1262 - Antonio da Correggio (born Antonio Allegri) (1489, Correggio – 1534, ibid.) after

Antonio da Correggio (born Antonio Allegri) (1489, Correggio – 1534, ibid.) after Madonna with Saints John and Jerome, Mary Magdalene, and an Angel, later also titled "Il Giorno" (The Day) The painting, likely executed in the 17th or 18th century, is a faithful, reduced-scale copy on canvas of the famous, large-format panel painting (measuring 205 cm x 141 cm), which Correggio created in 1527/28 on commission from Briseide Colla for the Bergonzi family’s private chapel in the Church of Sant’Antonio Abate in Parma. The masterpiece is now housed in the National Gallery of Parma and is undoubtedly Correggio’s most frequently copied painting. Giorgio Vasari praised its “wonderful coloration”; El Greco studied the painting; and in the 18th century, Francesco Algarotti described it as “perhaps the most beautiful painting in the world.” It was the subject of passionate disputes among princes and collectors throughout Europe. Even Grand Duke Ferdinando de’ Medici tried in vain to acquire it, having to settle instead for a high-quality canvas copy made around 1620–1630, which now hangs in the Uffizi in Florence. Oil on canvas; 95.5 cm x 67.5 cm. Framed. After Antonio da Correggio (1489–1534). 17th- or 18th-century copy after the well-known painting “Madonna of St. Jerome” by Correggio in the Galleria Nazionale in Parma, Italy. Oil on canvas.