DescriptionEssentially a small painting on parchment, this image appears to have been conceived from the outset as an independent object of private devotion, rather than having been removed from an illuminated manuscript. According to a letter formerly pasted onto its back, which refers to it as a "tablet", the miniature had once belonged to the Medici Pope Clement VII (r. 1523-34), and in 1591 was given as a gift by Pope Gregory XIV to Christine of Lorrain, grand duchess of Tuscany. The grand duchess, it is stated in the letter, would be granted plenary indulgence for her sins every time she prayed before the image "for the Salvation of the Christian Religion and the Church, in the struggle against heresy..."
The work is among the rare surviving masterpieces by the late fifteenth century artist Francesco Marmitta da Parma. Praised by sixteenth century sources as a goldsmith and engraver of gems, in addition to being a painter and illuminator, the artist is known today only through a handful of miniatures and small panel paintings. These are characterized by an impeccable technique and exquisite preciousness of execution, in keeping with the most sophisticated tastes of the period.

ProvenancePope Clement VII (r. 1523–34); Pope Gregory XIV (r. 1590–91); Christine of Lorraine, grand duchess of Tuscany (1591); acquired by Robert Lehman at an unknown date