Castilian School, 16th Century

"The following condition report has been provided by Henry Gentle, an independent restorer who is not an employee of Sotheby's. The paint surface is raised and unstable with some blistering. There is a vertical full length split, left, with paint loss along it and either side of it. This has been restored. The gold to the background drapery is entirely repainted, one must assume this is excessive, there has been the reduction of cracks caused by paint shrinkage and a scattering of further retouchings across the surface. Many areas are well preserved, however, and in good original condition. The varnish has discoloured. Offered in a plain moulded gilt wood frame with some damage."
"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."

An attribution to The Osma Master, an artist active in Castile circa 1500, has been suggested. Certain elements of the present painting, in particular the treatment of the drapery, the motifs on the canopy and the tiled floor, can be compared to The Osma Master's Madonna and Child with Saint Anne and Angels in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.¹

1. See C.R. Post, A History of Spanish Painting, vol. IV, part II, Cambridge 1947, pp. 686-7, reproduced fig. 282.