Madonna and Child . Carlo Francesco Nuvolone

The Madonna holds the Christ Child, who raises two fingers in a gesture of blessing. Their tender bond expressed through the sweetness and gracefulness of the figures reveals Nuvolone's study of the famous Madonnas painted by Raphael (1483-1520) (see Walters 37.484). The slightly elongated proportions add elegance to the figural style. By the use of sfumato (the almost imperceptible blending of light and shade), the figures emerge softly and luminously from the dark background. Although the artist was active in the 17th century, the lightness of his manner would have made him eminently attractive to 18th-century patrons.
between circa 1620 and circa 1662 (Baroque)
oil on canvas
Painted surface Height: 99.8 cm (39.3 in). Width: 80.4 cm (31.7 in).

Walters Art Museum
37.463
Place of creation Lombardy
Object history

Cardinal (?) [label on reverse reads "la possession de Cardinal..."]
1868 (?): Prince Napoléon [label on reverse reads: appartient au Prince Napoléon Palais Royal 1868]
Don Marcello Massarenti Collection, Rome [date and mode of acquisition unknown] [1897 catalogue: no. 185, as Guercino]
1902: purchased by Henry Walters, Baltimore
1931: bequeathed to Walters Art Museum by Henry Walters

Credit line Acquired by Henry Walters with the Massarenti Collection, 1902
Inscriptions

[Number] On reverse, stencilled in black: 905 A
[Seal] Abraded red wax seal on reverse; [Transcription] On reverse on paper label: G. F. Barbieri
[Transcription] On reverse in script: Le Tableau par Guercino, autrefois [dans] la possession de Cardinal... appartient au Prince Napoléon Palais Royal 1868

References Federico Zeri (1976) (in English) Italian paintings in the Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore: Walters Art Gallery, no. 378, p. 496 OCLC: 2463997.