Andrea Piccinelli, called Andrea Brescianino Siena circa 1487 - after 1525

Swanscombe Parish Church, Kent;
By whom sold, London, Sotheby's, 11 July 1973, lot 8, where acquired by the present owner.

J. Meyer zur Capellen, Raphael. A Critical Catalogue of His Paintings, vol. I, Landshut 2001, p. 263, under cat. no. 35, as copy no. 35/II.32 (by Brescianino).

"The following condition report has been provided by Henry Gentle, an independent restorer who is not an employee of Sotheby's. The poplar panel has horizontal reinforcing battens on the reverse and there is evidence of previous worm infestation here too, some of which extends through to the paint surface. The paint layer is raised in some places and unstable. Under U-V light retouching can be seen to the sky ,upper right and left, and the Madonna's red dress and blue cloak where there has been paint loss. Dark craquelure to the Christ child and St. John has been reduced. Two worm holes are visible in the Madonna's cheek and elsewhere can be seen retouched worm damage to the paint surface. There is minor paint loss to the right hand edge. The removal of the discoloured varnish would improve the tonality of the composition. The old gilt wood cassetta-style frame has numerous chips and superficial damages but is structurally sound."
"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."

Brescianino is first recorded in Siena in 1507 when he is documented as working with Battista di Fruosino on the fresco decoration of the second vault of the Compagnia di San Bernardino. Given that he is no longer listed as receiving payments for the work in December of that year, it seems likely that he had already left Siena for Florence by then. In Florence Brescianino must have seen the works of Fra Bartolommeo and Raphael, both of whom were to have a lasting influence on his work. Indeed the figures' poses in this panel are inspired by those in Raphael's signed painting of 'La Belle Jardinière', now in the Musée du Louvre, Paris.¹  That Brescianino should have copied Raphael's design is by no means unusual: another such example in Brescianino's œuvre is the painting formerly in the Cook collection, Richmond, Surrey, which derives from Raphael's Madonna and Child painting in Berlin.²  Raphael's 'La Belle Jardinière', which has been dated to 1507-8, may still have been in Florence when Brescianino travelled there but the picture's early provenance is unclear: some scholars identify it with the painting Vasari says Raphael left to Ridolfo del Ghirlandaio to finish off in Florence, and others have suggested it is the work painted for Filippo Sergardi in Siena, in which case Brescianino might have studied it there instead.³  Although the overall design is clearly inspired by the Louvre panel, Brescianino's painting derives even more closely from Raphael's cartoon, today at Holkham Hall in Norfolk.⁴  In both these works the Madonna wears a simple headband, without a veil, and John the Baptist wears a laurel wreath, which Raphael was to eliminate in the final painting. The fact that Brescianino had recourse to Raphael's cartoon is interesting for it suggests that he had firsthand knowledge of it, probably in Florence. Brescianino's sfumato painting technique certainly seems better suited to interpreting the forms in Raphael's cartoon and the Baptist's slight awkwardness may indeed be due to this figure not being entirely resolved by Raphael in the cartoon.⁵  The most significant difference between Raphael's conception and Brescianino's painting occurs in the background: Raphael places his Madonna group in a fertile garden (from which the painting's nickname 'La Belle Jardinière' derives) with an extensive landscape beyond, whereas Brescianino introduces a rather incongruous mix of architectural elements in the background, demonstrating his interest in classical antiquity. Although Raphael was to remain a source of inspiration for Brescianino, his later works increasingly show the influence of Domenico Beccafumi and Andrea del Sarto.

1.  Inv. 602. See J. Meyer zur Capellen, under Literature, pp. 257-63, cat. no. 35, reproduced on p. 259, fig. 35.
2.  B. Berenson, Italian Pictures of the Renaissance. Central and North Italian Schools, vol. I, London 1968, p. 66.
3.  See Meyer zur Capellen, op. cit., p. 260 and p. 263, footnote 242.
4.  Black chalk, contours pricked and traced for transfer with stylus: see ibid., reproduced p. 262, fig. 35/I.3.
5.  For example, the Baptist's left arm is drawn in two different poses - Brescianino, like Raphael, would choose that in which his arm rests on his left thigh rather than that which crosses over to reach for the stick he holds.