Giovanni Battista Salvi, called Sassoferrato

H.N. Jonas, Esq., by 22 November 1902 (from a label on the reverse);
With Leonard F. Koetser, London;
From whom purchased by a private collector, Canada, in 1951;
By whom sold, New York, Sotheby's, 23 January 2003, lot 149;
Private collection, United States;
Private collection, United Kingdom (acquired via Sotheby's Private Sale June 2010)

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 painting is in remarkable condition. The canvas has an old 19th century glue lining. The paint layer is stable and the canvas is well stretched. The work is clean, lightly varnished and retouched. There is no abrasion or weakness to the paint layer. In the face, there is a small retouch in the center of the forehead and a few dots on the bridge of the nose. There are none in the neck. There are none in the hand except for a thin line across the bottom edge of the hand and a loss on the extreme edge. There is a thin diagonal scratch extending from the right edge in the upper right background. There are a few dots in the shadow on the left side of the blue cape. There is also a horizontal line of restoration in the hair to the right of the hand. The restorations are well applied, and the work should be hung as is.
"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."

Giovanni Battista Salvi, more commonly known as 'Sassoferrato', after the town in which he was born, learned the rudiments of painting from his father Tarquino before embarking on a trip to Rome. There he studied the works of his contemporaries, including Reni, Domenichino, and the Carracci. His greatest influence, however, was Raphael and he is known to have directly copied the latter's compositions (see, for example, Sassoferato's Madonna and Child in the Galleria Sabauda, Turin [inv. no. 482], which is directly based on Raphael's Madonna of the Pinks [National Gallery, London, inv. no. NG6596]). Despite being an accomplished portraitist, Sassoferrato specialized in easel paintings of a devotional nature, usually representing the Madonna alone or with the Christ Child, of which the present composition is an outstanding example. The large number of autograph and studio replicas of Sassoferrato's compositions attest to the popularity they enjoyed within the artist's own lifetime. The present composition, showing the Madonna in the midst of quiet prayer, was certainly one of Sassoferrato's most celebrated and was utilized by the artist throughout his career. One such example is located in the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Bordeaux (inv. no. E. 950; see F. de Lépinay, P. Zampetti and S. Sassi, Giovan Battista Salvi, "Il Sassoferrato", exhibition catalogue, Sassoferrato 1990, p. 52, cat. no. 6).

We are grateful to François Macé de Lépinay for endorsing the attribution to Sassoferrato, based on photographs.