Madonna and Child, with St. Elizabeth, the young St. John the Baptist, St. Jerome and St. Augustin
2nd half of 16th c.
tempera on wood
205 x 154 cm
Signed centre bottom: BV
Deposit from the Church of Bodrogolaszi
The large panel was discovered in 1975, with its painted surface facing down, in the floor of the bell tower of the church of Bodrogolaszi in Hungary. As a characteristic work painted in the mannerist style, it has unusual colors and forms. The figures’ unnatural, twisted poses and the arbitrary spatial arrangement are also typical. Saint Elizabeth places her arm lightly on the shoulder of the Virgin; the gesture is echoed in the embrace of their children. The figures enclosed in the large pink cloud seem as if they appeared to Saint Jerome, in his vision, and to Saint Augustine, in his thoughts. The master of the work can be identified on the basis of the monogram BV (Bastiano Vini or Veronese) at the bottom.
D.S.
