Madonna with Child and Saint John the Baptist

The Madonna with Child and Saint John the Baptist is based, with some differences, on the painting known as the Madonna del Pozzo, which is housed in the Uffizi Galleries in Florence and attributed to Jacopo dell’Indaco. The work was part of Cardinal Tommaso Ruffo di Bagnara’s collection, although the date it became part of the collection is unknown. It is not listed among those exhibited by the prelate between 1702 and 1705 in the exhibitions curated by Giuseppe Ghezzi in San Salvatore in Lauro in Rome, which did not include his entire picture gallery (De Marchi 1987, 167–168, 187, 195, 197; De Angelis 2010, 57). Believed to be by Raphael, it has been documented in the cardinal’s possession since at least 1734, as indicated by Jacopo Agnelli’s description. He saw the work in the archbishop’s palace in Ferrara, where Tommaso Ruffo resided when he was bishop of the city from 1717 to 1738 (Agnelli 1734, 62-63; Ferrara 2008; De Angelis 2010, 54; Ferrara 2011; Caridi 2017, 89, 158–160; Haskell 2019, 293). Upon moving to Rome, Tommaso Ruffo relocated the collection to his residence in the Palazzo della Cancelleria (De Angelis 2010; Gioffré 2014; De Angelis 2013). The painting is mentioned in the inventory compiled after Cardinal’s death in 1753 by Sebastiano Conca and Giovanni Sorbi. In his will from December 1752, he designated his nephew Litterio as his sole heir and arranged for the picture gallery to be transferred to Naples (De Angelis 2010, 55–56, 68, 76–77, n. 78; Salvatore 2013, 116; Paviolo 2014). The panel was displayed, still attributed to Raphael, at the Neapolitan exhibition on April 8, 1877 (Esposizione dell’arte antica napoletana 1877, 155; Battista 2005, 65–66, 73, n. 14) and is recorded in Naples in the inventory of Fabrizio Ruffo’s possessions dated June 22, 1909. In that document, the proximity of the painting to the so-called Madonna del Pozzo degli Uffizi, then believed to be by Raphael, was noted; this comparison led to the Florentine work being considered an “improved reproduction by the same author” and therefore excluded “the possibility” that both paintings could be attributed to Raphael (Battista 2005, 75, n. 12). The panel was subsequently downgraded to “pupil of Raphael, possibly Giuliano Bugiardini” in the deed of donation of the Ruffo di Bagnara collection to the Italian State on May 15, 1915 (Battista 2005, 78, n. 16). After entering the Museum of Palazzo Venezia, Antonino Santangelo considered the painting the work of a Florentine painter and Roberto Longhi dated it around 1520-1530, a judgment confirmed by Federico Zeri (Santangelo 1947, 19; Zeri 1955, 10, n. 165).
The authorship of its prototype, the Madonna del Pozzo, which is variously dated to the 1510s, is disputed. The Uffizi panel is believed to originate from the destroyed church of San Pier Maggiore, based on Giorgio Vasari’s description that mentions a Madonna with Child and Saint John the Baptist by Franciabigio in that location; this work was also mentioned by Francesco Bocchi as being by Andrea del Sarto (Vasari [1568] 1976, IV, 506; Bocchi, in Bocchi Cinelli [1591] 1677, 358). According to Giovanni Cinelli, the painting was acquired by Cardinal Carlo de’ Medici, and in his inventory of 1667, the Madonna del Pozzo is listed as being by Franciabigio (Cinelli, in Bocchi Cinelli 1677, 358; McKillop 1974, 155, n. 26). It was exhibited in the Tribuna degli Uffizi under the name of Raphael until Joseph A. Crowe and Giovan Battista Cavalcaselle identified it as the work mentioned by Vasari and attributed it to Franciabigio, an attribution largely accepted by critics, with some exceptions suggesting Giuliano Bugiardini (Crowe, Cavalcaselle 1866, III, 501; McKillop 1974, 155–157, n. 26). Based on doubts expressed by Longhi, Fiorella Sricchia Santoro has recently suggested that the artist may be Jacopo Torni, known as l’Indaco (Longhi 1953, 43, 54; Sricchia Santoro 1963; Sricchia Santoro 1993; Zurla 2010-2011; Padovani 2012, 26).
The widespread popularity of the Florentine painting is evidenced by numerous copies, as reported by Susan Regan McKillop. Some copies are known only from photographs. Additionally, there exists a cartoon at the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge, which was likely not preparatory for the final work. Due to its extremely poor state of preservation, it is impossible to identify the author or function of this cartoon (De Amicis 1898; McKillop 1974, pp. 157, 187, 197, 208, 212, 216, 220; Scrase 2011, pp. 261-262, n. 232). The painting in Palazzo Venezia exhibits notable differences from the Madonna del Pozzo. It is larger with different height and width proportions compared to the Uffizi painting, which measures 106 x 81 cm. The characters are similar to those in the original, except that Saint John holds the cross and scroll in the former, while in this panel, the Child holds the cross wrapped in a scroll with the inscription “ECCE AGNUS DEI.” A key difference lies in the landscape depiction; the section featuring the well on the left side of the background, which named the work and was inspired by a 1504 engraving by Dürer, is absent (Sricchia Santoro 1993, 13; Scherbaum 2001, I, 114–115).
The author’s approach to the model indicates that this copy was made at a later date, aiming to modernize certain elements of the composition that were considered outdated. This is especially noticeable in the landscape: the detailed depiction of the inhabited countryside, with its clear, early morning air in shades of blue and green, is altered to resemble a nocturne. It is structured in a series of distant valleys and mountains in various shades of blue, contrasting with the brown, almost black, colors of the ground and the two trees on either side serving as a backdrop. The Virgin’s dress also reflects this chromatic change, shifting from red to pink. The impressive landscape of the Palazzo Venezia painting is not typical of early sixteenth-century artwork, indicating that the piece was likely created at the end of the century.

Francesca Mari

Entry published on 12 June 2025

Fair. The depiction of Saint John appears less complete than the rest of the group, with visible brushstrokes around the body and noticeable pentimenti. However, a comparison with a historical photograph from the Central Institute for Cataloguing and Documentation (GFN 35143) indicates that this appearance may be entirely or partially due to excessive cleaning, which has resulted in the loss of portions of the paint finish, such as the saint’s fur. Similar effects are also observable in other areas of the landscape and on the tree tops.

On the reverse, the support has been restored with wooden inserts at the joints of the panels..

Ferrara, Cardinal Tommaso Ruffo di Bagnara collection, by 1734 and until 1738;
Rome, Cardinal Tommaso Ruffo di Bagnara collection, until 1753;
Naples, Litterio Ruffo collection, from 1753;
Rome, Museo di Palazzo Venezia, donated by Fabrizio Ruffo, May 15, 1915.

Naples, Esposizione dell’arte antica napoletana, 1877.

Photograph from the Kunsthistorisches Institut in Florence (Franciabigio folder);
ICCD photograph (inv. E 35143).

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