The ''Madonna and Child with a Bishop'' is a painting by the Italian Renaissance master

Pinturicchio Pinturicchio, or Pintoricchio (, ; born Bernardino di Betto; 1454–1513), also known as Benetto di Biagio or Sordicchio, was an Italian painter during the Renaissance. He acquired his nickname (meaning "little painter") because of his sma ...

, painted around 1495 and housed in the Museu de Belles Arts of

Valencia, Spain Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the autonomous community of Valencia and the third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is also the capital of the province of the same name. The wider urban area al ...

. The work was painted in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus ( legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

, when Pinturicchio was the favorite painter of Pope

Alexander VI Pope Alexander VI ( it, Alessandro VI, va, Alexandre VI, es, Alejandro VI; born Rodrigo de Borja; ca-valencia, Roderic Llançol i de Borja ; es, Rodrigo Lanzol y de Borja, lang ; 1431 – 18 August 1503) was head of the Catholic Chur ...

. The pope's cousin, Francisco Borgia, commissioned a work to send to the family's chapel in the Collegiate of Xàtiva, in Spain, perhaps to celebrate his appointment as

bishop of Teano The Diocese of Teano (Latin: ''Dioecesis Theanensis'') was a Roman Catholic diocese in Italy, located in the city of Teano in the province of Caserta in Campania, Italy. In 1818, it was united the Diocese of Calvi Risorta to form the Diocese of ...

(1495). The painting was long considered as the work of the artist's collaborators, due to the presence of 19th century repainting and yellowing: however, later restoration showed the delicate quality of the work and the sumptuousness of the style, typical of Pinturicchio. The painting is derived from the '' Madonna with the Christ Child Writing'' (c. 1494–1498), which also shows the child in philosopher's garments, standing on a stool (with the Borgia coat of arms), writing on a book which the Virgin is giving to him. This work adds the portrait of the commissioner, painted in profile, kneeling on the right, a position already used by Pinturicchio in the '' Madonna of Peace'' (c. 1490). Jesus wears a

dalmatic The dalmatic is a long, wide-sleeved tunic, which serves as a liturgical vestment in the Catholic, Lutheran, Anglican, United Methodist, and some other churches. When used, it is the proper vestment of a deacon at Mass, Holy Communion or ot ...

and a

pallium The pallium (derived from the Roman ''pallium'' or ''palla'', a woolen cloak; : ''pallia'') is an ecclesiastical vestment in the Catholic Church, originally peculiar to the pope, but for many centuries bestowed by the Holy See upon metropol ...

, perhaps inspired by local late Antique and medieval mosaics, different from the thin veils which were typical of the contemporary Umbrian and Tuscan schools. The use of a

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

golden background and the flowers were adaptations to the taste of the commissioner. The small birds are symbols of the Passion of Christ.

Sources

* {{15C-painting-stub 1490s paintings Paintings of the Madonna and Child by Pinturicchio