Updated 06 March 2025
Currently not on display
Currently not on display
The Nativity
| Date | ca. 1515 |
|---|---|
| Materials and Techniques | oil on panel |
| Size（cm） | 43.8 x 36.3 |
| Inscriptions | Signed upper right on stable beam: LIONBRVN MANTV. |
| Credit Line | Purchased |
| Category | Paintings |
| Collection Number | P.1979-0001 |
This work was first published in G.F. Waagen's Treasures of Art in Great Britain (1854), and as the signature must have been painted over at that time, was attributed to the northern Italian artist Gaudenzio Ferrari. The composition develops naturally from foreground to middle ground and then onto the background, and the color scheme is richly varied. While we can spot the influence of Correggio in the foreground figures, the landscape elements in the background speak of the detailed style of the miniaturist Leonbruno and a northern, particularly Flemish technique. This work, while small, is extremely important as few authenticated works by Leonbruno remain today.(Source: Masterpieces of the National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo, 2009, cat. no. 15)
Provenance
G. J. Cholmondeley; Neeld Coll., Gritteleton, Wiltshire; Auc., Christie's, 9 June 1944, no. 6 (as Gaudenzio Ferrari); Mrs. Nora Prince-Litter; Auc., Christie's, London, 8 July 1977. no. 56; Thomas Agnew and Sons Ltd., London, by which sold to the NMWA, 1979.
Exhibition History
- 1978
- Old Master Paintings: Recent Acquisition, Thomas Agnew and Sons, Ltd., London, 0 1978 - 0 1978, cat. no. 36
- 1996
- The Crossing Visions: European and Modern Japanese Art from the Collections of The National Museum of Western Art & The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo, National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo, 20 July 1996 - 8 September 1996, cat. no. 73
- 2006
- Mantegna a Mantova, 1460-1506, the Palazzo Te, Mantua, 16 September 2006 - 14 January 2007, cat. no. 69, col. repr.
Bibliography
- 1854
- Waagen, Gustav Friedrich. Treasures of Art in Great Britain. vol. 2, London, 1854, p. 244 ( as Gaudenzio Ferrari).
- 1977
- Russel, Francis. A 'Nativity' by Lorenzo Leonbruno. The Burlington Magazine. vol. 119, no. 893, Aug. 1977, p. 601, fig. 101.
- 1977
- Christie's Review of the Season 1977. London/ NewYork, 1977, p. 26, repr.
- 1978
- Old Master Paintings (Catalogue of Thomas Agnew and Son Ltd.). London, 1978 , p.28, no. 36, col. repr.
- 1979
- Annual Bulletin of the National Museum of Western Art. No. 14 (1979), 1981, New Acquisitions (Painting). pp. 4-5, New Acquisitions (Catalogue). pp. 14-15, repr.
- 1983
- Masterpieces of the National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo. Tokyo, The National Museum of Western Art, 1983 (Japanese, preface in Japanese and English), no. 12. repr.
- 1989
- Masterpieces of the National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo. Tokyo, The National Museum of Western Art, 1989 (Japanese, preface in Japanese and English), no. 14, repr.
- 1990
- Catalogue of painting acquisitions: 1979-1989. Tokyo, The National Museum of Western Art, 1990, pp. 41-42, repr.
- 2006
- Masterpieces of The National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo. Tokyo, The National Museum of Western Art; Tokyo, The Western Art Foundation, 2006 (Japanese, preface in Japanese and English), no. 15, col. repr.
- 2006
- Mantegna a Mantova 1460-1506(exh.cat.). Lucco, Mauro. ed. Milano, Skira, 2006, cat. no. 69, col. repr.
- 2009
- Masterpieces of The National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo. Tokyo, The National Museum of Western Art; Tokyo, The Western Art Foundation, 2009, no. 15, col. repr.
- 2013
- Masterpieces: The National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo. Tokyo, The Western Art Foundation, 2013 (Japanese, preface in Japanese and English), no. 15, col. repr.