Lot 207
  • 207

Alessandro Magnasco, called il Lissandrino

Estimate
40,000 - 60,000 GBP
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Description

  • Alessandro Magnasco, called il Lissandrino
  • a monk's burial
  • oil on canvas
  • 93 by 132 cm

Provenance

Johann Melchior von Birkenstock (1738-1809) Vienna;
His deceased sale, Vienna, Artaria, March 1811 ;
With Bühlmeyer, Vienna;
Acquired from the above in 1820 by Prince Johann I of Liechtenstein (1760-1836).

Exhibited

Lucerne, Kunstmuseum, Meisterwerke aus den Sammlungen Fursten von Liechtenstein, 1948, no. 45.

Literature

J. Falke, Katalog der Fürstlich Liechtensteinischen Bilder-Galerie im Gartenpalais der Rossau zu Wien, Vienna 1873, p. 39, no. 318 (as Alessandro Alessandrini);
J. Falke, Katalog der fürstlich Liechtensteinischen Bilder-Galerie im Gartenpalais der Rossau zu Wien, Vienna 1885, p. 36, no. 250;
Repertorium für Kunstwissenschaft XIII, Berlin 1890, p. 139;
K. Höss, Fürst Johann II. von Liechtenstein und die bildende Kunst, Vienna 1908, p. 33;
Th. von Frimmel, Lexikon der Wiener Gemäldesammlungen, vol. I, Munich 1913, p. 180, no. 540, reproduced fig. 22;
B. Geiger, Alessandro Magnasco, Berlin 1914, reproduced figure 19;
B. Geiger, Alessandro Magnasco, Vienna 1923, p. 47, no. 88;
G. Delogu, Pittori minori liguri, lombardi, piemontesi del Seicento e Settecento, Venice 1931, p. 129;
A. Kronfeld, Führer durch die Fürstlich Liechtensteinsche Gemäldegalerie in Wien, Vienna 1931, pp. 69-70, no. 250;
E. von Strohmer, Die Gemäldegalerie des Fürsten Liechtenstein in Wien, Vienna 1943, p. 93, fig. 20;
M. Pospisil, Magnasco, Florence 1944, p. LVIII, note 87;
R. Pallucchini, in the exhibition catalogue, I Capolavori dei Musei Veneti, Venice 1946, p. 325;
B. Geiger, Magnasco, Bergamo 1949, p.148f., reproduced figure 440;
A. Morassi, in: the exhibitoin catalogue, Mostra del Magnasco, Genoa 1949, p. 38, no. 48;
R. Baumstark, Meisterwerke der Sammlungen des Fürsten von Liechtenstein. Gemälde, Zürich 1980, pp. 22, 38, 59-60;
U. Wieczorek, in the exhibition catalogue, Fünf Jahrhunderte italienische Kunst aus den Sammlungen des Fürsten von Liechtenstein, Vaduz 1994, pp. 92-93, 155, no. 39;
L. Muti and D. De Sarno Prignano, Alessandro Magnasco, Faenza 1994, p. 335, cat. no. R. 492 as a copy and as no longer in the Liechtenstein Collection;
Alessandro Magnasco 1667-1749, exhibition catalogue, Milan 1996, p. 172, under cat. no. 34;
B. Borchhardt-Birbaumer, Die Nacht. Das Dunkel ist Licht genug, exhibition catalogue, Munich 1998, p. 307, no. 108.

Condition

The colours are cooler than those in the catalogue illustration. The painting has fairly recently been cleaned, relined and restored and appears to be in very good overall condition. The relining has not affected the paint surface and much original impasto remains. There is small recent dent upper left. Inspection under ultra-violet light reveals no major damages. Restoration is restricted to scattered minor local retouchings or strengthenings, notably along the upper margin, to the trees and background behind the monks on the left. There are two small old repaired damages, each less than 1cm square on the right hand side and a small repaired 5 cm tear lower right. The restoration is well carried out and is not visible to the naked eye and the painting should require no further attention. The varnish remains clear and even. Offered with a later plain gilt wood frame with a part beaded sight edge, in reasonable condition.
"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."

Catalogue Note

Monks and their daily life was a favourite theme of the artist and one which he visited several times. Three known versions of this composition are known, but only two, including the present work, are autograph. The accepted prototype in the Museo Civico in Bassano probably dates from the 1710s, while the present work, identical in design but marked by softer and more fluid brushstrokes, is a later version. The third example in Castellarquato is regarded as an inferior copy by an imitator. Muti and De Sarno Prignano (see Literature) correctly give the Bassano version as the prototype but list both the Catellarquato and present version as copies. The confident and fresh handling of the Liechtenstein version offered here, however, suggest that we can safely exclude the possibility that it is a copy.  We are grateful to Dottoressa Fausta Franchini Guelfi for endorsing the autograph status of the present work on the basis of photographs .

The first recorded owner of this painting, Johann Melchior Edler von Birkenstock, was a celebrated Austrian councillor, education reformer and art collector. He was also an Imperial advisor to the Empress Maria Theresia and the reformist Emperor Joseph II. Through his wife, Carolina von Hay, he was the brother-in-law of Joseph von Sonnenfels, the dedicatee of Beethoven's Piano Sonata in D-Major op. 28 (1802). His collection was housed in his villa of over forty rooms on Erdbergstrasse, which also contained a valuable library in additon to his rich art collection.