Vincenzo di Antonio Frediani (formerly known as the Master of the Lucchese Immaculate Conception)

M-A-R. Maulde  de la Clavière (1848-1902);
Private collection;
Sale, Paris, Palais d’Orsay, 6 April 1978, lot 13, where acquired (as School of Botticelli).

The picture is a little more yellow in tone than the catalogue illustration would suggest. It is oil and tempera on a thick single stable panel with a very very sligt bow to it and old minor owrm damage. The panel otherwise seems in remarkably good condition for its age. There is an old repaired horizontal split visible only under a raking light in the paint surface. This has been repaired with two baton supports and three butterfly inlay supports. There is scattered surface dirt and a discoloured varnish overall which is visible alont the top edge. There is also a minor surface scuff on his chest measuring approx.. 3 in. and further minor scuffs on his left arm. Examination under ultraviolet confirms the presence of a thick varnish which impedes inspection however there appears to be retouching scattered throughout the sky and to a much lesser extent elsewhere. Offered in a rectangular gilt wood frame with an arch topped punch work inlay in good overall condition but for a crack in the upper edge of the inlay
"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 Master of the Lucchese Lamentation, an artist whose works are very rarely seen on the market, was only identified as Vincenzo di Antonio Frediani in 1984 by Maurizia Tazartes on the basis of documentary evidence which proved the artist painted the altarpiece in the church of Sant’Andrea in Tempegnano di Lunata, one of the most important works attributed to him.¹ A few years later Tazartes’ investigations also proved that Frediani had been commissioned in December 1502 to paint the work which was originally his name-piece, the Immaculate Conception with saints and Kings David and Solomon, for the church of San Francesco in Lucca and which now hangs just a stone’s throw away in the Museo Nazionale di Villa Guinigi in that same town.²

Frediani's oeuvre was first grouped together by Richard Offner and later expanded by Everett Fahy, who has seen the present work first-hand and endorsed the attribution.³ Some fifty-five works by the artist are known, in many of which can be felt the influence of the Florentine painters Domenico Ghirlandajo and Filippino Lippi, both of whom worked in Lucca for some time. Since the present work points to only an initial familiarity with the art of Filippino, who was in Lucca between 1481-83 and whose Magrini Altarpiece in the church of San Michele in Foro in the same city was to have a profound influence on Frediani’s mature style, the lunette should be considered an early work datable to the first years of the 1480s. Frediani’s fresco of the Trinity in the cathedral in Lucca comes very close in style to the present work and also pre-dates Filippino’s stylistic innovations.⁴

The lunette shape suggests that the painting was originally intended as the upper section of an as-yet unknown altarpiece. The prominence accorded to the Magdalene, shown holding up the dead Christ, is unusual.

We are grateful to Professor Andrea De Marchi for endorsing the attribution after inspection of the original.

1. See M. Tazartes, ‘Anagrafe lucchese I: Vincenzo di Antonio Frediani ‘pictor de Lucca’, il Maestro dell’Immacolata Concezione?’, in Ricerche di storia dell’arte, vol. XXVI, 1985, pp. 4-6. For the altarpiece see G. Concioni et al., I pittori rinascimentali a Lucca, Lucca 1988, p. 97, reproduced.
2. See M. Tazartes, ‘Nouvelles perspectives sur la peinture lucquoises du Quattrocento’, in Revue de l’Art, no. 75, 1987, pp. 31-36. For the altarpiece see Concioni, op.cit., p. 99, reproduced in colour.
3. Private communication with the present owner.
4. The fresco was formerly given to the so-called ‘Pittore di Paolo Buonvisi’, now considered to be Frediani during his youthful phase; see M. Natale, ‘Note sulla pittura lucchese alla fine del Quattrocento’, in The J. Paul Getty Museum Journal, vol. VIII, 1980, pp. 52-53, reproduced figs. 28-29.