Taddeo Gaddi

Private Collection, Germany;
Private Collection, Paris;
With Raffaello Amati, London;
Acquired from the above by the present owner in 2000.

The following condition report is provided by Sarah Walden who is an external specialist and not an employee of Sotheby's. This little painting is on a thick poplar panel, with slots from previous wings near the top of the sides and a single short crack from a nail at the peak of the arch. The outer mouldings from the integral frame were lost with the wings, and the remaining outermost rim is rather whitened, from washing presumably, but the inner gold is unusually well preserved. The panel appears long to have been perfectly stable and secure. There is a fine craquelure overall, with a beautiful minute craquelure within the painting of the throne, including the lovely intact detail often in shell gold. The gold in the brocade of the Madonna's inner drapery is also finely preserved. Her blue robe has darkened, presumably from azurite discolouring, although it might possibly be lapis. Other blue areas are rather thin, with little strengthening touches. The vermilion drapery is strong, though with some madder glazing in the folds partly lost, while a deeper red in the drapery of the Christ Child, of St John the Baptist and of the donor in the foreground remains in good condition. The curl of the inner lining of the drapery across the knees of the Madonna seems to have been scraped or damaged at some time. There are occasional small marks in the veil over the head of the Madonna and by the heads of the upper angels, and overall the varnish is rather opaque, and darkened for instance in the flesh painting. However the much fine intact paint has survived undisturbed. This report was not done under laboratory conditions.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Taddeo Gaddi was Giotto's favourite pupil and took on the mantle as Florence's leading painter upon his master's death in 1337. According to Cennino Cennini he worked as Giotto's assistant for twenty-four years, including on the Baroncelli Polyptych in Santa Croce in Florence. His work and that of his sons, especially Agnolo Gaddi, ensured that the Giottesque tradition and approach to painting were dominant in Florence until the latter's death in 1396.

Despite his close association with Giotto, Taddeo is known to have worked independently on several important projects, most notably the fresco cycle of the Life of the Virgin in the Baroncelli chapel in Santa Croce which dates from 1328 and for which he is arguably best known today. Though still heavily dependent on Giotto's idiom, he introduced a new approach to narrative development, foreshortening and a more sculptural approach to composition.

Taddeo also worked on small-scale panels for private devotion such as the present work, which can be compared to other works given to the artist, including a portable triptych formerly with Moretti, Florence, in which the figures of Saints John the Baptist and Zenobius are in almost identical poses.¹ The work should also be compared to the ex-Gould Madonna and Child enthroned with Saints.²  That painting is datable to the 1330s and a similar date of execution for the present work should be assumed.³  The panels share several features, among them the delicate marble-coloured decoration of the throne, the carefully placed attendant saints, the intimate expressiveness in the features of the faces and the modelling of the bodies, as well as the embroidered edges of the cloaks of the Madonna and, in the present panel, of Zenobius. Perhaps the most notable similarity is the inclusion of the two kneeling donors - discrete in size but hard to miss due to their prominent position in the design - who would most likely have been wealthy merchants. The panel would have been commissioned directly by the donors but the lack of coat-of arms means that any proposed identification cannot be but speculation. The as-yet unidentified object that lies between them could provide a clue to their family business.

The bishop shown lower right is likely to be Saint Zenobius who along with Saint John the Baptist is the patron saint of Florence. The presence of both patron saints strongly suggests that the patron was also Florentine.

The attribution has been endorsed by Professor Miklós Boskovits on the basis of a photograph (written communication with the present owner). 



1.  See A. Tartuferi in Da Ambrogio Lorenzetti a Sandro Botticelli, Moretti Gallery, exh. cat., Florence 2003, pp. 30-37, reproduced in colour p. 31.
2.  Sold New York, Christie's, 6 April 2006, lot 29. 
3.  See A. Ladis, Taddeo Gaddi, Critical Reappraisal and Catalogue Raisonné, Columbia and London 1982, p. 208, cat. no. 39, reproduced.