Museum of Art
Madonna and Child with Two Saints and Two Monks
Artist: Bernardino India (Italian, 1528-1590)
Medium: pen and brown ink, brush and brown wash, over black chalk on paper
Dimensions: 6 3/4 in. x 6 1/8 in. (17.1 cm. x 15.6 cm.)
Credit Line: Bequest of the Honorable James Bowdoin III
Accession Number: 1811.5.a
The Bowdoin sheet was traditionally attributed to Correggio and then, more reasonably, to the school of Parmigianino. The attribution to India was made independently in 1975 by David P. Becker and Mario di Giampaolo. Typical features of India's style are the prominent "dot" eyes, the delicate curly hair, and the thin, attenuated draftsmanship of the figures and drapery. The strong shading of the washes is also characteristic. There is a particularly close sheet at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC, also depicting the Madonna and Child enthroned with surrounding saints (fig. 1).
Although there are records of India having painted altarpieces of the Madonna enthroned with saints, none can be related to the Bowdoin drawing. The Madonna in this sheet holds a book, traditionally the book of Wisdom, symbolizing the Virgin Mary as the Mother of Wisdom. The figure at the far left is Mary Magdalene, denoted by the ornate jar of ointment she holds. The two male figures appear to be wearing the cowls and robes of a monastic order. The figure at the far right is difficult to identify, as she has no visible attributes.
David P. Becker (edited by Sarah Cantor)
Image:
Fig. 1: Bernardino India, The Madonna and Child Enthroned with Saint John the Baptist and Saint Andrew, 1528-90, National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, 1972.59.3
Artist Biography:
Bernardino India spent virtually his entire career in and around Verona, executing altarpieces and fresco decorations for local churches and villas. Trained in the studio of Gian Francesco Caroto (c. 1480-c. 1555), he was influenced by contemporary mannerist painters from Mantua and Parma. His later work combines the monumental figures of Giulio Romano (1499-1546) with the bright colors of Paolo Veronese (1528-88). India collaborated with the architect Andrea Palladio on the decoration of at least two of the latter's commissioned villas.
Commentary credited to David P. Becker (or not otherwise captioned) appeared in his catalogue Old Master Drawings at Bowdoin College (Brunswick: Bowdoin College Museum of Art, 1985).