Dominic Panetti

(c. 1475 – 1512)

Madonna and Child and two donors, c. 1497-1500

Tempera grassa on board

Museo della Cattedrale, inv. MC057

The panel painting depicting the Madonna and Child and two donors, which adorned one of the side altars of the ancient cathedral although its original location is still unknown today, is the work of Domenico Panetti, a singular artist active in Ferrara in the early 16th century who was always careful to combine the early classicism of Perugino with the materiaca sensibility of the Po valley matrix. The work is one of his masterpieces, characterized by the contrast between the hieratic and monumental valence of the figure of the Madonna and the liquid, vivid landscape in the background. Recent restoration has made it possible to rediscover the original polychromy, shedding more and more light on the passing role of this artist. A “link” between the great masters of the 15th century and the painters of the 16th century, since it is speculated that he was a pupil of Ercole de’ Roberti and master of Garofalo, who arrived in his workshop in 1497, perhaps together with the older Boccaccio Boccaccino.