b'lorenzo di crediTHIS 15TH-CENTURYtondo (round painting) is and wrote about it in his notebooks. Several versionsa significant addition to the SCMA collection. Theof this composition have been tied to Lorenzosscene is set in a natural landscape with two oak treesworkshop, indicating that it may have been based onframing the Virgin, who dominates the center of thea lost drawing. painting. This monumental figure humbly kneels toThere are no surviving records regarding its adore the Christ child. The infant St. John the Baptistcommission, but several clues in the painting suggest echoes the Virgin, with hands also clasped in prayer,that the identity of the patron was Benedetto Portinari. and recalls the sacrament of baptism. These two pray- Around the time this painting was created, Portinari ing figures also allude to the devotional function ofhad purchased a palazzo or home in Florence, where the painting, meant to encourage private meditation. this painting may have been intended for display.This painting is an example of a work of artPortinari headed the Medici bank in Bruges, whereintended not for a sacred setting, but for the he had spent time living and working. This may domestic sphere, thus shedding light on the func- account for the background of the painting, which is tion of art in daily life. Such paintings were populardistinctly northern rather than Italian in character. The in 15th-century Florentine bedrooms due to theirtwo oak trees in the painting, the stump on the right themes of genealogy and fertility. The circular formand the sapling on the left, may also point to Portinari of the painting refers to both the continuation of theas the patron. These same two elements appear on family line as well as the Christian belief in eternal the back of a portrait of Portinari, along with his motto life as promised by the eventual sacrifice of Christ. De Bono in Melius (From Bad to Good). Although The tondo is also distinctly Florentine, as emphasizedPortinari never married, he may have purchased the by the presence of the citys patron saint, John painting to decorate his bedroom in the hope of soon the Baptist.finding a wife and expanding his family. Such images The painting exemplifies the collaborativewere often associated with the women of the house-nature of workshop practice during the Renaissance.hold and the expectation of their role as mothers. Artist Lorenzo di Credi painted this work soon This painting fills a major gap in the SCMAafter he took over as head of Andrea del Verrocchios collection and complements the pre-existing Italian workshop, alongside artists such as Perugino, Renaissance collection at Smith and in the other Five Piero di Cosimo, Fra Bartolommeo and Leonardo College museums. It offers many opportunities for da Vinci. In fact, the aerial perspective in the back- teaching, research and discussion. It will transform the ground may have been directly inspired by Leonardo,Renaissance gallery on the second floor of the museum who perfected this visual effect in his own paintingsand add a new dimension of depth to the collection. art acquisitionhighlightsLorenzo di Credi. Italian, ca. 14561536. The Virgin Adoring the Christ Child with the Infant Saint John the Baptist (The Portinari Tondo),ca. 148590. Tempera on panel. Purchased with the Beatrice Oenslager Chace, class of 1928, Fund67'