Bartolomeo Schedoni

Modena, Galleria Estense, 1770-1801;
Luigi Cerretti, Parma, 1801-1808;
Antonio Scarpa, Pavia, 1808-1833;
Motta di Livenza, Pinacoteca Scarpa, 1833-1895;
Their sale, Milan, Sambon, 15-16 November 1895, lot 69;
Purchased by the great grandfather of the present owner in Europe between 1908 and 1910.  

Descrizione della Quadreria De' SS.Ri coeredi Scarpa Esistente In Motta, 1833, cat. no. 53;
Descrizione della Pinacoteca del Sig. Giovanni Scarpa esistente fino al 1833 in Motta, Provincia di Treviso, restaurata dai Veneti artisti sig.ri Giacomo Tonegutti e G. Battista Carrer e riaperta nel 20 Ottobre 1844. Portogruaro. Castion. 1859., p. 10 cat. no. 30;
Descrizione..., 1872, p. 14, cat. no. 33;
P.G. Molmenti, "La Pinacoteca Scarpa in Motto di Livenza," in Archivio Veneto, Vol. VIII, Part I, 1874, p. 196, no. 33;
R. Pallucchini, I dipinti della Galleria Estense di Modena, Rome 1945, p. 66, cat. no. 95;
E. Negro and N. Roio, Bartolomeo Schedoni, 1578-1615, Modena 2000, p. 97;
S. Momesso, La Collezione di Antonio Scarpa (1752-1832), Cittadella 2007, p. 153, cat. no. 53, reproduced (as location unknown).

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 painting is in beautiful and fresh condition with an unusually well preserved paint layer. There has been no abrasion and the original patina seems to be well evident throughout. The canvas has a very old lining which is still serviceable. In the upper left in the sky there is a vertical damage which runs for approximately eight inches which has received very broad and clumsy filling and retouching, and which should be reexamined. In the shoulder there is a couple of slightly pink retouches and in the left forearm and wrist there is some clumsy restoration. Similarly in the right forearm there is another heavy handed retouch. These restorations are directed at small and insignificant losses, and this picture has withstood the test of time very well. When the picture is carefully cleaned, there will be only a few retouches to apply, with the exception of some work in the upper left and in a few spots in the figure mentioned above. There is some slight instability to the paint layer in the upper center yet although the lining could be reversed, it could also be adjusted where necessary. It is interesting to note that in the left hand there is a pentiment of one of the fingers, which is important to preserve.
"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 recently rediscovered painting presents an exciting addition to Batolomeo Schedoni's oeuvre.

Schedoni depicted the subject of St. John the Baptist on several occasions and, as he often did, executed several versions of each composition. The prototype of the present composition is most probably the painting now in the collection of Belton House, Lincolnshire (National Trust), which is much smaller than the present work (55 by 33 cm.) and is painted on panel.

Schedoni also painted a very similar variant of this composition, in which St. John the Baptist does not point out with his right arm but holds it on his stick. There is also a bowl in the lower right hand corner, a sheep and several other figures in the background that are not included in the present version. Schedoni throughout his career excelled at readdressing his compositions by slightly changing certain elements. One version of this variant, formerly in a private collection in Italy, was sold recently in Milan, Porro & C., 25 February 2004, Lot 75 for €414,045.¹

Emilio Negro and Nicosetta Roio, to whom we are grateful for endorsing the attribution to Schedoni and helping with the cataloguing of this lot, propose a tentative dating of circa 1610, when Schedoni was working for the Duke of Parma. They will include the present painting in the new catalogue raisonné on this artist currently in preparation.

1.  See E. Negro and N. Roio, Bartolomeo Schedoni, Modena, 2000, pp.96-97, cat. no. 43.2, reproduced.