Bartolomeo di Giovanni

Anonymous sale ("Property from a Religious Institution"), Christie's London, 6 July 2007, lot 120.

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. The restoration and framing of this picture are still effective, and it should be hung in its current condition. The reverse of the panel has been cradled. There are two cracks or original joins to the panel, one through the right side and one through the left side. These are visible in the sky, and the restoration in these areas could be adjusted. The restorations in the sky are very minimal and seem to only attend to the cracks in the panel. The condition seems to be similarly good throughout the remainder of the picture. The dark cloaks of Madonnas very often suffer in pictures from this period, and it may be that there are restorations in the cloak in this painting; however, none are visible under ultraviolet light. There is a restoration in the right thigh of Christ, as well as in a few other spots. The angel in the sky on the left side has been strengthened. However, the painting shows very little real damage.
"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."

Berenson first amassed a body of work for this artist under the name “Alunno di Domenico”, who was active in the last quarter of the 15^th century. The first documented work by Bartolomeo di Giovanni is the predella to the altarpiece depicting a Sacra Conversazione in Lucca Cathedral by Domenico Ghirlandiao, in whose workshop the Bartolomeo di Giovanni is believed to have trained.¹  He collaborated with his master on his fresco for the Sistine Chapel showing the Calling of SS Peter and Andrew, dated circa 1482, completing the figures on the shore in the middle ground and may indeed have collaborated on the Nastagio degli Onesti’s Banquet in the Wood, Sandro Botticelli’s famed spalliere in the Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid (inv. nos. P02838-40), dated circa 1483.²  Though a prolific painter of predelle and spallieri, Bartolomeo produced few large scale works independently making the present tondo of particular interest.

We are grateful to Nicoletta Pons who endorsed an attribution of this panel to Bartolomeo di Giovanni on the basis of photographs, believing this to be a late work by the artist.

1.  B. Berenson, ‘Alunno di Domenico’ in Burlington  Magazine, I, 1903, pp. 1-20.
2.  For Ghirlandaio’s Calling of Saints Peter and Andrew see J.K. Cadogan, Domenico Ghirlandaio, Artist and Artisan, p. 221-reproduced p. 92, fig. 83.