.
A masterpiece of 16th-century Italian painting, it was presented to the Gallery in 1826, two years after our foundation.
Also known as 'The Vision of Saint Jerome', a title acquired in the 19th century in response to the unusual depiction of the apparently sleeping saint, the altarpiece will be displayed for the first time alongside a selection of some of the most important preparatory drawings, tracing the development of Parmigianino’s unique final composition.
Through generously lent works from major national and international collections, this exhibition offers visitors a rare opportunity to follow the artist’s creative process, from initial concept ideas to final designs, and delve into the mind of one of the most innovative artists of the Renaissance.
Girolamo Francesco Maria Mazzola (1503‒1540) was named after his birthplace of Parma, in northern Italy. Born into a family of painters, by his early twenties Parmigianino was acknowledged as a precocious talent, garnering the attention of wealthy, cultured patrons. His growing fame as an artist preceded his arrival in Rome around May 1524 and he was received personally by Pope Clement VII. Rome at the time was dominated by Raphael’s serene, classicising style of idealised beauty. The grace, ingenuity and refinement of execution evident in Parmigianino’s early work led to him being hailed as a ‘Raphael reborn’.
'The Madonna and Child with Saints' was painted by Parmigianino when he was just 23 years old during his brief period in Rome, where he worked from 1524 to 1527. It was commissioned by a noble woman patron, Maria Bufalini, as an altarpiece for a chapel in the church of San Salvatore in Lauro, an important religious complex at the heart of the city. It was a major opportunity for the young artist at a crucial moment in his career. Yet, the painting would never be installed in the church for which it was intended.
According to Giorgio Vasari (1511‒1574), Parmigianino was at work on this altarpiece in 1527 at the outbreak of the disastrous Sack of Rome. When the imperial troops of Charles V broke into the artist’s studio, they were so amazed by the painting that they allowed Parmigianino to continue working. He eventually fled Rome, and the painting was hidden away for safekeeping. It was only recovered by the patron’s heirs long after the artist’s death and transferred to their family church in Città di Castello, in central Italy.
Parmigianino’s Madonna demonstrates the breadth of the influences he absorbed in Rome, from the art of Raphael and Michelangelo to antique sculpture. More than simply a compilation of other artists’ work, however, it reveals Parmigianino’s uniquely visionary approach to image making.
Against streaming rays of light, a majestic Madonna in rose pink is seated on a throne of billowing clouds. Her infant son, a blonde ringletted toddler, steps out towards us. Beneath them, the superhuman figure of John the Baptist fixes our gaze as his impossibly long arm directs our attention upwards to the holy mother and child above. Behind him, a slumbering Jerome appears strangely oblivious to the divine appearance, reclining into the thick tangle of overgrown roots and leaves around him.
Image: Parmigianino, 'Study for a Composition of the Virgin and Christ Child with Saint John the Baptist and Saint Jerome below' (recto), 1526–7, British Museum, London (1882,0812.488) © The Trustees of the British Museum
Parmigianino was one of the most talented and prolific draughtsmen of the 16th century. Almost 1,000 drawings attributed to him survive today and in number and technical accomplishment, he comes second only to Leonardo da Vinci). Parmigianino dedicated numerous drawings to the development of the Vision of Saint Jerome, from atmospheric, velvety chalk studies to swirling pen and ink sketches. They reveal his exquisite draughtsmanship and extraordinary mastery across media.
The recent conservation treatment has removed accumulated layers of old varnish and retouching, revealing the lively quality of Parmigianino’s brushwork and rich colouring. The painting’s new frame, made by the Framing Department at the National Gallery, is designed based on surviving contemporary examples and gives a sense of the painting’s original church setting.
His distinctive style, characterised by impossibly elongated figures and an air of refinement coupled with an unexpected subversion of space paved the way for the development of the style later known as Mannerism. With its extreme verticality of composition, luscious brushwork and glimmering palette, this painting has astounded viewers for almost 500 years. This exhibition is an opportunity to rediscover one of the great masterpieces of early Italian Mannerism for the public and specialists alike.
The exhibition catalogue provides an in-depth resource on the painting by the exhibition curators, with guest contributions by Aimee Ng, Curator at the Frick Collection, New York and Larry Keith, Head of Conservation and Keeper of the Collection at the National Gallery. The catalogue also features a special plate section with full-page illustrations of all the known preparatory drawings. Dr Alambritis’s research presented in this exhibition has been supported by the Rick Mather David Scrase Foundation.
Dr Maria Alambritis, Project Curator: Parmigianino, says: ‘We are very fortunate to have Parmigianino’s Roman masterpiece, the only altarpiece by him in a UK collection, in the National Gallery. Its return to public view after a decade is a very special moment to celebrate its significance and this exhibition offers an unprecedented opportunity to encounter the painting together with a selection of its exceptional preparatory drawings. I hope visitors will be delighted to discover this magnificent work and immerse themselves in Parmigianino’s supremely elegant style and unique visionary world.’