Agnolo di Domenico di Donnino, formerly known as the Master of Santo Spirito

Acquired in London in the 1930s;
Thence by descent.

E. Fahy, 'Exhibition review of Late Fifteenth-Century Florentine Painting', in The Burlington Magazine, vol. CXXXV, no. 1079, February 1993, p. 170, reproduced fig. 128, and p. 171, note 3

The following condition report is provided by Catherine Hassall who is an external specialist and not an employee of Sotheby's: Panel The poplar panel is composed of two pieces, with an original vertical join running though the Madonna's left wrist. Two horizontal battens have been fastened to the back as a support and these may have been the cause of an old vertical split which runs down the centre of the composition. There seems to have been relatively little movement in the panel in recent years, and the battens are probably no longer causing a problem. The wood has suffered worm damage in the past, mostly on the left side, next to the original panel join. The worm is no longer active. Paint layers The painting was once part of a larger composition and an X-Ray taken in 2000 shows part of a man's arm and hand on the lower left side. This arm was painted out when the panel was cut down to its present size. The architectural background, the whole of the Child, and the Madonna's face and hands are in excellent condition and have almost no restoration paint on them. There are no losses in these areas, and, as they were solidly painted, they have not suffered from wear. The Madonna's costume, on the other hand has been extensively re-painted. The X-ray does show losses in this area, but the main reason for the repainting of the blue cloak was almost certainly to create a uniform finish when the arm of the figure on the left was covered over. The blue cloak was completely re-painted. Cross-section analysis carried out in 2000 showed that underneath there are no damages, and the original azurite blue is in good condition, though the pigment has darkened, and the deeper shadows are a bit worn. The white veil and large parts of her hair were repainted at the same time. The reason for this was a 5cm horizontal loss at the top of her head, just below the halo. The girdle and the lower part of the red dress were also repainted. The X-ray showed a series of small losses on the girdle, a 6cm horizontal damage between the girdle and the Child's knee, and damages in the red down the length of the vertical split. Recent losses in this area have revealed the white filler used at the time. Cross-section analysis carried out in 2000 showed that the original gilding of the girdle survives under the present yellow paint. The pigments used for the repainting of her robes suggest the panel was cut down and restored as we see it today in the eighteenth or nineteenth century. There are some recent small losses, mostly in areas of old restoration. The varnish has discoloured slightly and has a yellowish tone. The painting is sold in a later gilded frame with damage to one corner and losses around the edges.
"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 artist, whose works were formerly attributed to the ‘Master of Santo Spirito’, thus named in reference to the altarpieces in the Bardelli and Corbinelli chapels in the Church of Santo Spirito in Florence, was evidently trained in that city.  He appears to have been a pupil or assistant of Domenico Ghirlandaio and his style was much influenced by Cosimo Rosselli, with whom (if one is to believe Giorgio Vasari) he was ‘amicissimo’.  Though active in Florence – he is recorded there as late as 1503 painting frescoes in the Palazzo del Podestà – he also travelled to Pistoia, where he collaborated with his brother Donnino on the frescoes in the Palazzo dell’Opera di San Jacopo (1496-97).  The contrapposto of the Christ Child in the present lot is most likely inspired by Lorenzo di Credi's altarpiece in Pistoia.  The artist is also recorded as having travelled to Rome, where he was apparently summoned by Michelangelo to work on the Sistine Chapel.

This particular panel is a welcome addition to the artist’s known œuvre and has been identified by Everett Fahy as belonging to  the same altarpiece as two other surviving fragments: Saint Leonard and Saint James the Greater in the Musée de Petit Palais, Avignon (fig. 1) and Saint Bartholomew and Saint Julian the Hospitaler in the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford (fig. 2) respectively.¹  Not only does the scale of the figures correspond in all three panels, but the architecture which serves as a backdrop appears to be continuous and has certain recurrent features: the grey masonry of the present panel has yellowish-brown foliate capitals which recur on the right side of the Ashmolean painting, as does the bas-relief sculpted pilaster front, and the aquamarine frieze runs along the top of all three panels.² 

Although no attempt appears yet to have been made to identify the commission of this altarpiece, its original appearance must have been somewhat familiar to those surviving in the church of Santo Spirito; that is, the architecture was probably surmounted by urns filled with flowering plants and the tops of trees may have been silhouetted against the sky.  The rather unusual inclusion of Saints Leonard and Julian might provide some clue as to the circumstances in which this altarpiece was commissioned. It is worth noting that Saint Julian the Hospitaler was the patron saint of Castiglione Fiorentino, a small town outside Florence, from which one might surmise that the altarpiece was destined for a church in that town. 

1. See Fahy, under Literature, 1993, p. 170
2. For literature relating to the attribution of the Ashmolean panel see C. Lloyd, A Catalogue of the Earlier Italian Paintings in the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford 1977, pp. 112-3, cat. no. A99.