Matteo di Giovanni

Purchased in Italy between 1850-70 by Charles Eliot Norton (1827-1908);
Mrs. Richard Norton;
Anonymous sale, New York, Christie's, 31 May 1990, lot 66 (as circle of Lorenzo da Viterbo) for $88,000;
There acquired by Piero Corsini, New York;
Thence by descent.

New York, Piero Corsini, Within the image, 1990;
Sansepolcro, Museo Civico, Un San Gerolamo di Matteo di Giovanni dal polittico senese di San Pietro a Ovile, 1998.

G.F. Hartlaub, Matteo da Siena und seine Zeit, Strasbourg 1910, pp. 41-42;
K. Christiansen, in the exhibition catalogue, Within the image, New York, Piero Corsini, 1990, pp. 6-11;
A. de Marchi, P. Palladino and L. Paardekooper, in D. Gasparotto and S. Magnani, Matteo di Giovanni e la pala d'altare nel senese e nell'aretino 1450-1500, Montepulciano 2002, pp. 51-54, 64-65, 84;
C.B. Strehlke, Italian Paintings 1250-1450 in the John G. Johnson Collection and Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia 2004, pp. 183-90, fig. 34.2;
G. Fattorini, in the exhibition catalogue, Da Jacopo della Quercia a Donatello. Le arti a Siena nel primo Rinascimento, Siena, Pinacoteca Nazionale, 26 March - 11 July 2010, pp. 162-165, reproduced fig. (b).

The support consists of the original panel with the original framing elements intact. As with other parts of the altarpiece the various framing elements are applied to a uniform painted support all of which have been cut along the top margin. The gold paint on the pinncales and mouldings has been added later but the gilding in the painted surface appears to be original although it is under a thick oil based varnish. The actual painted surface is in good condition and there are some losses to the original framing device, as visible in the catalogue illustration. There are a couple of old restored damages in the gilding, most notably the 2 cm squared area upper left, again visible in the catalogue illustration. Inspection under UV light reveals some minor scattered retouchings to the painted surface, most notably in the book. The panel is offered unframed.
"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 panel originally formed a pinnacle from an altarpiece dedicated to the Life of the Virgin in the Sienese parish church of San Pietro a Ovile. The altarpiece, which remains in situ, is the joint work of Matteo di Giovanni and Giovanni di Pietro (doc. 1439-68), and was painted between 1455 and 1460 (fig. 1). The central panel, depicting The Annunciation, is a copy of the famous altar of 1433 by Simone Martini and Lippo Memmi, then in the chapel of San Ansano in the cathedral in Siena, and today in the Uffizi in Florence. Three predella panels also survive: the Marriage of the Virgin  and the Return of the Virgin (both John G. Johnson Collection, Philadelphia) and a Birth of the Virgin (Paris, Louvre) ¹. The altar had certainly been dismembered by 1835, when Romagnoli saw the lateral panels flanking a Madonna and Child by Bartolomeo Bulgarini. Shortly after this this panel was acquired by the distinguished American scholar and professor of fine arts at Harvard, Charles Eliot Norton.

In the original altarpiece, the lateral panels depicting Saint John the Baptist and Saint Bernadino of Siena, and the two pinnacles showing Saint Peter and Paul are all early works by Matteo di Giovanni and the remainder by Giovanni di Pietro.  The two artists worked together on other occasions between 1452 and 1457, for example the altarpiece today in the Museo Civico in Sansepolcro. Together with Francesco di Giorgio, Matteo was perhaps the most innovative Sienese painter of the third quarter of the fifteenth century, a seminal figure in the development and adoption of the innovations of contemporary Florentine painting

1. C.B. Strehlke, Italian Paintings 1250-1450 in the John G. Johnson Collection and Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia 2004, pp. 183-90, plates 34A, 34B and fig. 34.3.