Collection of the University of Pittsburgh Art Gallery, Pittsburgh, PA. Purchase of Miss Helen Clay Frick
2016.1.8
Madonna of the Pomegranate
circa 1911 – 1948 (Date created)
Tempera
Painting
Paintings
(Image)
Russian;Italian
Painted after Alessandro Botticelli's Madonna of the Pomegranate (ca. 1487). This panel was located in the Pitti palace as part of the collection of Leopoldo de'Medici. The work depicts the Madonna and Child surrounded by angels, with the Christ child holding a pomegrante.
Nicholas Lochoff (d. 1948)/ after/ Alessandro Botticelli (Florentine, 1444/5-1510)/ MADONNA OF THE POMEGRANATE/ Original (c. 1487) in the Uffizi Florence/ Tempera on panel/ This circular painting (tondo) shows the Madonna and Child surrounded by angels. The sources for the use of a pomegranate range from the myth of Ceres and Proserpina to the Old Testament. The iconographic meaning of the fruit, however, certainly comes rom the myth of Proserpina, with its references to resurrection and to the mourning of a mother for her child. The abundant red seeds of the pomegranate were traditionally used to suggest fertility and rebirth, a theme not out of place in this painting. At the request of Mr. and Mrs. Berenson, Lochoff left this painting in what he imagined was the original condition of Botticelli's painting, without softening the color or adding the marks that age had left on the original.
This tondo, dated about 1487, was in the collection of Cardinal Leopoldo de'Medici in the seventeenth century. It is removed from the Pitti Palace to the Uffizi Gallery in 1780. The painting is one of Botticelli's most delightful compositions. The pomegranate held b the Child is of interest. WHile there are several references to this fruit in the Old Testament, the symbolism here may well relate to the myth of Proserpina. In any case the abundant seeds and red juice suggest fertility and resurrection. At the request of Mr. and Mrs. Berenson, Lochoff left this painting in its original condition rather than softening the colors with the marks of age (Walter Read Hovey, The Nicholas Lochoff Cloister of The Henry Clay Frick Fine Arts Building, 1965).
This tondo, dated about 1487, was in the collection of Cardinal Leopoldo de'Medici in the seventeenth century. It is removed from the Pitti Palace to the Uffizi Gallery in 1780. The painting is one of Botticelli's most delightful compositions. The pomegranate held b the Child is of interest. WHile there are several references to this fruit in the Old Testament, the symbolism here may well relate to the myth of Proserpina. In any case the abundant seeds and red juice suggest fertility and resurrection. At the request of Mr. and Mrs. Berenson, Lochoff left this painting in its original condition rather than softening the colors with the marks of age (Walter Read Hovey, The Nicholas Lochoff Cloister of The Henry Clay Frick Fine Arts Building, 1965).
In Collection
Purchased by Miss Helen Clay Frick for the University of Pittsburgh (1959-present)
Boris Lochoff (until 1959); By 1917 Lochoff had only finished and sent back to his home country 8 of these paintings. That same year there was a revolution in Russia. Lochoff was therefore stranded in Italy and cut off from the support previously provided by the Moscow Museum of Art. He was forced to sell the remaining paintings to other buyers. These buyers included Harvard University, the Portland Art Museum in Oregon, and the Frick Art Reference Library in New York. After Lochoff's death, Helen Clay Frick, the woman who started the Fine Arts Department at the University of Pittsburgh and donated the Frick Fine Arts building to the University, acquired this collection with the help of critic and connoisseur, Bernard Berenson. She then donated it to the University of Pittsburgh to adorn the walls of this cloister.
Boris Lochoff (until 1959); By 1917 Lochoff had only finished and sent back to his home country 8 of these paintings. That same year there was a revolution in Russia. Lochoff was therefore stranded in Italy and cut off from the support previously provided by the Moscow Museum of Art. He was forced to sell the remaining paintings to other buyers. These buyers included Harvard University, the Portland Art Museum in Oregon, and the Frick Art Reference Library in New York. After Lochoff's death, Helen Clay Frick, the woman who started the Fine Arts Department at the University of Pittsburgh and donated the Frick Fine Arts building to the University, acquired this collection with the help of critic and connoisseur, Bernard Berenson. She then donated it to the University of Pittsburgh to adorn the walls of this cloister.
Mary Logan Berenson, "A Reconstructor of Old Masterpieces", The American Magazine of Art. (November 1930), pp. 628-638.
Zoa Grace Hawley, "New Life for Old Masters", The Christian Science Monitor, Weekly Magazine section. (October 31, 1934), pp. 8-9; ill. p. 8.
Zoe Grace Hawley, "New Life for Old Masters: Nicholas Lochoff - captures aura of antiquity in exact copies of Italy's fading treasures". (1934)
Edgar Peters Bowron, "European Paintings Before 1900 in the Fogg Art Museum". Harvard Art Museums. Cambridge, MA. (1990). pp. 131, not repr.
"[Unidentified article]". Fogg Art Museum Notes. Fogg Art Museum. Cambridge, MA. (February 12, 1921). p.6, repro. b/w.
"A Copy of Gozzoli's Masterpiece". The Harvard Crimson. Cambridge, MA. (February 12, 1921). p.6, repro. b/w.
Mary Logan Berenson. "Preserving the Old Masters by Copying", Transcript (December 31, 1930). p.5, reproduced b/w.
Mary Logan Berenson. "A Reconstructor of Old Masterpieces", The American Magazine of Art. (November 1930). pp. 628-638.
Royal Cortissoz. "Their Appeal to Lovers of our True Tradition". New York Herald Tribune. New York, NY. (March 15, 1931). p.8
Maurice Grosser. "Painter's Progress". C.N. Potter. New York, NY. (1971). Reproduced. p.32, fig. 10.
Edgar Peters Bowron. "European Paintings Before 1900 in the Fogg Art Museum". Harvard University Art Museums. Cambridge, MA. (1990). p.110.
Bill Homisak. "Fabulous Renaissance fakes at Frick offer faux fun". Tribune-Review. (August 27, 1989).
Jonathon Keats. "Forged: Why Fakes Are the Great Art of Our Age". Oxford University Press. (2013).
Zoa Grace Hawley, "New Life for Old Masters", The Christian Science Monitor, Weekly Magazine section. (October 31, 1934), pp. 8-9; ill. p. 8.
Zoe Grace Hawley, "New Life for Old Masters: Nicholas Lochoff - captures aura of antiquity in exact copies of Italy's fading treasures". (1934)
Edgar Peters Bowron, "European Paintings Before 1900 in the Fogg Art Museum". Harvard Art Museums. Cambridge, MA. (1990). pp. 131, not repr.
"[Unidentified article]". Fogg Art Museum Notes. Fogg Art Museum. Cambridge, MA. (February 12, 1921). p.6, repro. b/w.
"A Copy of Gozzoli's Masterpiece". The Harvard Crimson. Cambridge, MA. (February 12, 1921). p.6, repro. b/w.
Mary Logan Berenson. "Preserving the Old Masters by Copying", Transcript (December 31, 1930). p.5, reproduced b/w.
Mary Logan Berenson. "A Reconstructor of Old Masterpieces", The American Magazine of Art. (November 1930). pp. 628-638.
Royal Cortissoz. "Their Appeal to Lovers of our True Tradition". New York Herald Tribune. New York, NY. (March 15, 1931). p.8
Maurice Grosser. "Painter's Progress". C.N. Potter. New York, NY. (1971). Reproduced. p.32, fig. 10.
Edgar Peters Bowron. "European Paintings Before 1900 in the Fogg Art Museum". Harvard University Art Museums. Cambridge, MA. (1990). p.110.
Bill Homisak. "Fabulous Renaissance fakes at Frick offer faux fun". Tribune-Review. (August 27, 1989).
Jonathon Keats. "Forged: Why Fakes Are the Great Art of Our Age". Oxford University Press. (2013).
Please note that cataloging is ongoing and that some information may not be complete.
Italians
Renaissance
Cloisters
Architectural decorations and ornaments
Tempera paintings
Madonna and child
Florence
Renaissance
Cloisters
Architectural decorations and ornaments
Tempera paintings
Madonna and child
Florence