Saint John the Evangelist, illuminated miniature from a manuscript choirbook on vellum

a cutting, 165 mm. by 165 mm., a very large initial 'E' (perhaps from the gradual "Exiit sermo" on the feast of Saint John the Evangelist, 27 December), the young saint with a wreath around his long hair seated among rocks presumably on Patmos holding a long scroll between his two hands, leaning slightly forwards, his sandaled feet on the ground before him, the clouds in the sky beginning to form into the apocalyptic creatures of Saint John's revelation, all within a very large initial in flamboyant leafy and dolphin style in colours on a burnished gold ground, cut to shape, in a gilt frame

From the collection of William Young Ottley (1771-1836); his sale in these rooms, 11 May 1838, probably part of lot 65.  From the collections of Robert S. Holford (1808-1892) and Sir George Holford (1860-1926; R. H. Benson, The Holford Collection, Dorchester House, Oxford, 1927, p. 7, no. 66c); Holford sale in these rooms, 12 July 1927, part of lot 32.

Condition is described in the main body of the cataloguing where appropriate.
"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. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

This is an extremely fine miniature by the Master B. F.  It is one of a series of miniatures cut from the set of about 20 choirbooks of the Olivetan monastery of SS. Angelo e Nicolò at Villanova Silaro, at Lodi, just outside Milan.  The volumes were written by the scribe Fra Valentino and were illuminated in the first decades of the sixteenth century by the enigmatic artist who signed some miniatures with the letters 'B. F.'.  There are many suggestions as to who he may have been, including "F[rancesco] B[inasco], or B[artolomeo Neroni] f[ecit]", but the only documented illuminator in the monastery at the right time is Fra Giovanni da Verona (c.1457-1525; cf. G. M. Canova, Miniature dell'Italia settentrionale nella Fondazione Giorgio Cini, 1978, p. 60).  The choirbooks were apparently mutilated by Napoleonic troops in 1799.  Many excised initials, very possibly including the present cutting, were brought to England by the Abbate Celotti, and were sold at Christie's, 26 May 1825, lots 12-27, "They appear to be the work of an Artist of great powers, who had studied in the School of Leonardo da Vinci" (p. 8).  The principal buyer at the Celotti sale was Ottley.

The present miniature shows a very clear knowledge of the work of Leonardo.  The figure is copied remarkably closely from that of the Virgin Mary in the great Burlington House Cartoon, The Virgin and Child with the Infant Saint John, now in the National Gallery, possibly executed as late as 1508-9.  The angle of the head, even the hair band, and the position of the knees and feet are virtually identical.  The setting is reminiscent of the two versions of Leonardo's Virgin of the Rocks.

Recent publications on the Master B. F. include M. Carminati, Codici miniati del Maestro B. F. a Casorate Primo, 1995; A. de Floriani in Museo Civico Amedeo Lia, Miniature, ed. F. Todini, 1996, pp. 92-4, no. 18; P. L. Mulas in Enluminures italiennes, Chefs-d'oeuvre du Musée Condé, 2000, pp. 59-60, no. 15; Leaves of Gold, Manuscript Illumination from Philadelphia Collections, ed. J. R. Tannis, 2001, pp. 179-81, no. 62; and P. Palladino, Treasures of a Lost Art, 2003, pp. 142-3, no. 70; another initial was sold at Christie's, 19 November 2003, lot 18, and a whole volume was sold in these rooms, 4 December 2007, lot 65.