After Leonardo Da Vinci

Vicomte de Laborde;
Louis-Charles Timbal (1821-1880);
By whose estate sold, Pais, Hôtel Drouot, 11 May 1882, lot 125;
Where acquired by Charles Jacque (1813-1894);
Emile Dunan, by 1929;
Sale, Paris, Palais d'Orsay, 21 November 1978, lot 38 (as "Florentine School, late 16th century").

J.P. Richter, ed., The Literary Works of Leonardo da Vinci, Compiled and Edited from the Original Manuscripts, London 1883, vol. I, p. 336 (as "Florentine School, c. 1510");
W. Köhler, "Michelangelo's Schlachtkarton", in Kunstgeschichtliches Jahrbuch der k.k. Zentral-Kommission, vol. I, 1907;
M. Larguier, "Collectionneurs et collections", in L'Art Vivant, V, no. 109, July 1929, p. 520;
K.F. Suter, "The Earliest Copy of Leonardo da Vinci's Battle of Anghiari", in The Burlington Magazine, vol. LV, no. 319, October 1929, reproduced p. 186, plate IIB (Hassoullier engraving);
K.F. Suter, "A Copy in Colour by Rubens of Leonardo's Battle of Anghiari", in The Burlington Magazine, vol. LVI, no. 326, May 1930, p. 265, reproduced p. 264, plate IIIA;
K.F. Suter, Das Rätsel von Leonardos Schlachtenbild, Strasbourg 1937, pp. 20 (cat. no. 3), 31-33, 46-48, 51, 83, reproduced plate V (Hassoulier engraving);
J.P. Richter and I.A. Richter, ed., The Literary Works of Leonardo da Vinci, Compiled and Edited from the Original Manuscripts, 2nd ed., London 1939, vol. I, p. 375;
A. Isermeyer, "Die Arbeiten Leonardo und Michelangelos für den grossen Ratsaal in Florenz - Eine Revision der Bild- und Schriftquellen für ihre Rekonstruktion und Geschichte", in Studien zur Toskanischen Kunst (Festschrift für L.H. Heydenreich zum 23. März 1963), Munich 1964, p. 84, reproduced p. 85, fig. 2 (Hassoullier engraving);
C. Pedretti, ed., The Literary Works of Leonardo da Vinci, Compiled and Edited from the Original Manuscripts by Jean Paul Richter, Oxford 1977, p. 375, note no. 1;
N. Dacos, "Pedro Machuca en Italie", in Scritti di storia dell'arte in onore di Federico Zeri, Milan 1984, I, pp. 339, 360, note no. 22;
P. Joannides, "Leonardo da Vinci, Peter-Paul Rubens, Pierre-Nolasque Bergeret and the 'Fight for the Standard', in Achademia Leonardi Vinci: Journal of Leonardo Studies & Bibliography of Vinciana, I, 1988, pp. 77-78, 80, 84;
F. Zöllner, "Rubens Reworks Leonardo: 'The Fight for the Standard', in Achademia Leonardi Vinci: Journal of Leonardo Studies & Bibliography of Vinciana, IV, 1991, pp. 185 and note 65; 188, reproduced fig. 11;
C.J. Farago, "The Battle of Anghiari: A Speculative Reconstruction of Leonardo's Design Process", in Achademia Leonardi Vinci: Journal of Leonardo Studies & Bibliography of Vinciana, IX, 1996, p. 77, reproduced fig. 10.

ENGRAVED:
William Haussoullier (1818-1891)

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 may originally have been painted on panel and was subsequently has been transferred onto canvas. Presumably, the reason for this transfer was that the panel was not stable; the numerous restored old cracks and losses in the paint layer would certainly suggest this. The restorations are visibly discolored and can be seen in the center of the left side, along the bottom edge, and in the waists and rumps of both the white horses. There is thinness in the sky which has also been restored, particularly in the upper and darker portion of the sky and especially in the corners. Despite these restorations, the figures and animals and the various details of armor and clothing seem to be very well preserved. While cleaning the picture will reveal losses, the picture will look well after retouching.
"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 16th century canvas repeats the central group of figures from Leonardo's Battle of Anghiari, intended for the decoration of the Sala del Gran Consiglio in the Palazzo della Signoria, Florence, though never completed.  This episode from the battle, known as the Fight for the Standard, was started in 1505 but destroyed by 1560 to make way for a new fresco cycle by Giorgio Vasari.  In certain copies, such as that in the Doria d'Angri collection, Naples and another in the Palazzo Vecchio, Florence (on loan from the Uffizi), the legs of the horse at left are truncated, and details at the right side are faintly sketched, suggesting they were copied from the incomplete mural.  Here, however, the composition is depicted in its entirety and it is therefore likely that the anonymous artist copied the composition from Leonardo's cartoon, which is now lost.