Updated 10 June 2025
On Display Permanent collection
On Display
Landscape with Castles
| Date | End of the 15th century - early 16th century |
|---|---|
| Materials and Techniques | oil on panel (tondo) |
| Size（cm） | 139.7 (diameter) x 139.7 |
| Credit Line | Purchased |
| Category | Paintings |
| Collection Number | P.1978-0003 |
A shoreline backed with split rock cliffs fills the foreground of this composition, while the church and other buildings of a town are shown in the central left. A meandering path climbs behind this town towards several castles seen in the background, all elements of a richly detailed landscape scene. The "pure" landscape was extremely rare in this period, and the duck in the lower left and the castle in the upper right appear to be cut off, therefore further research is needed to confirm the supposition that it was a fragment of a larger composition. Various theories exist regarding the painter of the work, with B. Berenson attributing the work to the Florentine painter Piero di Cosimo, and R. Offner attributing it to the Venetian painter Vittore Carpaccio. However, M. Bacci, in her book Piero di Cosimo, indicates that the landscape is clearly different from that of the Tuscan region, and that the architecture is also the type found in the Veneto region. These factors suggest that a Veneto region painter created the painting. Finally, E. Fahy has verbally conveyed the idea, reiterated by L. Puppi, that Montagna painted the work. This seems the most convincing of the attributions. In any event, further research will be needed on this fascinating work. (Source: Masterpieces of the National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo, 2009, cat. no. 14)
Provenance
Liechtenstein Collection, Wien, (purchased by Prince Johann in Italy in 1882); Wildenstein, New York; Purchased by the NMWA, 1978.
Exhibition History
- 1968
- Benefit exhibition for Arthritis Foundation, Wildenstein Gallery, New York, 0 October 1968 - 0 October 1968
- 1978
- European Landscape Painting, Yamanashi Prefectural Museum of Art, Kofu, 3 November 1978 - 15 January 1979, cat. no. 4
- 1999
- Florence and Venice: Italian Renaissance Paintings and Sculpture from the State Hermitage Museum, National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo, 20 March 1999 - 20 June 1999, cat. no. 14
- 2014
- Voices Calling from the Unusual: Hirano Keiichiro's Selection of Western Art Masterpieces, National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo, 8 April 2014 - 15 June 2014, cat. no. 28
Bibliography
- 1909
- Berenson, Bernard. The Florentine Painters of the Renaissance. New York/London, 1909, p. 166 (attributed to Piero di Cosimo).
- 1931
- Kronfeld, Adolf. Führer durch die fürstlich Liechtensteinsche Gemäldegalerie in Wien. 3rd. ed., Wien, Kunstverlag Wolfrum, 1931, p. 165, no. 844 (as anonymous).
- 1931
- Marle, Raimond van. The Development of the Italian Schools of Painting. vol. 13, The Hague, Nijhoff, 1931, p. 380, note 3 (attributed to Piero di Cosimo).
- 1932
- Berenson, Bernard. Italian Pictures of the Renaissance. Oxford, Clarendon, 1932, p. 455 (attributed to Piero di Cosimo).
- 1936
- Berenson, Bernard. Italian Pictures of the Renaissance. Milano, 1936, p. 390 (attributed to Piero di Cosimo).
- 1938
- Berenson, Bernard. The Drawings of the Florentine Painters. vol. 3 (catalogue), Chicago, 1938, cited p. 258, no. 1858 (attributed to Piero di Cosimo).
- 1963
- Berenson, Bernard. Italian Pictures of the Renaissance: Florentine School. vol. 1, London, Phaidon, 1963, p.177 (attributed to Piero di Cosimo).
- 1966
- Bacci, Mina. Piero di Cosimo. Milano, Bramante, 1966, p. 124 (attributed to a painter from the Veneto).
- 1968
- Without benefit of labels. Art News. vol. 67, no. 8, December 1968, p. 58, p. 34, fig. 4.
- 1979
- The National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo: Catalogue of paintings. Tokyo, The National Museum of Western Art, 1979, no. 199, repr.
- 1979
- Gazette des Beaux-Arts. Ser. 6, tome 93, Apr. 1979,"Chronique des Arts", p. 67, no. 337, repr.
- 1980
- Annual Bulletin of the National Museum of Western Art. No. 13 (1978), 1980, Koshi, Koichi. New Acquisitions (Painting). pp. 16-17, New Acquisitions (Catalogue). pp. 24-25, 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. 14, 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, cno. 14, col. repr.
- 2013
- Masterpieces: The National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo. Tokyo, The Western Art Foundation, 2013 (Japanese, preface in Japanese and English), no. 14, col. repr.