Ludovico Mazzolino

Giuseppe Bossi (1777-1815), Milan (according to a label on the reverse);

Giuseppe Moltini, Milan;

Acquired from the above by James Irvine on behalf of Sir William Forbes, 7th Baronet of Pitsligo (1773–1828), of Fettercairn, Kincardineshire, on 18 July 1827, in Milan, for 50 Louis (the seal of the Accademia di Milano affixed to the reverse);

Thence by descent to his son Sir John Stuart Hepburn-Forbes, 8th Baronet of Pitsligo (1804–66);

Thence by inheritance to his son-in-law Charles Trefusis, 20th Baron Clinton (1834–1904);

Thence by family descent.

Fettercairn House inventory, 1917 (as M. di Ferrara; Dining Room);

Fettercairn House inventory, 1930 (as M. di Ferrara; Dining Room).

The support consists of a single uncradled plank with a slight vertical convex bow. There are a few shallow surface splits and associated paint loss (visible in the catalogue illustration) and lifting, which require consolidation. For a panel of its age the paint surface is exceptionally well preserved. There are some restorations to what look like old losses, for example on the right most shepherd's tunic and sporadically through the red garments of Mary and Joseph, and elsewhere. There is some minor paint separation visible in Joseph's face and on his blue scarf. The painting would benefit from a new restoration, which however should not prove extensive, but which would restore the painting to something very close to its original appearance. Sold in an early nineteenth century gilt frame.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

This intimate devotional panel by Ludovico Mazzolino was purchased in Milan for Sir William Forbes in the summer of 1827 at the beginning of Irvine's quest to form a collection for Fettercairn House. Mazzolino's mainly small paintings in oil on panel were in many of the great collections in Italy and as such were hotly sought after by agents and collectors.¹ Mazzolino trained in the workshop of Ercole de' Roberti and Lorenzo Costa and their influence was manifest for the duration of Mazzolino's career, but more prevalent still was the dramatic impact of Albrecht Dürer. Dürer’s prints were readily available in Italy and the German artist even visited Ferrara while travelling to Bologna in 1512–13. The naturalism of the splintered wooden fence and of the mossy roof of the shelter, and the sculptural depiction of the drapery recall Dürer's designs for this subject.² Yet the treatment of the background landscape is quintessentially Ferrarese.

Mazzolino's sophisticated and distinctive style won him the patronage of Ercole I d’Este, Duke of Ferrara and Modena (1430–1505) and his daughter-in-law Lucrezia Borgia. Theirs was one of the most important humanist courts in the Renaissance, and Mazzolino is recorded as being paid for executing decorative schemes at their castle between 1504 and 1507. Mazzolino's works indicate the wonderful melting pot of Italian styles in art during the first decades of the sixteenth century that could be afforded to a young artist so fortunate to live in a city so well placed, surrounded by and within easy journeying distance of so many other artistically and culturally vibrant cities such as Bologna, Venice, Mantua and Padua. The many influences of these cities did not distill the artistic identity of Ferrarese artists during this period, but instead artists like Mazzolino, Dosso Dossi, Garofalo and L’Ortolano each developed a highly unique style of painting. Rhythmic, compact and colourful, their scenes are classically inspired but poetic and even sometimes eccentric. 

Mazzolino painted the subject of the Adoration of the Shepherds many times and often included, as we see here, a second scene in the distance. Beyond the figures of the Holy Family and two adoring shepherds in the foreground is a bucolic green landscape in which the shepherds tend their flock, and above them, in the golden sky, is an angel swooping down and delivering its message with an extended arm and a pointed finger.

Note on Provenance
James Irvine wrote to his patron that he was taken by a restorer in Milan to see pictures belonging to 'a person who seems to have laid out more money than he could afford and now wishes to get some of it back. Among them I found the following, viz: The adoration of the shepherds, Mazzolino di Ferrara – 50 Louis.'³ As with many of the other paintings that he bought, Irvine took immediate advantage of the situation, acquiring the painting for a price he considered more than reasonable.

1. Irvine's travel companion Samuel Woodburn is recorded as also buying up paintings by Mazzolino on his travels through Italy. In 1836 he purchased a painting of Christ before Pilate from the Borghese family in Rome, now in the collection of the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge. See S. Zamboni, Ludovico Mazzolino, Milan 1968, p. 39, cat. no. 14, reproduced pl. 55a.

2. Albrecht Dürer, The Adoration of the Magi, woodcut, 1511, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Gift of Junius Spencer Morgan, 1919 (accession no. 19.73.163).

3. Letter from James Irvine to Sir William Forbes, Rome, 17 May 1828.