Spinello di Luca Spinelli, called Spinello Aretino

The following condition report has been provided by Simon Parkes of Simon Parkes Art Conservation, Inc. 502 East 74th St. New York, NY 212-734-3920, simonparkes@msn.com , an independent restorer who is not an employee of Sotheby's. This panel has not received restoration for some time and could be reexamined. The lower inch and the upper inch of the panel running from left to right have most likely been added. These additions on the top edge seem to extend into very the tops of the heads of the apostles in the upper right. The bottom of the kneeling saint with the pink robe is visibly repainted, as are other areas. The bulk of Christ's robe is original although there are restorations within the robe and there are some fairly broad swatches of old dark repaint in the lower right corner. This picture should be cleaned. These significant fillings in the top and bottom will be revealed, but the work could be more competently completed. The panel and the frame are all incorporated and the reverse is a single piece of wood. There is one area in the upper right of this panel which is slightly raised and may be unstable, yet the remainder of the picture is stable.
"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."

We are grateful to Everett Fahy for proposing the attribution to Spinello Aretino and for identifying the other panels with which it once formed the predella for a large altarpiece: these include Christ Washing the Disciples' Feet, The Descent of the Holy Ghost, and The Agony in the Garden.¹  All three of these panels were recently exhibited together at the Gemäldegalerie, Berlin, in Geschichten auf Gold: Bilderzählungen in der frühren italienischen Malerei (see exhibition catalogue, 2005, pp. 200-205, all reproduced).

1.  Christ Washing the Disciples' Feet, panel, 20.5 by 33.5 cm.; with Alfredo Moretti, Prato (before 2002); private collection, Florence (in 2005). The Descent of the Holy Ghost, panel, 20.5 by 35.9 cm.; with Alfredo Moretti, Prato (before 2002); private collection, Florence (in 2005). The Agony in the Garden, panel, 20.2 by 32.3 cm.; private collection, Koblenz, Germany (before 2001); Philipp Riedl, Munich (in 2001); private collection, Landshut, Germany (in 2005).