Provenance
Niccolini family, Casa Niccolini, Florence, by 1677;[1] sold after 1772 to Johann Joseph Zoffany [d. 1810]; sold c. 1775 to George Nassau Clavering-Cowper, 3rd Earl Cowper [d. 1789], Panshanger, Hertford, England; by inheritance to George Augustus Clavering-Cowper, 4th Earl Cowper [d. 1799], Panshanger; by inheritance to Peter Leopold Louis Francis Nassau Clavering-Cowper, 5th Earl Cowper [d. 1837], Panshanger; by inheritance to George Augustus Frederick Cowper, 6th Earl Cowper [d. 1856], Panshanger; by inheritance to Francis Thomas De Grey Cowper, 7th Earl Cowper and 7th Baron Lucas [d. 1905], Panshanger and Wrest Park, Bedford, England; by inheritance to his widow, Katrine Cecilia Compton Cowper, Countess Cowper [d. 1913], Panshanger; by inheritance to Lady Ethel Desborough, granddaughter of the 6th Earl, Panshanger; sold 1928 to (Duveen Brothers, Inc., London, New York, and Paris);[2] sold November 1928 to Andrew W. Mellon, Pittsburgh and Washington, D.C.; deeded 30 December 1930 to The A.W. Mellon Educational and Charitable Trust, Pittsburgh;[3] gift 1937 to NGA.
[1] Francesco Bocchi and Giovanni Cinelli, _Le Belezze della Citte di Firenze_, Florence, 1677: 408.
[2] According to Fern Rusk Shapley, _Catalogue of the Italian Paintings_, 2 vols., Washington, D.C., 1979: 1:389-391.
[3] Dates of Mellon acquisition and deed to Mellon Trust are according to David Finley's notebook donated to the National Gallery of Art in 1977, now in the Gallery Archives.
Accession Number
1937.1.25
Medium
oil on panel
Dimensions
overall: 80.7 × 57.5 cm (31 3/4 × 22 5/8 in.) | framed: 118.43 × 97.16 × 21.59 cm (46 5/8 × 38 1/4 × 8 1/2 in.)
Classification
Painting
Credit Line
Andrew W. Mellon Collection
Background & Context
Background Story
The Niccolini-Cowper Madonna from 1508 depicts the Virgin Mary and the Christ Child in a composition that shows Raphael's full mastery of the Florentine Madonna type during his first years in Rome. The 1508 date places this at the beginning of Raphael's Roman period, when he had just arrived in Rome to work for Pope Julius II and was absorbing the influence of Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo that would transform his style. The Virgin's tender interaction with the Christ Child demonstrates the emotional warmth and compositional perfection that distinguish Raphael's Madonnas from those of his contemporaries.
Cultural Impact
The Niccolini-Cowper Madonna represents Raphael's Florentine Madonna type at its most accomplished: the tender interaction between Virgin and Child, the perfect compositional balance, and the emotional warmth that distinguish Raphael's Madonnas from those of his contemporaries. The 1508 date makes this a key work in the transition from Raphael's Florentine to his Roman period, showing the influence of Leonardo and Michelangelo that would transform his style in the years ahead.
Why It Matters
The Niccolini-Cowper Madonna is Raphael's Florentine Madonna at its most tender: the Virgin and Christ Child in a composition of emotional warmth and compositional perfection that distinguishes Raphael from his contemporaries. The 1508 painting captures the moment when Raphael's Florentine style was absorbing the influence of Leonardo and Michelangelo that would transform his art.
