Giovanni Battista Salvi, called Sassoferrato

In the possession of the current owner for at least the last 40 years.

The following condition report is provided by Rebecca Gregg, who is an external expert and not an employee of Sotheby's. The canvas appears in very good condition, lined onto a secondary support both appear stable and the adhesion between the two layers appears good. The paint layers appear in very good condition. There are no recent damages or losses to the paint layers and the adhesion between the paint and ground layers and the support appears good. There is evidence that the painting has been relatively recently restored. There are small areas of retouching present, in the white drapery and in the lower left corner of the blue. There are also minor retouchings in the sitter’s face and in the background. None of these appear to cover any significant loss however, and do appear slightly excessive. The retouching present is also slightly discoloured. Although not too visually disturbing. There is a relatively thick varnish layer present that fluoresces strongly under ultra violet examination. There are several matt patches, not related to areas of retouching, such as a vertical line to the right of the sitter’s nose, which appear to be simply affecting the varnish. The painting was examined in the frame.
"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."

Sassoferrato's compositions of the Madonna in Prayer are amongst his most celebrated images and this previously unknown painting is amongst the best versions to come to the market in recent years.  We are grateful to Professor François Macé de Lepinay for his endorsement of the attribution to Sassoferrato on the basis of photographs.

The sheer quantity of Sassoferrato's depictions of the Virgin are testament to their popularity in Rome in the mid seventeenth-century.  The Counter Reformation's increased emphasis on veneration of the Virgin and the huge upsurge in literature and art surrounding the Marian cult meant Sassoferrato's intense and moving depictions of the Madonna were much in demand.  In some of his depictions of this type his execution and treatment of the subject feels rather formulaic, and one can credit the tale that he kept stacks of canvases depicting the Virgin in the back of his workshop for immediate sale.  The present painting, however, is so carefully and exquisitely painted that although its early history is unknown one can suppose it must have been an important commission for the artist.

Sassoferrato constantly varied the details of his Madonnas in the drapery, the tilt of head, the facial expressions and in his use of shadow.  Of the other known variants of this type, the Madonna with her head down, gazing lower left, hands half visible, clasped in prayer, clad in a simple red robe, white veil and blue overmantle, the closest are the painting in the Accademia Carrara, Bergamo,¹ and the painting sold in these Rooms, 8 July 2004, lot 214. 

1. F. Macé de Lepinay, Sassoferrato, exh. cat., Milan 1990, p. 48, cat. no. 3, reproduced.