Cosimo Rosselli

Sir George Lindsay Holford;
His deceased sale, London, Christie's, July 15, 1927, lot 8, for 1,732 guineas, to Langton Douglas;
Viscount Rothermere, 1932;
Anonymous sale, New York, Christie's, May 22, 1998, lot 114, for $46,000, where acquired by the present owner.

R. Benson, The Holford Collection, Dorchester House, Oxford 1927, vol. I, p. 19, cat. no. 16, reproduced plate 14 (as Florentine School, period of Baldovinetti);
R. van Marle, The Development of the Italian Schools of Painting, The Hague, 1923-1938, 1929 ed., vol XI, p. 280, reproduced fig. 180;
P.G. Konody, Works of Art in the Collection of Viscount Rothermere, London 1932, plate 9 (as Baldovinetti, where it is noted that before cradling there was an old inscription on the reverse: 'Fr. Datini fondatore della Chiesa del Ceppo, Prato');
G. Pudelko, "Two Portraits ascribed to Andrea del Castagno," in The Burlington Magazine, vol. LXVIII, p. 239, footnote 6;
R.W. Kennedy, Alesso Baldovinetti. A Critical and Historical Study, New Haven 1938, pp. 226-227, footnote 291;
B. Berenson, Italian Pictures of the Renaissance: Florentine School, London 1963, vol. I, p. 22 (as Baldovinetti);
E. Fahy, "An altarpiece by Cosimo Rosselli," in Quaderni di Emblema. 2. Miscellanea, Bergamo 1973, p. 56;
A.R. Blumenthal, Cosimo Rosselli, Painter of the Sistine Chapel, Florida 2001, pp. 156-157, reproduced in color on p. 156, fig. 71 (as Rosselli);
E. Fahy, "Lists of Paintings by Cosimo Rosselli," in A.R. Blumenthal, Cosimo Rosselli, Painter of the Sistine Chapel, Florida 2001, p. 251 (as Rosselli);
E. Gabrielli, Cosimo Rosselli, Catalogo Ragionato, Torino 2007, p. 253, cat. no. R16, reproduced (under erroneous attributions).

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 panel has been cradled on the reverse to correct a few vertical breaks which are currently stable. Some instability has developed in the past along the bottom edge but this is also now stable. The picture has been cleaned and varnished, and if the varnish were to be addressed slightly, it could be hung as is. Restorations are visible under ultraviolet light addressing the cracks in the panel running through the face on either side of the nose and a third through the right side of the figure. The delicate paint layer itself is in lovely condition and one can clearly see all of the fine brushwork in the face and elsewhere. There are a few retouches in the background also, yet overall the condition is fair.
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.

Although published as not by Rosselli in Edith Gabrielli's recent monograph on the artist (see Literature), the painting is included in Everett Fahy's seminal list of paintings by Rosselli published in Arthur Blumenthal's 2001 publication. Previously Bernard Berenson had attributed it to Alessandro Baldovinetti, a view shared by R.W. Kennedy and, before him, by P.G. Konody who knew the painting when it was in the Rothermere collection (see Provenance).

It was Konody who noted the inscription on the reverse, since obscured by the cradling, that identifies the sitter as 'Fr. Datini fondatore della Chiesa del Ceppo, Prato'.