Artwork
Maria mit Kind und vier Heiligen
Maria mit Kind und vier Heiligen is an unspecified painting by the Early Renaissance artist Marco Palmezzano. It dates from 1500 and is held in the collection of the Bavarian State Painting Collections.
About this work
Overview
Created circa 1500 by Marco Palmezzano, a painter and architect linked to the Forlì school, this oil work presents a solemn assembly of figures within an architecturally defined interior. The composition is now part of the Alte Pinakothek’s holdings, offering a glimpse of early‑Renaissance devotional art that bridges Italian and Northern influences.
Subject & Meaning
At the centre stands the Virgin Mary, seated on a raised dais and cradling the infant Christ. Flanking her are four male saints, each identifiable by distinct attributes—a book, a staff, a lute, and a contemplative pose—suggesting a narrative of intercession and the theological virtues associated with the holy family.
Technique & Style
The precise folds of the garments and the miniature architectural model on the throne underscore the artist’s attention to detail.
Palmezzano employs a restrained palette and sharp, linear modeling that gives the figures a sculptural quality. The architectural backdrop, with its tall columns and distant landscape, is rendered with minimal chiaroscuro, resulting in a flat, almost wood‑carved appearance. The precise folds of the garments and the miniature architectural model on the throne underscore the artist’s attention to detail.
History & Provenance
The painting entered the collection of the Alte Pinakothek in Munich, where it remains on display. Its attribution to Palmezzano aligns with his known output for the Forlì region, and the work’s stylistic affinities with Northern Renaissance precedents have informed scholarly assessments of cross‑regional artistic exchange during the early 16th century.
Artist & collection
Artist
Marco Palmezzano (1460–1539) was an Italian painter and architect, belonging to the Forlì painting school, who painted in a style recalling earlier Northern Renaissance models. He was mostly active near Forlì.
Adoration of the Kings
The Adoration of the Magi
Hl. Sippe
Mary enthroned with the child and four saints
Madonna enthroned with the sleeping child and four saints
Die thronende Maria mit dem Kind und den Heiligen Jacobus d.Ä. und Jacobus d.J.
Saint Anne Enthroned with the Virgin and Child
Presentation of Christ in the Temple
Madonna med barnet omgivet af fire helgener
Mary with the child in glory adored by six saints
The marriage of St. Catherine
Mary with the child adored by four saints