L10237

/

Lot 166
  • 166

Francesco Morandini, called Il Poppi

Estimate
40,000 - 60,000 GBP
Log in to view results
bidding is closed

Description

  • Francesco Morandini, called Il Poppi
  • The Madonna and Child with Saint Anne, the Infant John the Baptist and the Archangel Michael
  • oil on panel

Provenance

With Theron J. Blakeslee (1853-1914), New York;
With Colnaghi's;
Catholina Lambert (1834-1923), New York;
By whom sold, New York, American Art Association, 21-24 February 1916, lot 328 (as Andrea del Sarto, illustrated as the frontispiece of the catalogue);
Acquired at the sale by William Boyce Thompson (1869-1930), Philadelphia;
Mr and Mrs Halsted B. Vanderpoel, by whom donated in 1961 to the Santa Barbara Museum of Art, in memory of Mr and Mrs C.K.C. Billings;
Santa Barbara Museum of Art, California (inv. no. 1961.75);
By whom de-accessioned, New York, Christie's, 11 January 1991, lot 1, for $110,000;
Private collection, New York.

Literature

U. Schlegel, "Tafelbilder des Cinquecento Fiorentino in Berliner Privatbesitz", in Pantheon, 1963, XI, 1, p. 43, reproduced p. 44, fig. 10, (as Naldini);
S. Freedberg, Andrea del SartoCatalogue Raisonné, Cambridge (MA) 1963, p. 229 (as "suggestive of Naldini's style");
C. Van Holst, "Florentiner Gemälde und Zeichnungen aus der Zeit von 1480 bis 1580", in Mitteilungen des Kunsthistorischen Institutes in Florenz, 1971, XV, pp. 60-62, note 143, reproduced p. 61, fig. 69;
B.B. Frederickson and F. Zeri, Census of Pre-Nineteenth-Century Italian Paintings in North American Public Collections, Cambridge (MA) 1972, p. 635;
V. Pace, "Carlo Portelli da Loro", in Bollettino d'Arte, 1973, LVIII, 1, pp. 87, note 69;
A. Petrioli Tofani, "Di alcuni disegni manieristi", in Artista, 1, 1989, p. 139;
A. Giovannetti, Francesco Morandini detto il Poppi: I disegni, i dipinti di Poppi e Castiglion Fiorentino, exh. cat., Poppi 1991, p. 101;
A. Baroni in S. Casciu (ed.), Dal Rosso a Santi di Tito: la Maniera moderna nell’Aretino, guida alle opere, Venice 1994, p. 86;
A. Giovannetti, Francesco Morandini detto il Poppi, Florence 1995, p. 108, cat. no. 64, reproduced p. 182, fig. 80.

Condition

The colours of the original are a touch less yellow than they appear in the catalogue illustration. The flat, stable support consists of five vertical panels cradled to the reverse, however the panel joins are not visible in the paint surface and the cradling prevents thorough examination of the reverse. The paint surface is secure and overall in is good condition under an even varnish. There are a series of minor thin old cracks and fine craquelure evident in the paint surface. The most notable of these is the craquelure in the Virgin's face, visible in the catalogue illustration. There is an old restored damage of approx. 3 cm squared in the St. John's left shoulder and an area of repaint in St. Anne's hands. Inspection under UV light reveals retouching in all the above areas as well as scattered minor retouchings and strengthenings elsewhere . Offered in a carved gilt wood frame in good 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

Originally ascribed to Andrea del Sarto and sold as such in 1916 (see Provenance), the panel was correctly attributed to Poppi by Van Holst on the basis of stylistic similarities between the figure of the Infant Saint John in the present work and the putto lower left in the signed Roman Charity in the Galleria dell'Accademia in Florence.1 All subsequent scholarship has endorsed this attribution, and a dating to the last decade of the artist's life has recently been proposed.

A photograph of an autograph variant, with differences in the heads of the Madonna and the Archangel, is in Roberto Longhi’s photograph library, annotated "Berti Bellini, Firenze 1954". A smaller variant in which the figures of the two children are similar but the three upper heads quite different was sold Venice, Semenzato, May 1989, lot 96. A drawing for the head of the Archangel Michael, as well as a related drawing for the head of the Madonna in a sheet of head studies (see fig. 1), is in the Uffizi.



1. See Giovannetti, under Literature, 1995, pp. 85-86, cat. no. 12, reproduced fig. 25.
2.  Ibid., p. 108, cat. no. 65, reproduced fig. 81.