St. John the Baptist and St. Jerome in a detail fromThe Madonna and Child With Saints The National Gallery, LondonA beautifully restored 16th-century painting is now on public display in London. The tall, narrow altarpiece, calledThe Madonna and Child With Saints (1526-7), was created byParmigianino, a young master who belonged to a subversive artistic movement in the early 1500s: ItalianMannerism.The artwork had been hidden from view since the conservation efforts began ten years ago. LondonsNational Gallery will showcase the painting alongside Parmigianinos sketches as part of its 200th anniversary programming.It will be such a thrill to have this masterwork back on our gallery walls, its visionary qualities once again on display to the public, saysMatthias Wivel, the gallerys curator of 16th-century Italian paintings, in astatement. Parmigianino completed The Madonna and Child With Saints in 1527. The National Gallery, LondonParmigianino, who was born in the Italian city of Parma in 1503, was only 23 when he was commissioned to paint The Madonna and Child With Saints for a chapel of theChurch of San Salvatore in Rome.He was at work on the piece during the 1527sack of Rome, when the armies of Charles Vinvaded the city. According to an account by fellow artistGiorgio Vasari, troops burst into Parmigianinos studio during the invasion, but they were so amazed by what they saw that they allowed him to continue, demanding he make drawings for them in exchange for leaving him unharmed, per the statement.The 12-foot-tall altarpiecealso known as The Vision of St. Jeromeis wild, quirky and gets more subversive the longer you look at it, as theGuardians Jonathan Jones writes. From background to foreground, the painting depicts a haloedVirgin Mary, a youngJesusstanding between her knees,St. Jerome asleep on the ground, andSt. John the Baptist, clad sparsely in animal skins, pointing a crooked finger toward the figures behind him.Parmigianinos unusual depiction of Jerome has been interpreted in numerous ways, as exhibition curator Maria Alambritis tellsArtnets Vittoria Benzine. Perhaps the artist was referencing the Vaticans sculptureSleeping Ariadne, a copy of a second century B.C.E. artwork, or emphasizing Jeromes dream state. Alternatively, as the Guardian writes, Parmigianino may have been referencingCorreggios sensualVenus and Cupid With a Satyr (1524-25), in which the goddess sleeps in a similar position. Mary and Jesus in a detail fromThe Madonna and Child With Saints The National Gallery, LondonIn the whole of art, in all the zillions of altarpieces out there, there cannot be many depictions of religious events as wayward and wacky as this, writes the LondonTimes Waldemar Januszczak.By the 1520s, Renaissance artists like Michelangelo had mastered realism. Parmigianino was part of a new wave of painters who experimented with artifice. These artists became known as theMannerists for their new manner of painting. Theyplayed with proportions, distorted space and exaggerated human anatomy (see Parmigianinos so-called Madonna with the long neck). Per the Guardian, Parmigianino is the most mannered Mannerist of all.The National Gallery will display a selection of chalk and ink drawings Parmigianino made before painting The Madonna and Child With Saints, allowing us all to partake vicariously in his dynamic, fluid and ever-shifting creative process, as Wivel says in the statement. A self-portrait by Parmigianino that showcases his Mannerist style Parmigianino / Public domain via Wikimedia CommonsParmigianino left Rome before his painting was installed, and he spent most of his remaining life in Parma. The piece was hidden for safekeeping and wasnt recovered until long after Parmigianinos death, per the statement. The National Gallery acquired the piece in 1826.The Madonna and Child With Saints has never been a highlight of the gallerys collection. However, according to the Guardian, the recent restoration has upped the paintings starpower: What seemed a mustard-yellow monstrosity has become sharper, brighter. As the Times writes, conservators revealed gorgeous details, such as a funny little cross held by John and streams of heavenly light illuminating the vegetationan abundance of greens.As Wivel says in the statement, I have little doubt that this show will be a transporting experience.Parmigianino: The Vision of Saint Jerome is on view at the National Gallery in London through March 9, 2025.Get the latest stories in your inbox every weekday.Filed Under: Art, Art History, Artists, Arts, Christianity, England, Italy, London, Painters, Painting, Religion, Renaissance, Visual Arts