 Detail infrared digital composite of Saint John captured with an InGaAs camera using an H filter and composited by John Delaney and Paola Ricciardi of the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. |
 Detail infrared digital composite of the Christ child figure captured with an InGaAs camera using an H filter and composited by John Delaney and Paola Ricciardi of the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. |
The nature and quality of the drawn lines suggests two different types of underdrawing, one that results from a design transfer, likely from a cartoon, and another that appears to be a freehand sketch. The even weight of the drawn lines and the schematic nature of the contours and details within forms, suggest that cartoons may have been used for the figures of both the children and for the Madonna’s torso and arms. As the two Allentown children are identical in scale and pose to those in the earlier Florentine painting, it is likely that the same cartoon was used. This re-use of cartoons in the artist’s workshop, as well as the sharing of cartoons between different artists and their studios, is common in Renaissance and early modern painting.
 Detail of the Madonna’s torso. Madonna and Child with Saint John the Baptist, 1523-25 Allentown Art Museum, Pennsylvania Samuel H. Kress Collection, 1961. (1960.10) Photo credit: Allentown Art Museum, Samuel H. Kress Collection, 1961. (1960.10) Click image to enlarge |
 Detail of the Madonna’s torso. Madonna and Child with Saint John the Baptist, 1520 Galleria dell’ Accademia, Florence © Scala / Art Resource, NY Click image to enlarge |
 Infrared digital composite detail of the Madonna’s torso with underdrawing lines mapped in red. Click image to enlarge. |
|
The underdrawing for the robe of the Allentown Madonna is different from the painted images of both the Allentown and Florentine versions, with a distinct style for the sleeve and placement of the mantle. The underdrawn mantle is similar to that in the Florentine painting, draping diagonally across her torso; however, unlike the Florenentine painting, it wraps more tightly around the Madonna’s waist. The Allentown Madonna’s body is turned more toward the Christ Child, with her proper right shoulder positioned further to the right, her neckline higher, her extended proper right arm lowered, and her fingers raised. In the initial drawing her body was more foreshortened, with her knees placed much higher.
 Detail of the Madonna’s left proper knee. Click image to enlarge |
 Infrared digital composite detail of the Madonna’s left proper knee. Underdrawing, denoted by the two green arrows, reveals an initial higher placement of the knee and smaller scale of the torso. |
The nature of the underdrawing for the Allentown Madonna suggests the use of a cartoon. The similarities of the underdrawn image to the Florence painting imply that the same cartoons may have been used for both paintings; however, there are enough deviations to make us wonder whether the cartoon was originally made for another, earlier painting (either lost or never completed) and re-used for both the Florence and Allentown paintings, with changes made during the painting stages of both works. As many of Bugiardini’s paintings incorporate elements from earlier works, especially in his large series of paintings depicting the Madonna, the Christ Child and St. John, Bugiardini must have kept and re-used cartoons in his studio, and appears to have brought some of them with him during his brief stay in Bologna. Infrared examination of the Florence painting would provide further insight to Bugiardini’s use of cartoons.
| previous page | 1.2.3.4.5.6.7.8.9.10.11.12.13.14.15 | next page |
Glossary
Back to Kress Painting Research
Back to the Conservation Center