Neroccio di Bartolommeo de' Landi and Workshop

With Luigi Grassi, Florence;
George Blumenthal, New York, by 1913;
By whom gifted to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, in 1941 (Inv. no. 41.100.18).

F.M. Perkins, "Alcuni dipinti senesi sconosciuti o inediti", in Rassegna d'arte, 13 August 1913), p. 124, ill. p. 125, as in the collection of George Blumenthal, New York (as Nerroccio de' Landi);
J.A. Crowe and G.B. Cavalcaselle, "Umbrian and Sienese Masters of the Fifteenth Century", in A History of Painting in Italy: Umbria, Florence and Siena from the Second to the Sixteenth Century, vol. V, London 1914, p. 159 cat. no. 6 (as Neroccio);
S. Rubinstein-Bloch, "Paintings - Early Schools", in Catalogue of the Collection of George and Florence Blumenthal, vol. I, Paris 1926, (unpaginated), reproduced plate XXXII;
B. Berenson, Italian Pictures of the Renaissance, Oxford 1932, p. 390 (as "in great part" by Neroccio);
G.H. Edgell, A History of Sienese Painting, New York 1932, p. 250, reproduced fig. 372 (as Neroccio, dating to the end of his career, but completed or altered by a later artist);
B. Berenson, Pitture italiane del rinascimento, Milan 1936, p. 335 (as "in great part" by Neroccio);
R. van Marle, The Development of the Italian Schools of Painting, vol. XVI, The Hague 1937, pp. 314–315 (as Workshop of Neroccio);
J. Pope-Hennessy, "Francesco di Giorgio, Neroccio: Two Madonnas and an Altarpiece", in The Burlington Magazine, 75, December 1939, p. 235, reproduced plate II b (as Neroccio, after 1492);
G. Coor, Neroccio de' Landi, 1447–1500, Princeton 1961, pp. 71, 83 cat. no. 286, pp. 90–91, 105, 107 no. 375, pp. 173–174, no. 31, reproduced fig. 69 (as Workshop of Neroccio, possibly by Mariotto da Volterra, after 1492);
B. Berenson, Italian Pictures of the Renaissance: Central Italian and North Italian Schools, London,\ 1968, vol. I, p. 292 (as "in great part" by Neroccio);
B.B. Fredericksen and F. Zeri, Census of Pre-Nineteenth-Century Italian Paintings in North American Public Collections, Cambridge, Mass. 1972, pp. 148, 332, 379, 433, 608 (as Neroccio de' Landi);
F. Zeri with E.E. Gardner, Italian Paintings: A Catalogue of the Collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Sienese and Central Italian Schools, New York 1980, p. 56, reproduced plate 67 (as Neroccio and workshop, dating to the 1490s);
K. Baetjer, European Paintings in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Born Before 1865, A Summary Catalogue, New York 1980, p. 135, reproduced vol. II, p. 72, fig, 41.100.18;
K. Baetjer, European Paintings in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Born Before 1865, A Summary Catalogue, New York 1995, p. 63, reproduced fig. 41.100.18.

The following condition report has been provided by Karen Thomas of Thomas Art Conservation LLC., 336 West 37th Street, Suite 830, New York, NY 10018, 212-564-4024, info@thomasartconservation.com, an independent restorer who is not an employee of Sotheby's. This painting exhibits overall wear, with strong rubbing in the Madonna's flesh passages. The Christ Child's face and body have held up comparatively well and it is possible some new restoration in Mary's face, where the verdaccio underlayer is exposed, could bring her appearance closer to the same level. Mary's blue mantle, which appears to have darkened over time and has suffered many losses of the thick paint, is broadly restored. There appears to be a fair amount of reconstruction in the face of Saint Michael, and the halos are strongly reinforced. The surface is dull with soiling and a discolored, aged varnish. The thick, vertically grained wood panel support exhibits a mild convex lateral warp. On the reverse is an uncommon structural treatment, involving metal crossbars inset and screwed into the panel and small but deep holes drilled into the panel and filled with wax. Cleaning would improve the tonal range but would reveal the wear and damage; a more precise restoration could bring out the appealing aspects of the picture.
"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."

George H. Edgell was first to date this Madonna and Child with Saints Michael and Bernardino of Siena to the end of Neroccio's career, considering it to have been completed in the 1490s (see Literature).  The painting is stylistically comparable with Neroccio's Madonna, now in the Galleria Nazionale, Siena (inv. no. 278), which is signed and dated, 1492.  While certain passages appear to have been painted by Neroccio's workshop assistants, the engaging figure of the Christ Child, with his beautifully molded flesh and dynamic pose, was almost certainly executed by the master himself.