Ottavio Maria Leoni

With Matthiesen Galleries, London, 1986;
There acquired by the present collector.

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 work is in very healthy condition. The paint layer has become slightly unstable in the background in the past, and there are a few losses here and in the shadowed portion on the right side of the dress to the right of the torso. Under ultraviolet light, there are no restorations visible in the face; there is a spot or two to the right and left of the torso in the dress. The background is harder to read, but there are isolated spots of loss here that have received a few restorations. The varnish is slightly uneven, but the painting itself is charming and in very good condition.
"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."

This charming copper, previously unpublished, exemplifies Leoni’s singular talent for portraiture.   Here, the artist paints with characteristic sensitivity, using the very tip of the brush, creating delicate and refined strokes to represent the edges of a lace cuff, gold trim or ringlets of hair about the temples.   The personality of the sitter, whose identity remains unknown, is expertly conveyed by the artist: he presents her with a direct gaze, though the slight inclination of her head and pursing of her lips betray perhaps a certain reticence or shyness.  Though not unprecedented, somewhat atypical in Leoni's work is the inclusion of the sitter's hands, crossed at the waist.

While perhaps best known for his drawings, Leoni was also a skilled printmaker and painter.  A number of his works on copper are recorded, including the exquisite Susannah and the Elders now in the Detroit Institute of Art (inv. no. 41.89).  A substantial quantity of Leoni's drawn portraits were acquired by the artist's foremost patron, Cardinal Scipione Borghese, and the Borghese family were also said to have had a number of his oil portraits in their collection.  Many of Leoni's drawings are dated and the sitters identifiable, being not only nobility and prominent figures in society but also leading artists active in Rome in that period; perhaps the most famous example is his instantly recognizable posthumous portrait of Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio (Biblioteca Marucelliana, Florence).