Verona Paying Homage to the Madonna and Child

A young woman kneels before the Virgin and Child, and the arches behind her tell you who she is. They belong to the Arena, the Roman amphitheatre at the heart of Verona, so the woman is the city itself. Giambettino Cignaroli painted her in 1756, when he was the most sought-after painter in town. The older literature calls the picture Verona imploring the Virgin, while the museum's title speaks of homage.

Cignaroli had chosen Verona as firmly as this picture does. After a few years working in Venice in the 1730s he settled back home, and later he turned down invitations to move to the courts of Madrid and Parma. Near this canvas the museum hangs his small Transfiguration, probably the sketch for the altarpiece he painted for Verona Cathedral in 1753.