Attributed to Girolamo da Carpi

 

 

London, Walpole Gallery, Treasures of Italian Art, 19 April - 24 June 1988, no. 3 (as by Girolamo da Carpi).

Walpole Gallery, Treasures of Italian Art, London 1988, p. 356, cat. no. 3;
J. Byam-Shaw, “Italian Art at the Walpole Gallery”, in Apollo Magazine, May 1988, p. 356 (as by Girolamo da Carpi);
A. Ballarin, Dosso Dossi: La pittura a Ferrara negli anni del ducato di Alfonso I, Cittadella 1994 – 1995, vol. I, p. 322, under cat. no. 403.

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 small work on panel has probably been restored in the last 25 years. The retouches, such as they are, are only visible under ultraviolet light in the sky and in the central rock. The condition is particularly good, and the work should be hung in its current state.
"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."

In 1988, this delightful allegory was exhibited in the Walpole Gallery, London alongside a corresponding Four Seasons of identical dimensions, by Battista Dossi (see Exhibited and Literature).  As Alessandro Ballarin suggests, the two small panels likely formed part of the same piece of furniture or decorative scheme.