THE MADONNA AND CHILD, Jacopo di Giovanni di Francesco, called Jacone

FLORENCE 1495 - 1553

Jacopo di Giovanni di Francesco, called Jacone

oil on panel, in a 16th century Emilian frame
28 1/8 by 21 7/8 in.; 71.5 by 55.5 cm.

Provenance:
Jacopo di Giovanni Francesco, nicknamed “Jacone” likely due to an imposing physique, was a pupil of Andrea del Sarto like so many of the painters in Florence of his generation. Little firm biographical information about him has survived, and the account of his life given by Vasari is most likely tainted by the famous writer’s evident animus against him, whom he described as a “uomo pigro,” who dedicated his life more to carousing than to his art. Whatever the cause of Vasari’s distaste for the painter—either due to a professional rivalry, an actual louche lifestyle or combination of both—it is true that works by Jacone are somewhat rare. Vasari notes that the artist did produce a number of depictions of the Madonna, which were quickly exported to France by savvy Florentine brokers, no doubt to fill the taste in that country for such panels occasioned by his master del Sarto’s brief sojourn there in 1518-19.

The present depiction of the Madonna and Child clearly demonstrates the influence of Andrea del Sarto on Jacone, but also that of his contemporaries, Rosso Fiorentino and Pontormo. The painting may be datable to 1530-40, close in date to the large altarpiece of the Madonna and Child with Saints Francis and Sebastian (Pinacoteca Communale, Citta di Castello, Umbria), where the facial types of the Virgin and Child are similarly distinct.