(Verona circa 1445–1526/9)
Madonna and Child,
tempera on panel, 77 x 51 cm, framed

Provenance:
with Frascione, Florence;
Private collection Treviglio;
Private European collection

Literature:
C. del Bravo, Liberale da Verona, Firenze 1967, no. CLXXVIII, p. 308, no. 163 (as Liberale da Verona)

The present painting is registered in the Fototeca Zeri under no. 20145 (as Liberale da Verona).

According to Vasari, Liberale da Verona was apprenticed to the painter Vincenzo di Stefano of Verona with whom he trained as a miniaturist. Between 1467 and 1482 he worked in central Italy, in Siena, alongside Girolamo da Cremona. Here, he most notably worked for the monastery of Monte Oliveto Maggiore and for the Opera del Duomo, especially receiving commissions from cardinal Francesco Piccolomini for whom he decorated the coral books of the Duomo di Siena, which are today conserved in the Biblioteca Piccolomini.

The works of Liberale exerted a profound influence on the arts in Siena and especially on the paintings of Matteo di Giovanni and Francesco di Giorgio Martini. Around 1488, Liberale returned to Verona where he produced paintings of medium format, such as the present painting, which were made for private devotion; he also supplied frescoes to various churches in the city.

The landscape in the background of the present painting appears to represent the hills and walls fortifying Verona. The distinctive city walls were originally built by the Romans, and when these fell into disuse the Commune rebuilt the city walls in the 12th century to secure its position as an independent city state. Under the subsequent Spanish, French, Venetian and Austrian rule the city’s fortifications were further enhanced.