Vincent Sellaer

Private collection, France;
Private collection, Italy.

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 has been quite recently restored. The surface is quite shiny, but the retouches are effective. There are numerous thin cracks in the panel that are visible across the top edge. There is an original panel join running down the right side and another running down the left side of the Madonna's face. Although there is slight abrasion to some of the glazes in the figures, the work is in good condition. If the varnish were adjusted, the work could be hung as is.
"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."

Vincent Sellaer was a Flemish painter active in Malines, or Mechelen in Dutch, a city that had become the cultural center Flanders during the reign of Margaret of Austria (1480-1530), the Hapsburg regent. He has been convincingly identified with Vincent Geldersman who, according to the biographer Karel Van Mander, was known for his depictions of biblical women and mythological scenes. The unmistakable Italian influences in Sellaer's work are partly a result of the Leonardesque style popular amongst Flemish artists at the time, among them Joos Van Cleve, and partly due to a presumed trip to Italy where he would have come into contact with the work of Raphael and the Florentine mannerists. 

The subject depicted is that of Charity, seen here bare-breasted and feeding two children. Her delicate auburn hair is tied together with an elegant tiara and a veil. Beside her are two further children, one pulling his hair, the other holding up a mask. Leonardo's hold over Netherlandish Mannerist art is inescapable both in the pyramidal structure of the central figures and in the turned pose of the putto suckling to the right. Sellaer's knowledge of the Italian Renaissance is further evidenced in the putto upper left tearing at his hair for the pose echoes that of Donatello's bronze sculpture of Amore-Attis in the Bargello, Florence. Francesco Salviati's treatment of the present subject in the Uffizi, Florence, can also be felt in the complex twists and turns of the figures. Moreover, the influence of Agnolo Bronzino is evident in the pearly fleshtones, as well as the subject matter which clearly echoes the Florentine artist's Allegory with Venus and Cupid in the National Gallery, London (fig. 1). 

The artist produced various treatments of the subject, among them the Charity in the Prado, Madrid. In the present work the composition is far more complex, however, due to the inclusion of the unusual putti in the upper corners. In much the same spirit as Bronzino's aforementioned Allegory, the figure upper left tearing his hair may represent Jealousy while the putto holding up the mask is most likely a personification of Deception. The subject matter would thus transcend a simple allegory of Charity and would instead depict Charity vanquishing Jealousy and Deception. 

The beautifully modeled preliminary drawing in the Louvre, Paris (fig. 2), suggests the artist took great care in the preparation and layout of the design. A second version of the painting was sold New York, Sotheby's, 5 June 2008, lot 18.