{"id":4310,"date":"2025-03-24T14:33:48","date_gmt":"2025-03-24T18:33:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.bc.edu\/museum\/?p=4310"},"modified":"2025-03-24T14:33:51","modified_gmt":"2025-03-24T18:33:51","slug":"giambettino-cignaroli-madonna-and-child-with-st-john-the-baptist","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.bc.edu\/museum\/giambettino-cignaroli-madonna-and-child-with-st-john-the-baptist\/","title":{"rendered":"Giambettino Cignaroli Madonna and Child with St. John the Baptist"},"content":{"rendered":"<style>.kadence-column4310_fef05d-5d{max-width:100%;margin-left:auto;margin-right:auto;}.wp-block-kadence-column.kb-section-dir-horizontal:not(.kb-section-md-dir-vertical)>.kt-inside-inner-col>.kadence-column4310_fef05d-5d{-webkit-flex:0 1 100%;flex:0 1 100%;max-width:unset;margin-left:unset;margin-right:unset;}.kadence-column4310_fef05d-5d > .kt-inside-inner-col,.kadence-column4310_fef05d-5d > .kt-inside-inner-col:before{border-top-left-radius:0px;border-top-right-radius:0px;border-bottom-right-radius:0px;border-bottom-left-radius:0px;}.kadence-column4310_fef05d-5d > .kt-inside-inner-col{column-gap:var(--global-kb-gap-sm, 1rem);}.kadence-column4310_fef05d-5d > .kt-inside-inner-col{flex-direction:column;}.kadence-column4310_fef05d-5d > .kt-inside-inner-col > .aligncenter{width:100%;}.kadence-column4310_fef05d-5d > .kt-inside-inner-col:before{opacity:0.3;}.kadence-column4310_fef05d-5d{position:relative;}@media all and (min-width: 1025px){.wp-block-kadence-column.kb-section-dir-horizontal>.kt-inside-inner-col>.kadence-column4310_fef05d-5d{-webkit-flex:0 1 100%;flex:0 1 100%;max-width:unset;margin-left:unset;margin-right:unset;}}@media all and (max-width: 1024px){.kadence-column4310_fef05d-5d > .kt-inside-inner-col{flex-direction:column;justify-content:center;}}@media all and (max-width: 767px){.wp-block-kadence-column.kb-section-sm-dir-vertical:not(.kb-section-sm-dir-horizontal):not(.kb-section-sm-dir-specificity)>.kt-inside-inner-col>.kadence-column4310_fef05d-5d{max-width:100%;-webkit-flex:1;flex:1;margin-left:auto;margin-right:auto;}.kadence-column4310_fef05d-5d > .kt-inside-inner-col{flex-direction:column;justify-content:center;}}<\/style>\n<div class=\"wp-block-kadence-column kadence-column4310_fef05d-5d mobile-section\"><div class=\"kt-inside-inner-col\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-28f84493 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"774\" height=\"114\" src=\"https:\/\/sites.bc.edu\/museum\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/249\/2025\/01\/lynch-logo.png\" alt=\"Carolyn A. and Peter S. Lynch Collection\" class=\"wp-image-2922\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sites.bc.edu\/museum\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/249\/2025\/01\/lynch-logo.png 774w, https:\/\/sites.bc.edu\/museum\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/249\/2025\/01\/lynch-logo-300x44.png 300w, https:\/\/sites.bc.edu\/museum\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/249\/2025\/01\/lynch-logo-768x113.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 774px) 100vw, 774px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<style>.wp-block-kadence-spacer.kt-block-spacer-4310_a05782-c4 .kt-block-spacer{height:60px;}.wp-block-kadence-spacer.kt-block-spacer-4310_a05782-c4 .kt-divider{border-top-width:1px;height:1px;border-top-color:#f1f1f1;width:100%;border-top-style:solid;}@media all and (max-width: 767px){.wp-block-kadence-spacer.kt-block-spacer-4310_a05782-c4 .kt-divider{width:100%!important;}}<\/style>\n<div class=\"wp-block-kadence-spacer aligncenter kt-block-spacer-4310_a05782-c4\"><div class=\"kt-block-spacer kt-block-spacer-halign-center\"><hr class=\"kt-divider\" \/><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><strong>Giambettino or Giuseppe (Fra Felice) Cignaroli<\/strong><br><em>Madonna and Child with St. John the Baptist<\/em>, 1750\u20131800<br><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Oil on canvas<br>McMullen Museum of Art, Boston College, 1988.30<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1000\" height=\"1000\" src=\"https:\/\/sites.bc.edu\/museum\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/249\/2025\/03\/madonna.jpg\" alt=\"Madonna and Child with St. John the Baptist\" class=\"wp-image-4312\" style=\"width:1202px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sites.bc.edu\/museum\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/249\/2025\/03\/madonna.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/sites.bc.edu\/museum\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/249\/2025\/03\/madonna-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/sites.bc.edu\/museum\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/249\/2025\/03\/madonna-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/sites.bc.edu\/museum\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/249\/2025\/03\/madonna-768x768.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:25px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-not-stacked-on-mobile has-background is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-28f84493 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\" style=\"background-color:#f1f1f1\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\"><strong><strong><strong><strong><strong><strong><strong><strong><strong>Stephanie C. Leone<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><br>Professor, Art History<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignright size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"200\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/sites.bc.edu\/museum\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/249\/2025\/03\/leone.jpg\" alt=\"Stephanie C. Leone\" class=\"wp-image-4288\" style=\"width:78px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sites.bc.edu\/museum\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/249\/2025\/03\/leone.jpg 200w, https:\/\/sites.bc.edu\/museum\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/249\/2025\/03\/leone-150x150.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:25px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-28f84493 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:33.33%\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"848\" height=\"1016\" src=\"https:\/\/sites.bc.edu\/museum\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/249\/2025\/03\/raphael-frame.jpg\" alt=\"Madonna of the Chair\" class=\"wp-image-4313\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sites.bc.edu\/museum\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/249\/2025\/03\/raphael-frame.jpg 848w, https:\/\/sites.bc.edu\/museum\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/249\/2025\/03\/raphael-frame-250x300.jpg 250w, https:\/\/sites.bc.edu\/museum\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/249\/2025\/03\/raphael-frame-768x920.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 848px) 100vw, 848px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Raphael,\u00a0<em>Madonna of the Chair<\/em>, 1513\u201314. Oil on wood, framed, Galleria Palatina, Florence.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/sites.bc.edu\/museum\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/249\/2025\/03\/signature-enhanced-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"Signature on\u00a0Madonna and Child with St. John the Baptist\" class=\"wp-image-4314\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sites.bc.edu\/museum\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/249\/2025\/03\/signature-enhanced-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/sites.bc.edu\/museum\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/249\/2025\/03\/signature-enhanced-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/sites.bc.edu\/museum\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/249\/2025\/03\/signature-enhanced-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/sites.bc.edu\/museum\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/249\/2025\/03\/signature-enhanced.jpg 1500w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Detail of signature on\u00a0<em>Madonna and Child with St. John the Baptist<\/em>\u00a0(enhanced for contrast).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:66.66%\">\n<p>In 1866, this painting of the seated Madonna holding the Christ Child, with a young John the Baptist, was sold as an authentic work of Italian Renaissance artist Raphael (1483\u20131520) to wealthy Bostonian Peter Chardon Brooks (1830\u20131920). Although competently painted in a naturalistic style, the painting lacks the insistently tangible figures, confident brushstrokes, and saturated palette of a Raphael painting. The painting is an inventive reinterpretation of Raphael\u2019s famous&nbsp;<em>Madonna of the Chair<\/em>&nbsp;by either Giambettino (1706\u201370) or Giuseppe (1727\u201396) Cignaroli, from Verona, Italy. In creating a devotional picture or a collector\u2019s item, Cignaroli was following the time-honored practice of learning through emulation. He had no intention of passing off his Madonna as a Raphael.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>How do we explain its mistaken attribution? At an unknown moment, the size of the original canvas was altered, possibly to fit the painting into the frame that is a near replica of the frame of Raphael\u2019s&nbsp;<em>Madonna of the Chair<\/em>&nbsp;(1513\u201314, see image). The frame hides Cignaroli\u2019s signature just below the arm of the chair (see image). In 1866, when Brooks bought the painting, Bostonians lacked the visual resources to authenticate a painting attributed to the master. Yet, by the end of the nineteenth century, the situation had changed dramatically. Along with the opening of the Museum of Fine Arts and the reproducibility of photography, Isabella Stewart Gardner acquired the first authentic paintings by Raphael in the US, the&nbsp;<em>Portrait of Tommaso Inghirami<\/em>&nbsp;(c. 1515\u201316) and the&nbsp;<em>Piet\u00e0<\/em>&nbsp;predella (c. 1503\u201305) respectively in 1898 and 1900. By 1898 Brooks knew that his painting was not an original Raphael. In 1939 Brooks\u2019s daughter gifted it to a Catholic priest in Chestnut Hill, who, in turn, must have given it to Boston College.<sup>1<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-ub-divider ub_divider ub-divider-orientation-horizontal\" id=\"ub_divider_06b8879b-d42c-4b1f-849e-63aa6ac4e1dc\"><div class=\"ub_divider_wrapper\" style=\"position: relative; margin-bottom: 2px; width: 100%; height: 2px; \" data-divider-alignment=\"center\"><div class=\"ub_divider_line\" style=\"border-top: 2px solid #ccc; margin-top: 2px; \"><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<p>1. Stephanie C. Leone,\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.19thc-artworldwide.org\/autumn18\/leone-on-a-raphael-in-nineteenth-century-boston\">\u201cA \u2018Raphael\u2019 in Nineteenth-Century Boston: The Biography of the McMullen Museum of Art\u2019s\u00a0<em>Madonna and Child with John the Baptist<\/em>,\u201d<\/a>\u00a0<em>Nineteenth-Century Art Worldwide<\/em>\u00a017, no. 2 (2018).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<style>.wp-block-kadence-spacer.kt-block-spacer-4310_efea23-b5 .kt-block-spacer{height:60px;}.wp-block-kadence-spacer.kt-block-spacer-4310_efea23-b5 .kt-divider{border-top-width:1px;height:1px;border-top-color:#f1f1f1;width:100%;border-top-style:solid;}@media all and (max-width: 767px){.wp-block-kadence-spacer.kt-block-spacer-4310_efea23-b5 .kt-divider{width:100%!important;}}<\/style>\n<div class=\"wp-block-kadence-spacer aligncenter kt-block-spacer-4310_efea23-b5\"><div class=\"kt-block-spacer kt-block-spacer-halign-center\"><hr class=\"kt-divider\" \/><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"383\" src=\"http:\/\/sites.bc.edu\/museum\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/249\/2025\/01\/mcmullen-logo-gold-1024x383.png\" alt=\"Logo Gold\" class=\"wp-image-2910\" style=\"width:569px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sites.bc.edu\/museum\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/249\/2025\/01\/mcmullen-logo-gold-1024x383.png 1024w, https:\/\/sites.bc.edu\/museum\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/249\/2025\/01\/mcmullen-logo-gold-300x112.png 300w, https:\/\/sites.bc.edu\/museum\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/249\/2025\/01\/mcmullen-logo-gold-768x287.png 768w, https:\/\/sites.bc.edu\/museum\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/249\/2025\/01\/mcmullen-logo-gold.png 1500w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Giambettino or Giuseppe (Fra Felice) CignaroliMadonna and Child with St. John the Baptist, 1750\u20131800 Oil on canvasMcMullen Museum of Art, Boston College, 1988.30 Stephanie C. LeoneProfessor, Art History In 1866, this painting of the seated Madonna holding the Christ Child, with a young John the Baptist, was sold as an authentic work of Italian Renaissance [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":140560,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"disabled","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"set","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4310","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"acf":[],"featured_image_src":null,"author_info":{"display_name":"margaret-sandbox","author_link":"https:\/\/sites.bc.edu\/museum\/author\/margaret-sandbox\/"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bc.edu\/museum\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4310","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bc.edu\/museum\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bc.edu\/museum\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bc.edu\/museum\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/140560"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bc.edu\/museum\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4310"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bc.edu\/museum\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4310\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4315,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bc.edu\/museum\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4310\/revisions\/4315"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bc.edu\/museum\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4310"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bc.edu\/museum\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4310"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bc.edu\/museum\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4310"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}