Francesco Solimena

Possibly Count Pietro Rotari (1707–1762);
Christian Ludwig von Hagedorn (1712-1780), Dresden, before 1755;
Thence by inheritance to his cousin Christiane Poulin and her husband, the cleric Andreas Rachlau;
By whom pawned to Consul H.R. Saabye, before 1806;
His sale, 22 February 1829, lot 49, for 121 rixdaler;
Acquired from the above by Franz Ludwig von Warnstedt (1783-1840), Copenhagen;
Claus Bang;
Sold as part of the Bang collection in 1825 to Prince Christian Frederik of Denmark, later King Christian VIII (1786-1848);
Thence by descent to his son, King Frederik VII (1808-1863);
His (deceased) sale, 12-13 October 1864, lot 392, for 29 rixdaler, to Herr Hoffmann;
By descent to his great-granddaughter Merete Taylor, née Hoffmann;
By whom sold, Copenhagen, Bruun Rasmusseen, 29 November 1994, lot 71, where purchased by the present owners.

C. L. von Hagedorn in F.C. Janneck, Lettre à un amateur de la peinture avec des éclaircissements historiques sur un cabinet et les auteurs des tableaux qui le composent, Dresden 1755, pp. 6-7 and 22-23.

The following condition report is provided by Rebecca Gregg, who is an external specialist and not an employee of Sotheby's. The original canvas appears stable, lined onto a secondary support the original rebate edges are visible on the upper, left and lower edges. The lining canvas is stretched over a strainer the overall tension is good with no planar deformations. There is the remains of a red wax seal on the upper strainer member which also covers part of the lining canvas. The paint layers appear in good condition, there is minor framing damage at the upper right edge although this does not appear recent. There is minor abrasion to the paint layers in the darker areas of the composition, most noticeably on the left side which is probably the result of a previous cleaning campaign. There are no significant damages or loss and the adhesion between the paint and ground layers and the support appears good. The discoloured varnish layer present has been partially removed; this layer has been specifically removed from the light areas of the composition, the selective cleaning of the buildings in the background, the sky and the highlights on the figures has resulted in an imbalance between the lights and darks. The old varnish has even been left in the shadow of Christ's hair and on Mary Magdalene's back. There is a light layer of surface dirt present. The painting was examined in the frame.
"This lot is offered for sale subject to Sotheby's Conditions of Business, which are available on request and printed in Sotheby's sale catalogues. The independent reports contained in this document are provided for prospective bidders' information only and without warranty by Sotheby's or the Seller."

This beautiful Noli Me Tangere is a characteristic work by Francesco Solimena. It illustrates the artist's interest in elegant and mannered poses, and is typical of the Neapolitan late baroque style which found such favour throughout Europe. Probably datable to the second decade of the 18th century, the work is a bozzetto for a full-scale altarpiece that is untraced. However, based on an inscription below the engraving of the design published by Pietro Monaco (see fig. 1) we know that the altarpiece was once in the church of San Canziano in Venice or at the very least was owned in the 1730s by Francesco Vidiman, reportedly the abbot of that church, who may have kept the painting in his family palazzo nearby.¹  Whilst variants of the composition are known,² there is a strong case to be made for the other versions being ricordi rather than bozzetti, that is to say that they were probably painted by Solimena after the final altarpiece was completed, unlike the present work which was most likely painted as a compositional study before the execution of the altarpiece.  Apart from changes in the foliage and in the disposition of the still-life elements in the background such as the flowers in a pot lower left, the notable differences are that the engraving and the other versions only show a part of Christ's left foot, unlike the present work, and introduce quite a marked split in Mary Magdalene's yellow robe, revealing a white under-garment.

PROVENANCE
The painting enjoys a particularly rich and illustrious provenance. Christian Ludwig von Hagedorn, the first recorded owner of the work, was a German diplomat and great connoisseur-collector who was appointed Generaldirektor of the Saxon Academy of Arts and Collections in Dresden in 1764. We know from his writings (see Literature) that he discussed the painting with the Venetian painter Pietro Rotari who was in Dresden between the years 1751/2 and 1756. He describes at length the differences in design between the present work and the altarpiece which he would have known through the engraving. It is intriguing to speculate that Hagedorn may have even acquired the work directly from Rotari since the Italian spent three years in Solimena's studio as a young man. After several legal wranglings, Hagedorn's collection moved to Denmark by 1795 and after changing hands a number of times the Noli me Tangere was eventually auctioned in 1825 when it was acquired by the future King Christian VIII of Denmark (see fig. 2). After it was next sold in 1864 it made its way into the collection of the Hoffmanns, a Catholic family which for several generations was among the leading makers of umbrellas in Copenhagen, before being sold by a descendant in 1992 when it was acquired by the present owners.



1. It seems that Vidiman's title of 'abbate' listed in the engraving is incorrect since no monastery is associated with the church of San Canziano. The Vidiman family, more usually referred to as Widmann, was one of the wealthy patrician families of la Serenissima and later joined the Rezzonico family; Palazzo Widmann-Rezzonico still stands in the Venetian district of Cannareggio.
2. See the works sold in these Rooms, 7 July 2005, lot 170, for £58,000, and London, Christie's, 21 April 2004, lot 85, for £43,000.