Giovanni di Marco, called Giovanni dal Ponte

Stanislao Ganganelli(?), by whom gifted to Nicola Colara in 1797 (according to an old inscription on the reverse);
Alphonse Kann Collection;
By whom sold, New York, American Art Association January 7 1927, lot 37;
Where acquired by Joseph Brummer.

R. van Marle, The Development of the Italian Schools of Painting, Vol. IX, 1927, p.86 (under footnotes as a rejected attribution);
L. Sbaraglio, Giovanni dal Ponte (1385-1437). Preliminari per una monografia, thesis from the Università di Siena under the supervision of L. Bellosi, Siena 2005, p.55, cat. no.14.

The following condition report has been provided by Simon Parkes of Simon Parkes Art Conservation, Inc. 502 East 74th St. New York, NY 212-734-3920, simonparkes@msn.com, an independent restorer who is not an employee of Sotheby's. This panel is curved from right to left. The frame is showing instability and it seems that it has been quite extensively restored. There are still significant losses to the frame in the lower left. The reverse of the panel is unreinforced, although it is quite worm eaten, particularly on the left side. The work seems to have been made from two pieces of wood joined vertically through the center. However, if this join on the reverse is indeed the original panel, it is not visible on the front of the work. The work is very dirty. There are five small areas where the paint layer has been tested. While the results of these tests are slightly unclear, it is probably more than likely that some areas of the picture, such as the dark gown of the Madonna, have received a fair amount of restoration. The paler colors also have been undoubtedly restored. Although the paint layer will brighten considerably if and when the picture is cleaned, one should be aware that there will be retouching to diminish some of the abrasion and loss that undoubtedly exists.
"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."

Thought to have been a student of Spinello Aretino, Giovanni dal Ponte takes his name from the location of his studio in Santo Stefano da Ponte, Florence, which he ran in partnership with Smeraldo di Giovanni (circa 1365-1442).  He specialized in, amongst other works, anconette of the Madonna and Child intended for private devotion, such as the present panel.  Though essentially gothic in style, we see here the beginnings of the naturalistic manner that would become apparent in his later career.  The tenderness of the shared gaze between the two figures and the position of the Christ Child's hand on his mother's cheek show a sensitivity and animation typical of dal Ponte and indeed the motif of the hand clasping the neckline or mantle of the Madonna is one repeated often, such as in the Madonnas now in the Chiesa di San Egidio and the Via Tavolini tabernacle, both Florence.

Although correctly attributed to the artist when included in the famous Kann sale in 1927 (see provenance), this Madonna and Child was rejected by van Marle.  Most recently, however, the painting was reattributed to dal Ponte by Sbaraglio in an unpublished dissertation as a youthful work of the artist (see literature). 

We are grateful to Andrea De Marchi for his help in cataloguing the present lot, and for furnishing the reference to Sbaraglio's unpublished work on the artist.