Attributed to Antonio Federighi (1420-1483) Italian, Siena, second half 15th century

Count Alessandro Contini-Bonacossi (1878-1955), Florence;
art market, Milan, 1974;
private collection, Switzerland;
British Rail Pension Fund, London;
by whom sold London, Sotheby's, 4 July 1996, lot 30, for £89,500;
Carlo de Carlo, Florence;
his sale, Florence, Semenzato, 6-14 December 2001, lot 129;
with Salander-O'Reilly Galleries, New York, 2002-2003

Siena, Palazzo Publico, Jacopo della Quercia nell'arte del suo tempo, 1975;
London, Victoria and Albert Museum, 1980-1996;
Detroit, Detroit Institute of Arts; Fort Worth, Kimbell Art Museum, The Italian Renaissance in the Time of Donatello, 1985-1986;
New York, Salander-O'Reilly Galleries, Sculpture from the Gothic to the Baroque, 2002-2003

L. Biagi, Jacopo della Quercia, Florence, 1946, p. 78;
G.C. Sciolla, 'Due inediti di scultura Toscana del Quattrocento a Roma', Antichità viva, XI, 5, 1971, pp. 35-38;
G. Chelazzi and G. Previtali Dini, Jacopo della Quercia nell'arte del suo tempo, exhib. cat. Palazzo Publico, Siena, 1975, pp. 264-67, no. XXX;
A. P. Darr (ed.), The Italian Renaissance in the Time of Donatello, exhib. cat. Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit, and the Kimbell Art Museum, Fort Worth, 1985-1986, pp. 81-82, no. 4 (note writen by Anthony Radcliffe);
J. Beck, Jacopo della Quercia, New York, 1991, vol. 1, pp. 197-8, Handlist 12
A. Butterfield and A. Radcliffe (eds.), Italian Sculpture from the Gothic to the Baroque, exhib. cat. Salander O'Reilly Galleries, New York, pp. 82-9

The head has been reattached and there are restorations to the nose and proper right side of the face. A section of the right side of the back of the base has been reattached. The third finger and the tip of the thumb on the proper right hand are lost and there is a loss to the top of the implement in that hand. There are a few smaller losses, including to the top of the proper right ear. There are minor abrasions to the tips of the toes. Otherwise the condition is good.
"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."

The present sculpture is believed to have originated from a monument which included at least two further extant figures, a St Francis (with which it was offered in these rooms in 1996) and a St Anthony of Padua in the Castel Sant'Angelo (Darr, op. cit. pp. 81-82). The Blessed Gerard and the St Francis were traditionally attributed to Jacopo della Quercia (Biagi, op. cit. p. 78), but were later deemed by James Beck to have been carved by a Sienese sculptor working in Della Quercia's circle (Beck, op. cit. p. 197-8, Handlist 12).

The Blessed Gerard finds its closest comparisons in a number of sculptures by Antonio Federighi, a Sienese sculptor associated with Jacopo della Quercia (c. 1374-1438). The Blessed Gerard's head is particularly similar to Adam's in Federighi's Creazione di Adamo from the font in the Duomo at Siena. Note the similarly deep ocular orbits, the lowered eyelids, the pursed lips, prominent ear and softly modelled hair (Angelini, op. cit. p. 121, fig. 25). The Blessed Gerard's drapery, which falls in heavy crushed folds, is analagous to that seen in Federighi's San Savino from the Loggia della Mercanzia in Siena (Angelini, op. cit. p. 75, fig. 41). The large sleeves are also similar to those in the San Pietro and San Paolo from the Mercanzia (Angelini, op. cit. p. 76, figs. 43-4). A further comparison can be found in the similar facial types in Federighi's relief portraits of Silvio Piccolomini and Vittoria Piccolomini; note in particular the creases in the skin and the heavy brows (Angelini, op. cit. p. 303, figs. 22-3).
 
RELATED LITERATURE
A. Angelini (ed.), Pio II e le arti. La riscoperta dell'antico da Federighi a Michelangelo, Milan, 2005, pp. 75, 76, 121, 303