After Boltraffio, Sacra Conversazione”

Kenyon Cox, After Boltraffio, "Sacra Conversazione", 1878-1882, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mrs. Ambrose Lansing, 1983.114.16
Copied Kenyon Cox, After Boltraffio, "Sacra Conversazione", 1878-1882, oil on canvas, 12 5812 78 in. (32.132.8 cm.), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mrs. Ambrose Lansing, 1983.114.16
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Artwork Details

Title
After Boltraffio, Sacra Conversazione”
Artist
Date
1878-1882
Dimensions
12 5812 78 in. (32.132.8 cm.)
Credit Line
Gift of Mrs. Ambrose Lansing
Mediums
Mediums Description
oil on canvas
Classifications
Keywords
  • Figure group
  • Landscape
  • Religion — New Testament — Christ
  • Religion — New Testament — Mary
  • Religion — saint
Object Number
1983.114.16

Artwork Description

Kenyon Cox studied in Paris, as did many nineteenth-century American art students from affluent families. While there, he trained with well-known French artists, but his works were largely influenced by classical and Renaissance art. This small painting is a copy of a work in the Louvre by Italian Renaissance artist Giovanni Boltraffio (about 1467-1516). Sacra conversazione, or sacred conversation, was a common subject during the Renaissance and generally portrayed the Virgin and child surrounded by saints. Boltraffio's version depicts the Virgin and child with John the Baptist, Saint Sebastian, and the patrons of the painting, Giacomo Marchione de Pandolfi da Casio and his son Girolamo Casio.