Giovanni Battista Salvi, called Sassoferrato

The following condition report has been provided by Simon Parkes of Simon Parkes Art Conservation, Inc. 502 East 74th St. New York, NY 212-734-3920, simonparkes@msn.com, an independent restorer who is not an employee of Sotheby's. This work has an old glue lining. The artist painted on quite a textured canvas in this case, which gives rise to a more dense paint layer. There is no abrasion per se to the paint layer, and there is certainly a very lively quality to the paint throughout. However, there are some isolated and discolored retouches visible under ultraviolet light and to the naked eye. There are small spots in the figure of Christ. In the neck of the Madonna, a vertical line of losses has attracted some restorations. Although the painting is quite noticeably dirty and the restorations are poorly matched, I like the condition and the quality of the work, and feel that restoration will be immediately fruitful.
"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 composition of the Madonna gently caressing the sleeping Christ Child was one of the artist’s favorites.  The design appears to have originated with Guido Reni and, though no painting of the composition by Reni survives, it is known through contemporary engravings.¹  Sassoferrato's composition is known in numerous variations, with and without the inclusion of the heads of putti in the background, and some of which are in horizontal format.  The present example also includes rays of light around the central figures.  A very close variant of this composition was sold in these rooms, 16 May 1996, lot 52 (oil on canvas, 74.9 by 60.3 cm.).

We are grateful to François Macé de Lépinay for confirming the present painting to be a work by Sassoferrato, on the basis of an image.


1.  See The Illustrated Bartsch, Italian Masters of the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries, vol. 40 (Commentary, Part 1), formerly vol. 18 (Part 2), New York 1987, pp. 330-7, especially no. 30 C1, reproduced p. 330.