Vision of Saint Bernard

Bernard of Clairvaux is seated in a portico that opens onto a natural landscape, holding a book. He encounters an apparition of the Virgin and Child emerging from the clouds. In the background, the devil is depicted as bound and defeated. 
The attribution of this artwork to Francesco Ubertini, known as Bachiacca (1494–1557), initially reported by Venturi while the painting was still in the Sterbini Collection (Venturi 1905, 434–435; Venturi 1906, 133–135, n. 32), has been unanimously accepted by critics. Experts have identified the Florentine master’s characteristics within the vibrant chromatic contrast between the cold tones of the landscape and the dynamic chiaroscuro of Saint Bernard’s robe. Additionally, the distinctive narrative style is highlighted by the positioning of the saint, who appears to be on the verge of movement due to his amazement (Capretti 1990, 158). 
Bachiacca’s decision to portray the Vision within a portico was likely influenced by the setting of a similar work created by Pietro Perugino, his first mentor, several years earlier. This painting is currently housed in the Alte Pinakothek in Munich. The saint’s gestures and profile also bear resemblance to this artwork and Fra Bartolomeo’s Vision of Saint Bernard, which is located in the Uffizi (1504–1507).
Bachiacca drew on German engravings, specifically the works of Lucas van Leyden, to illustrate the drapery of the saint, characterized by its animated rippled folds (Capretti 1990, 158; The Illustrated Bartsch, XII, 1981, 161, n. 29).
The group of the Virgin and Child, similar to Donatello’s Madonna Dudley (London, Victoria & Albert Museum), is strikingly similar to a painting of the same subject by Francesco Granacci (New York, Metropolitan Museum) and appears in other compositions by Bachiacca (Venturi 1905, 434–435; Nikolenko 1966, 45; Sale 1981, 89–100; La France 2005, 183).
Bernard Berenson (1963, I, 20) posited that the small panel was originally part of a predella along with a Saint Francis Receiving the Stigmata (formerly London, Lee of Fareham collection). Subsequently, a Penitent Saint Jerome, auctioned in Brescia in 1992 (Gallerie d’arte Armondi 1992, no. 9), was also associated with this reconstruction. However, this hypothesis has not been unanimously accepted by critics (La France 2005, 183). 
It is believed that the painting was created during Bachiacca’s possible visit to Rome in 1524–1525. This assertion is supported by the architectural elements derived from Bramante’s cloister in Santa Maria della Pace (Abbate 1965, 42) and the demon figure inspired by Laocoon (Venturi 1905, 435; Venturi 1906, 133). A similar figure can also be seen in the predella with the Stories of Saint Acacius in the Uffizi from 1521 (La France 2005, 183). The stylistic resemblance to the panels painted by Bachiacca for the Benintendi antechamber in Florence around 1523, such as the Legend of the Son of the King of Dresden and the Baptism of Christ in Berlin, further support dating the painting to the mid-1520s.

Francesca Mari

Entry published on 12 June 2025

Good.

1946: Restoration conducted by Carlo Matteucci.

Rome, Collezione Giulio Sterbini ;
Rome, Lupi family collection, post 1911;
Rome, Collezione Giulio Armenise, 1940;
Rome, Museo Nazionale di Palazzo Venezia, since 1940.

Florence, Certosa, Pinacoteca, Bernardo di Chiaravalle nell’arte italiana, dal XIV al XVIII secolo, June 9–September 9, 1990.

Venturi Adolfo, La quadreria Sterbini di Roma, in «L’arte», 1905, pp. 423-440;
Venturi Adolfo, La Galleria Sterbini in Roma, Roma 1906, pp. 133-135, n. 32;
Venturi Adolfo, Storia dell’arte italiana, IX, I, Milano 1925, p. 473;
Salvini Roberto, in Allgemeines Lexikon der Bildenden Künstler, XXXIII, Leipzig 1966, p. 522;
Santangelo Antonino (a cura di), Museo di Palazzo Venezia. Catalogo. 1. Dipinti, Roma 1947, p. 17;
Zeri Federico (a cura di), Catalogo del Gabinetto Fotografico Nazionale. 3. I dipinti del Museo di Palazzo Venezia in Roma, Roma, 1955, p. 5, n. 8;
Berenson Bernard, Italian Pictures of the Renaissance. Florentine School, London, 1963, p. 20;
Abbate Francesco, L’attività giovanile del Bachiacca, in «Paragone», 189, 1965, p. 42;
Nikolenko Lada, Francesco Ubertini Called il Bacchiacca, New York 1966, p. 45;
Sale, in Rosenthal Gertrude (a cura di), Italian Paintings XIV-XVIII Centuries from the Collection of The Baltimore Museum of Art, Baltimore, 1981, p. 95;
The Illustrated Bartsch, XII, New York 1981;
Capretti, in Dal Prà Laura (a cura di), Bernardo di Chiaravalle nell’arte italiana, dal XIV al XVIII secolo, catalogo della mostra (Firenze, Certosa, Pinacoteca, 9 giugno-9 settembre 1990), Firenze 1990, pp. 158-159, n. 30;
Gallerie d’arte Armondi, Antologia di Maestri Antichi, Brescia 1992, n. 9;
La France Robert G., Bachiacca. Artist of the Medici Court, Firenze 2008, pp. 66, 182-183, 185, 249, n. 37.