Female Saint

ca. 1530

Francesco Melzi Italian, 1493-1570

Not On View

Image Only Image + Details All Images High Resolution TIFF Metadata

About the Artwork

Please note: This section is empty
Markings

Please note: This section is empty

This section contains information about signatures, inscriptions and/or markings an object may have.
Provenance

Please note: This section is empty

Provenance is a record of an object's ownership. We are continually researching and updating this information to show a more accurate record and to ensure that this object was ethically and legally obtained.

For more information on provenance and its important function in the museum, please visit:
Exhibition History

Please note: This section is empty

The exhibition history of a number of objects in our collection only begins after their acquisition by the museum, and may reflect an incomplete record.

We welcome your feedback for correction and/or improvement.
Published References

Please note: This section is empty

We regularly update our object record as new research and findings emerge, and we welcome your feedback for correction and/or improvement.
Catalogue Raisonné

Please note: This section is empty

A catalogue raisonné is an annotated listing of artworks created by an artist across different media.
Credit Line for Reproduction

Please note: This section is empty

The credit line includes information about the object, such as the artist, title, date, and medium. Also listed is its ownership, the manner in which it was acquired, and its accession number. This information must be cited alongside the object whenever it is shown or reproduced.

About the Artwork

Title Female Saint

Artwork Date ca. 1530

Artist Francesco Melzi

Life Dates 1493-1570

Nationality Please note: Definitions for nationality may vary significantly, depending on chronology and world events. Some definitions include: Belonging to a people having a common origin based on a geography and/or descent and/or tradition and/or culture and/or religion and/or language, or sharing membership in a legally defined nation. Italian

Culture Please note: Cultures may be defined by the language, customs, religious beliefs, social norms, and material traits of a group. Unknown

Medium Paint on wood panel

Dimensions Unframed: 25 1/2 × 19 1/8 inches (64.8 × 48.6 cm)

Classification Paintings

Department European Painting

Credit Gift of Mr. and Mrs. William A. Fisher

Accession Number This unique number is assigned to an individual artwork as part of the cataloguing process at the time of entry into the permanent collection. Most frequently, accession numbers begin with the year in which the artwork entered the museum’s holdings. For example, 2008.3 refers to the year of acquisition and notes that it was the 3rd of that year. The DIA has a few additional systems—no longer assigned—that identify specific donors or museum patronage groups. 49.505

Markings

Inscriptions ------

Provenance

possibly 1926, collection of Sir John Leslie (London, England)

1926/27, purchased by (Howard Young, New York, New York, USA)

1922, purchased by Mr. and Mrs. William A. Fisher (Detroit, Michigan, USA)

1949-present, gift to the Detroit Institute of Arts (Detroit, Michigan, USA)

For more information on provenance and its important function in the museum, please visit:

Provenance page

Exhibition History

Please note: This section is empty

The exhibition history of a number of objects in our collection only begins after their acquisition by the museum, and may reflect an incomplete record.

We welcome your feedback for correction and/or improvement.

Suggest Feedback

Published References

Fifth Loan Exhibition of Old and Modern Masters. Exh. cat., DIA. Detroit, October 1927, p. 19, cat. 15 [as by F. Melzi, "Girl with a Lute"-lent by William A. Fisher].

Venturi, L. Italian Paintings in America, vol. 3. New York, 1933, pl. 482, (repr.) [as "Portrait of a Musician"].

Catalogo della Mostra di Leonardo da Vinci. Exh. cat., Palazzo dell'Arte. Milan, May-October 1939, p. 208 [as "Woman with a Lute" by Francesco Melzi].

Masterpieces of Art from European and American Collections: European Paintings from the Two World's Fairs of 1939. Exh. cat. (?), DIA. Detroit, April 1-May 31, 1941, p. 15, cat. 41 [lent by William A. Fisher].

Leonardo da Vinci. Exh. cat., Los Angeles County Museum. Los Angeles, June 3-July 17, 1949, pp. 25, 100, cat. 60, (repr.) [entry by W. Suida, as "The Lute Player"].

Comstock, H. "The Connoisseur in America," Connoisseur, vol. 127, no. 520 (April 1951): p. 40, (repr.).

"Detroit's 'Girl with a Lute'," Pictures on Exhibit, vol. 12, no. 7 (April 1950): pp. 12, (repr.).

Richardson, E. P. "An Ideal Portrait by Francesco Melzi." Bulletin of the DIA 29, no. 4 (1949-50): pp. 80-81, (repr. on cover).

"Acquisitions," Pallas, vol. 14, no. 8 (May 1958): p. 86.

Paintings in the DIA: a checklist of the paintings acquired before June 1965. Detroit, 1965, p. 67 [as School of Leonardo da Vinci, "Holy Martyr"].

Fredericksen, B. and F. Zeri. Census of Pre-Nineteenth Century Italian Paintings in North American Public Collections. Cambridge, 1972, p. 141 [as attributed to Melzi].

Trutty-Coohill, P. "Studies in the School of Leonardo Da Vinci: Paintings in Public Collections in the United States With A Chronology of the Activity of Leonardo and his Pupils and Catalogue of Auction Sales." unpublished Ph.D. thesis, Pennsylvania State University, August 1982, pp. 140-143 [catalog entry].

Kindly share your feedback or any additional information, as this record is still a work in progress and may need further refinement.

Suggest Feedback