Francesco Botticini

Count Bracci, Florence;

With Sedelmeyer, Paris, by 1902;

Henri Heugel, Paris (as Filippino Lippi);

Private collection, Spain.

E. Kühnel, Francesco Botticini, Strasbourg 1906, p. 12, n. 1 (where the attribution to Botticini is questioned);

S. Reinach, Répertoire de peintures du moyen âge et de la Reniassance, Paris 1907, vol. II, p. 232 (as School of Filippino Lippi);

B. Berenson, The Florentine Painters of the Renaissance with an Index to their Works, New York and London 1909, p. 121 (as Botticini);

O. Sirén, Introduction in the catalogue of the sale at the Blakeslee Galleries, American Art Association, New York 1915, unpaginated (as the Master of the Oriental Sash);

P. Leprieur, Musée National du Louvre. Catalogue de la collection Arconati Visconti, Paris 1917, p. 8;

R. Van Marle, The Development of the Italian Schools of Painting, The Hague 1931, vol. XIII, p. 416, note 1 (as Botticini);

B. Berenson, 'Un dessin de Botticini au Musée du Louvre', in Gazette des Beaux-Arts, July 1932, vol. 6, VIII, p. 278, reproduced p. 276, fig. 2 (as Botticini);

B. Berenson, Italian Pictures of the Renaissance. A List of the Principal Artists and Their Works with an Index of Places, Oxford 1932, p. 108 (as Botticini);

B. Berenson, Italian Pictures of the Renaissance. A List of the Principal Artists and Their Works with an Index of Places. Florentine School, London 1963, vol. I, p. 40 (as Botticini);

H. P. Horne in C. Caneva (ed.), Alessandro Filipepi detto Sandro Botticelli, pittore in Firenze. Appendice III. Catalogo delle opere di Sandro Botticelli, e dei suoi allievi e imitatori, con note relative alle opere erroneamente attribuitegli nelle collezioni pubbliche e private d'Europa e d'America, (ms. ed.), Florence 1987, pp. 222–23;

E. Fahy, 'Two suggestions for Verrocchio', in Studi di storia dell'arte in onore di Mina Gregori, Milan 1994, p. 52, note 5 (as Botticini);

L. Venturini, Francesco Botticini, Florence 1994, p. 127, cat. no. 78, reproduced p. 209, fig. 117 (as Botticini).

The following condition report is provided by Hamish Dewar who is an external specialist and not an employee of Sotheby's: Structural Condition The arched panel has been cradled and this is ensuring an even and secure structural support and has successfully secured the various old repairs to the panel. Paint Surface The paint surface has uneven and discoloured varnish layers and should respond well to cleaning if required. Inspection under ultra-violet light confirms how discoloured the varnish layers have become and shows scattered retouchings which appear to have been applied in two phases. The most significant of these retouchings are, 1) in the sky around the arch of the panel, 2) an area of inpainting running down through the Madonna's halo and other small spots in the sky, 3) small scattered retouchings on the Madonna's neck and Her red robes and other small scattered areas of inpainting. There may be other areas of retouching beneath older discoloured varnish layers that are not identifiable under ultra-violet light. Summary The painting would therefore appear to be in good and stable condition and should benefit from cleaning, restoration and revarnishing.
"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 enchanting panel, so typical of the Florentine High Renaissance, is a characteristic work by Francesco Botticini. The artist found great commercial success producing works for private devotion such as the present work, which was most likely destined for a domestic setting. His most popular compositional formula, evidenced here, is one he returned to several times in his career, both in tondo form and in a vertical, rectangular format, suggesting that he most likely made use of a cartoon in his studio to aid him in preparing his designs. Two works by Botticini recently on the market usefully illustrate this: the splendid record-breaking tondo sold in these Rooms last year (see fig. 1) as well as the work sold in New York earlier this year.¹ 

The disposition of both the kneeling Madonna, with her hands gently pressed in adoration, and the recumbent Child leaning up towards her, is for the most part consistent in all the variants. A delicate drawing of the head of the Madonna by Botticini is listed by Berenson as in the Louvre.² The secondary figures, in this case the Infant John the Baptist, seen here in his hairshirt, either take the form of angels or are exluded altogether.³ The artist seems to have particularly enjoyed including long expansive landscapes to decorate the background of these scenes, with cities often populating the horizon, since they are included in all the different treatments of the subject.

As the plaque on the frame suggests, the panel was thought to be by Filippino Lippi while in the Heugel collection (see Provenance).

The Master of the Oriental Sash is the name Sirén (see Literature) enthusiastically and unnecessarily coined to define an anonymous artistic personality whom he thought responsible for certain works, including the present one, which are now securely given to Botticini.

 

1. See the tondo sold in these Rooms, 3 July 2013, lot 18, for the record price of £410,000, and the painting very similar to the present work sold New York, Sotheby's, 20 January 2014, lot 15, for $300,000.
2. See Berenson, under Literature 1932, reproduced p. 277.
3. A treatment of the subject which shows the Madonna and Child alone in a landscape is in the Ca' d'Oro in Venice (see Venturini, under Literature, p. 126, cat. no. 75, reproduced p. 208, fig. 114).