Anton Raphael Mengs

Probably commissioned by Augustus III of Poland, Elector of Saxony (1696-1763), Dresden;
Never given to the above by the artist but donated to his friend Cardinal Alberico Archinto (1698-1758);
By inheritance to Lt-General Marquis Antonio Giorgio Clerici (1715-1768), Milan;
By desent to his daughter Countess Claudia Clerici Biglia (died 1822);
Private Collection, Italy.

J. J. Winckelmann, Briefe, edited by W. Rehm and J. Diepolder, Berlin 1754, vol. II, p. 150;
D. Azara and C. Fea, Opere di Antonio Raffaello Mengs, primo pittore del Re cattolico Carlo III, Rome 1787, p. XLIV.

The painting is richer in colour and not as washed out as the catalogue illustration would suggest. Painted on a single flat panel with two inlay supports verso. The paint surface is in very good condition with no apparent damage or loss of paint except for one tiny old small loss directly above John's head as can be seen in the catalogue illustration and several very minor scattered indentations elsewhere. There is also a varnish overall. Examination under ultraviolet confirms the presence of the varnish and reveals minor flecks of old scattered cosmetic retouching to the hair and ear and to the area directly above his head. There are also very minor flecks of retouching to the felshtones and old strengthening to the outer contour of his left arm. Offered in a decorative gilt wood and plaster frame with very minor old woodworm damage.
"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 recently rediscovered work by Mengs is an earlier variant of the Duke of Wellington's picture on copper from 1769 at Stratfield Saye.¹ The latter picture, along with its pendant, a Penitent Magdalene, were originally in the Spanish royal collections where they hung in the bedroom of Carlos III (ruled 1759-1788).² The Wellington pictures were later engraved by Richard Cooper, RA (see fig. 1). As the engraving shows, there are important changes between the designs of the two versions: aside from some changes in the details of the foreground and background, the positioning of the Baptist's right hand and leg have been noticeably altered. Moreover, the Wellington picture's brown mantle has been replaced by the vibrant red, wool-lined mantle of the present work. Various pentiments can be made out in the inscription on the Baptist's staff.

In her recent analysis of the present work, Steffi Roettgen, author of the catalogue raisonné on the artist, suggests a dating of 1755, that is to say quite some time before the Wellington version. She proposes that the painting should be identified with the panel commissioned in circa 1754/55 by the king of Poland, whose stipend Mengs enjoyed at the time but which was stopped when the court of Dresden moved to Warsaw at the outbreak of the Seven Years' War. According to Winkelmann (see Literature), the painting never reached the king but was given by the artist to his friend Cardinal Alberico Archinto, who perhaps not coincidentally had previously been the Vatican nunzio to the Saxo-Polish court. The painting then passed to General Antonio Giorgio Clerici, and thereafter to his daughter, the Countess Claudia Clerici Biglia, in whose family collection it was still recorded in 1875.

For Roettgen, the identificantion of the present work with the ex-Archinto work carries further weight when one compares the painting with another Penitent Magdalene by Mengs which was commissioned by the King of Poland and is today in Dresden.³ Although the Magdalen is clearly bigger (47.5 by 63.5 cm) and the two pictures cannt be considered true pendants, their close stylistic affinity point to them being conceived as parallel works.

A third, damaged, version which is also on a walnut panel and in which the Baptist wears a red mantle, was sold London, Christie's, 9 December 1994, lot 94.

This catalogue entry is based on Dr Roettgen's recent expertise, a copy of which is available to the buyer.

1. See S. Roettgen, Anton Raphael Mengs 1728-1779, Munich 1999, vol. I, p. 131-32, cat. no. 85, reproduced.
2. Idem, pp. 142-43, cat. no. 95, reproduced.
3. Idem, pp. 137-38, cat. no. 90, reproduced.