The Virgin with Child is one of the most loved and depicted themes by Lorenzo Di Credi, influenced by the compositional styles of Botticelli, Perugino and above all, Leonardo Da Vinci, all apprentices of Andrea Del Verrocchio, like Di Credi himself. Because of its closeness to Verrocchio’s workshop, the tondo of Querini Stampalia is considered an early work by Lorenzo, perhaps brought to Venice by himself between 1480 and 1488, where he traveled often to visit his master. The painting is one of Lorenzo’s most significant works for its sweet figures, colours, quality of light and compositional setting. The figures are in a circular formation. The Virgin is kneeling in front of the naked child with his legs crossed, lying on a soft velvet cushion. The Mother’s beautiful hands recall the works of Verrocchio, and they are united in prayer while she is gently looking at her Son. The wooden architectural element creates a contrast between Mary’s face and the sky, and it opens to a Leonardo-inspired landscape that derives from Nordic examples and alludes to the meaning of the cross. All motifs of the paintings with Adoration of the Child that the artist painted over the years are present in this work. Among those works are Madonna del Latte of the National Gallery in London and the tempera on panel, Madonna with Child and Infant St. John of the Galleria Borghese in Rome.

Lorenzo Di Credi was trained in Florence in Andrea Del Verrocchio's workshop, where he was the youngest apprentice. He studied with Perugino, Botticelli, and Leonardo Da Vinci, whose work became his ideal model. Lorenzo’s most productive period was his early career. He created a series of small and medium-sized paintings intended for private devotion while following the iconographic models he had learned in the workshop and under the inevitable influence of Leonardo. His personal imprint can be recognized in his calligraphic manner, described as complete and clean and remembered as his distinctive trait by Giorgio Vasari. The last decade of the 15th century became the period of Lorenzo’s full artistic and professional maturity in Florence. In 1490 he was invited to be part of the commission studying the arrangement of the façade of Florence cathedral, Santa Maria del Fiore. At the beginning of the 16th century, his activity became more selective, concentrating on paintings for private use instead of large altarpieces and frescoes, which seems to be a choice of market strategy. In his art, Di Credi remains faithful to the master Verrocchio’s models, even if there are elements of the young generation of artists, such as Andrea del Sarto, Rosso Fiorentino and Pontormo. From 1 April 1531, he retired to the convent of Santa Maria Nuova, where he spent his last years away from his old circles and painting. Here he died in 1536.

Collection of paintings, sculptures and decorative arts in the former home of a Venetian family.