Isidoro Bianchi

IRSA, Vienna;
Acquired by the present owner in 1988.

M. De Angelis, Isidoro Bianchi, Bergamo 1993, p. 91;
D. Pescarmona, Isidoro Bianchi 1581-1662 di Campione, Milan 2003, p. 17.

"The following condition report has been provided by Sarah Walden, an independent restorer who is not an employee of Sotheby's. This painting has a recent lining and stretcher. The left edge has been extended by an inch or so, with a band of retouched filling. The restoration is quite recent also, with fairly frequent old damages, as is often the case with large paintings. Much of the damage has affected the denser flesh painting, which may have grown more brittle than the background, although the fine brushwork in the heads has largely escaped intact. Cupid's forehead does have one quite substantial horizontal retouching, as does his shoulder and stomach, with other more minor retouchings elsewhere, Mercury's arm and his calf have larger retouchings with many other scattered smaller touches, but his head is powerful and quite finely complete. Venus's neck has suffered various knocks as has her knee, leg and thigh, but in her hands particularly and in her body there is quite widespread wear. Such wear or abrasion is more noticeable in the flesh since the dark ground can be seen emerging, whereas in the background there appears to be comparatively little damage. The foreground still life of Mercury's helmet and Cupids quiver is unusually well preserved. Between the legs there are some broad retouchings, which seem likely to be superficial rather than covering filled damages, although there is one oval damage in the upper centre right background, and a certain amount of retouching along the upper stretcher bar line and in places along the edges. The restoration may have been slightly perfunctory, however the vigorous mannerist draughtsmanship and much of the distinctive brushwork remain strong. 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."

Isidoro Bianchi di Campione seems to have been active at the start of the century as a fresco painter in the Como area.  His first recorded work is a fresco cycle for the Cistercian monastery attached to the Abbey of Santa Maria dell'Acquafredda, 1598-1601.  Between 1605 and 1606 he is recorded as having visited the court of Rudolph II in Prague, after which he returned to Lombardy and studied under Pier Francesco Mazzucchelli, called il Morazzone.  It was through his connection to Morazzone that he entered the patronage of the ducal house of Savoy.  He was first employed to finish the deceased Morazzone's fresco cycle in the grand salon of the Savoy palace at Rivoli before being appointed court painter and knighted by the Duke in 1631.

Many of Bianchi's works have a distinctly Lombard quality but the present painting is a rare example of the impact his trip to Prague had on his style.  The unusually large allegorical composition is clearly influenced by Bartholomäus Spranger's painting of a similar subject, known through an engraving by Lucas Kilian (fig. 1) and thus an execution date in the second half of the first decade of the 1600's is likely.