Girolamo da Santacroce

Lady Robertson;
With Colnaghi, London, 1960 (according to Witt Library Mount);
With Thomas Agnew and Sons, 1960, nos. 21629 and 40492 (according to two separate labels on the reverse), from whom purchased by a private collector;
Thence by direct inheritance.

"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 been laid on to a wooden tray; there is some minor worm infestation but it is generally in a good condition. The paint layer is stable and flat. There are discoloured restorations to the sky, right and left of the roof, replacing loss. Other minor restored paint loss can be detected across the surface including Mary's and Joseph's cloaks, the wooden uprights and horizontal beams, the shadows of the rocks, the angels and the ass; some of the restoration is excessive, however. There are areas where the paint is well preserved and many of the fine glazes and scumbles remain intact. The colours are strong and saturate well. Removing the discoloured varnish would improve the tonality. Offered in a plain moulded gilt wood frame in good condition."
"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."

Girolamo da Santacroce started his career in the workshop of Gentile Bellini who, in his will, left him half of the drawings of oriental figures which he had lent to Pinturicchio.  Girolamo subsequently assisted Giovanni Bellini and by 1517 was working independently.

Another autograph version of this composition, but with numerous differences, is in the Gemaldegalerie, Dresden.¹ The Dresden version differs from the present work in adopting a more horizontal format, and includes more angels hovering above the holy family, slight differences in the appearance of the figures, and a much altered barn and landscape setting. It is a composition to which the Santa Croce family returned on several further occasions; other examples, given to Francesco di Girolamo da Santa Croce, are in Basel, Kunstmuseum,² and Berlin, Staatliche Museum.³ 

We are grateful to Everett Fahy for endorsing the attribution following inspection of the original.

1. See H. Marx et al., Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister Dresden, vol. I, Cologne 2005, p. 201, reproduced.
2. See B. della Chiesa & E. Baccheschi, in I Pittori Bergamaschi. Il Cinquecento, vol. II, p. 35, no. 2, reproduced p. 66, no. 3.
3. Idem. p. 36, no. 7, reproduced p. 66, no. 4.