The Pseudo-Granacci, possibly identifiable as Poggio Poggini

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 panel is cradled on the reverse, which is stabilizing the paint layer and keeping the panel flat. The work seems to have been fairly recently restored, and it is recommended that it be hung in its current condition. The restoration seems to be good; it does not appear to be overly ambitious, and it is certainly mindful of the period and quality of the paint layer. Retouches are not clearly visible under ultraviolet light. Under close visual examination, there probably has been restoration applied to the Madonna's dark cloak to reduce some thinness. There seems to be some strengthening behind her head in the brickwork of the manger. While much of the paint layer looks very original and untouched and unrestored, there may be some retouches within the figures. More obviously, there are restorations in the sky in the manger and around some of the edges, where damages traditionally occur. Cracks and a join in the wooden panel run diagonally from St. John's legs up to the top, above and to the left of the Madonna; there are also diagonal joins running through Joseph's head and down to the gown in the front of Jesus. These structural joins and fillings have also presumably received restorations.
"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."

Formerly known as the  Master of the Spiridon Story of Joseph (after a panel depicting scenes from the life of Saint Joseph once in the Spiridon collection, Paris) this anonymous master has since earned the moniker “The Pseudo-Granacci”, due the resemblance of his paintings to those of his Florentine contemporary, Francesco Granacci.   Further paintings have now been grouped under the same hand, including a tondo in The Mint Museum of Art, Charlotte, (Kress inv. no. 298), one in the Uffizi, Florence (inv. no. 342), and another in the Muzeum Narodowe, Cracow (inv. no. 1376).  A tentative identification of the artist has been proposed, linking the Pseudo-Granacci with one Poggio Poggini, documented in 1493 as a garzone in the Pisan workshop of Domenico Ghirlandaio and working two years later with Francesco Granacci.¹

 

1.  E. Fahy in, Il Giardino di San Marco : maestri e compagni del giovane Michelangelo : Firenze, Casa Buonarroti, exhibition catalogue, Florence and Milan 1992, pp. 51 – 52.