Given to Provosto Morselli by the heirs, presumably of the Veronici family (according to an inscription on the verso).
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 on canvas is unlined and appears to still be stretched on its original stretcher; this alone is extremely unusual. The inscription on the reverse is clearly visible. The surface is slightly uneven but the paint layer is stable. It seems to be slightly dirty, and there is a slightly milky feel to the paint layer in the blue gown in the lower left and lower right. The figures are very well preserved, as is the background. A few isolated spots of retouching can be seen in the head of Christ and in the bottom edge beneath his hand under ultraviolet light. There are also half a dozen tiny spots in the face of the Madonna. However, the condition is remarkably good overall.
"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."
Giovanni Battista Salvi, more commonly known as 'il Sassoferato', after the town in which he was born, learned the rudiments of painting from his father Tarquino before embarking on a trip to Rome. There he studied the works of his contemporaries, including Reni, Domenichino, and the Carracci. His greatest influence, however, was Raphael and he is known to have directly copied the latter's compositions (see, for example, Sassoferato's
Madonna and Child in the Galleria Sabauda, Turin [inv. no. 482], which is directly based on Raphael's
Madonna of the Pinks on loan to the National Gallery, London). Despite being an accomplished portraitist, Sassoferato specialized in easel paintings of a devotional nature, usually representing the Madonna alone or with the Christ Child, of which the present composition is an outstanding example. The large number of autograph and studio replicas of Sassoferrato's compositions attest to the popularity they enjoyed within the artist's own lifetime.
The present composition, showing the Madonna enveloping the Christ Child in a protective gesture, was certainly one of Sassoferato's most celebrated and was utilized by Sassoferato throughout his career. Some examples include putti in the upper corners, as well as others which often depict the Christ child sleeping (see, for example, the painting sold New York, Sotheby's, January 25, 2007, lot 47, for $168,000). This particular painting, of upright format and without putti, is in wonderfully fresh condition, unlined, and on its original stretcher. It retains the lush coloring, most clearly visible in the Madonna's drapery, which is complemented by the rosy skin of both figures. With the Child's head carefully nestled in the embrace of the Madonna, the emotion conveyed from this devotional image is completely consistent with other pictures of a similar type by Sassoferato.
