Bernardino de' Conti Pavia 1470 - circa 1523

Bernardino de' Conti was one of the main figures in the circle of late quattrocento Milanese artists who were inspired by the work of Leonardo da Vinci after his arrival there in 1482 - 83.  Indeed, the present composition, with the Madonna and Child flanked by two landscape vignettes, derives from Leonardo's Madonna Litta, Hermitage, St. Petersburg.  The northern character of the background landscapes in the present composition suggest that de' Conti was also familiar with the work of Flemish and German landscape painters, whose work he would have known from their presence in Milanese collections.  There is another similar de' Conti of the Madonna suckling the baby Jesus, signed and dated 1501, in the Accademia Carrara, Bergamo.

The pose of the Madonna and Child in the present panel was repeated in another work, attributed to Bernardino de' Conti, and sold, New York, Christie's, October 11, 1990, lot 20, for $36,000.