Bicci di Lorenzo

San Niccolò in Cafaggio, Florence, 1433-1787;
Possibly Marchese Alfonso Tacoli Canacci (1724-1801), Florence and Parma, presumably circa 1787;
Anonymous sale, Hôtel Drouot, Paris, 8 March 1967, (as 'Attributed to Lorenzo di Bicci');
With the Heim Gallery, London, 1967-1976, when acquired by the present owner.

London, The Heim Gallery, Recent Acquisitions in Painting and Sculpture, 12 June – 31 August 1967;
Warsaw, The Royal Castle. Opus Sacrum, 10 April  – 31 July, 1990, no. 5.

F. Zeri, Metropolitan Museum of Art Catalogue. Florentine School, New York 1971, p. 69;
A.S. Labuda in J. Grabski, ed., Opus Sacrum, exhibition catalogue, Vienna 1990, pp. 46-49, no. 5.

"The following condition report has been provided by Sarah Walden, an independent restorer who is not an employee of Sotheby's. This predella panel has a little old worm damage but is strong generally. There is a rectangular wooden insert behind, which appears to be a reinforcement of the panel, and on the face of the painting parts of this area has a pattern of cracks outlining two smaller squares of apparently deteriorated original paint, one around the reclining mother in bed, and the other lower down around the head of the kneeling maidservant in green. This has been secured and there is fairly extensive retouching covering virtually the whole head of the maidservant and much of the reclining mother, although there is original paint also for instance on the blue drapery of the mother's arm. There are various other small retouchings in the wall behind and at the corners, as well as strengthening in the body of the little saint himself. Narrow added strips behind support the gilded surround, and much of this appears a quite recent confection. The restoration appears to be from the end of the last century. Some areas such as the green drapery of the maidservant are beautifully intact, as are the lovely landscapes at both sides. This report was not done under laboratory conditions."
"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."

This panel formed one of the predella panels of Bicci di Lorenzo's 1433 altarpiece for the church of San Niccolò di Caffaggio in Florence.  The altarpiece was broken up when the church was destroyed in 1787.  The central panel, Madonna and Child with Angels, is now in the Galleria Nazionale, Parma; the right-hand wing, Saint John the Baptist and Saint Matthew(?), is in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York and the left-hand wing, Saints Benedict and Nicholas, is in the Museo di Badia, Grottaferrata.  Two other predella panels are in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, a third in the Ashmolean, Oxford and a fourth in the Wawel Museum, Krakow.

Saint Nicholas of Bari was distinguished by his precocious piety.  The present panel depicts the scene straight after his birth when, being given a bath, he stood up and began to pray, giving thanks for his safe delivery.  Another manifestation of his early devoutness was his refusal to suckle, whilst being breastfed, on Christian fast days.  The uncertain origins of this saint led the Catholic Church to remove him from the Calendar in 1969.

 

PROVENANCE:
It is likely that the present painting, along with the pilaster panel, Saint Mary of Egypt (sold New York, Sotheby's, 28 January 1999, lot 215), was in the collection of the Marchese Alfonso Tacoli Canacci.  Both panels are set into 18^th century embossed gold frames distinctive of the family collection.¹

1. For a discussion of this see A. Galli, 'Tavole toscane del Tre e Quattrocento nella collezione di Alfonso Tacoli Canacci', in N. Baldini ed. Invisibile agli occhi : atti della giornata di studio in ricordo di Lisa Venturini, Florence 2007, pp. 13-28.