Giovanni Balducci

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 painting on metal plate is beautifully preserved, although it is very dirty. The panel is flat. The paint layer has remained stable although some cracking has become visible in the standing figure on the left side. The condition is clearly excellent overall. When the work is cleaned, the palette will brighten considerably and it does not seem that any retouches of any note will be uncovered. There has been some slight strengthening applied to a few contours of the figures, but these retouches will prove to be unnecessary.
"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 Balducci assisted Alessandro Allori in the ceiling decorations for the celebrated East corridor of the Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence, under the patronage of the Medici.  In anticipation of the marriage of Ferdinand I de’ Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany to Christina of Lorraine in 1589, the painter was employed to complete frescoes under the supervision of Vasari for the duomo and walls of the cathedral in Florence, in celebration of the union.  Balducci was favored by Cardinal Alessandro de’ Medici (later Pope Leo XI) who commissioned the decorative cycle of Scenes from the Life of Christfor the Oratorio dei Pretoni, Florence, perhaps the most refined work of his career.  

The artist was brought to Rome by Cardinal Alessandro in 1594, where he painted a cycle of frescoes for the church of San Giovanni Decollato.  That same year, the artist was commissioned by the cardinal, alongside Agostino Ciampelli and Girolamo Massei, to create a decorative cycle for the church of Santa Prassede with scenes from the Passion.  Balducci worked in Rome until Alessandro de' Medici's departure in 1596 to become legate to France where his cousin, Maria de' Medici, was queen.  The artist then moved to Naples where he would remain until his death.

Here, the facial types of Diana’s devotees, with their neat, pointed noses and small, thin lipped mouths are typical of Giovanni Balducci and are reminiscent of those in his large canvas depicting Venus and Adonis, offered at Asta Finarte, Rome in 1985.¹  Another version of this painting, also on copper but by a less refined hand, was sold in Paris in 2005 as Fontainebleau School; the composition of the Fontainebleau painting is compressed, omitting the seated figure wringing out her hair and placing Actaeon closer to the foreground.²

 

1.  Anonymous sale, Rome, Asta Finearte, 28 May 1985, lot 471.
2.  Anonymous sale, Paris, Christie’s 22 June 2005, lot 3.