The "Master of the Bolognese Polyptychs"(alias “Pseudo Jacopino”) (early 14th century)
Madonna and Child
wall painting transferred to new support structure; inv. P 582
provenance: Church of San Lorenzo di Porta Stiera, Bologna
This fresco was originally housed in the Church of San Lorenzo di Porta Stiera in via delle Lame. In 2002, for the first time, the work was attributed to the "Master of the Bolognese Polyptychs", an anonymous Bolognese gothic painter.
A number of his paintings from 1320 to 1360 have been preserved, including the extraordinary polyptychs held in the Pinacoteca Nazionale and the Madonna in the Church of San Giovanni in Monte.
Initially a number of paintings by different artists, all of whom lived before the more famous Vitale da Bologna or were his contemporaries, were credited with the conventional name of “Pseudo Jacopino”.
Despite its poor state of preservation, this work, painted around 1320-1325, is a good example of the lively and emotional style typical of the first generation of Gothic painters in Bologna.
The fresco was moved from its original place to the Cappella delle Madonne in the Municipal Cemetery at the beginning of the 19th century. After being restored, it was moved to this museum in 1981.
