Liberale da Verona

Signor Ridolfo Morgaro, Turin;
Signor Saiago, Milan;
Dr. Gustavo Frizzoni (1840–1919), Milan;
Henry Doetsch (1839–94), 7 New Burlington Street, London;
His deceased sale, London, Christie's, 22 June 1895, lot 74, for 3 guineas, to Charles;
With Galería Rembrandt, Madrid, 1977, where acquired by the father of the present owner.

B. Berenson, North Italian painters of the Renaissance, New York and London, 1907, p. 245;
C. del Bravo, Liberale da Verona, Florence 1967, p. 308, cat. no. 164, reproduced plate CLXXVIII;
B. Berenson, Italian pictures of the Renaissance. Central Italian and North Italian schools, revised edition, vol. I, London 1968, p. 210;
H.-J. Eberhardt, in S. Marinelli and P. Marini (ed.), Mantegna e le Arti a Verona. 1450–1500, exhibition catalogue, Verona, Palazzo della Gran Guardia, 2006, p. 281, under cat. no. 53.

The panel has been cradled and appears flat and stable. An old 15 cm vertical repaired crack runs from the upper edge to the top of the Madonna's veil. The painting is now dirty and the varnish discoloured. The paint surface is in good overall condition, but has become worn in some of the flesh tones and details such as the Madonna's veil. The opaque varnish layer makes assessment under ultra-violet light difficult, but this reveals retouchings to the Madonna's sleeves, and to areas of her robe and hair. There has been minimal intervention in the flesh tones. There is a repaired 5 cm vertical split (?) running up from the centre of the lower edge. Offered in a carved and gilt wood frame in very good condition.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

This picture reflects the influences on Liberale's work, in the last decades of the fifteenth century, of the schools of Ferrara and Venice, where he is documented as living and working in 1487 before returning to Verona. The work probably dates to around 1490, contrasting with the artist's early depictions of the Madonna and Child carried out during his time spent in Siena between 1467–76, which employ gold grounds with stamped and incised haloes.¹ The Madonna and Child here appear to be the same types as those depicted in the painting with Saint Anne, in the Muzeum Narodowe w Krakowie, Kraków.² Liberale repeats the present composition with variations in a painting of a similar date, formerly in the Musée de Grenoble, in which an angel is also included and the Virgin herself reads the open book.³

When Bernard Berenson first published this painting, he knew it as having been formerly in the collection of the eminent art historian of the Lombard and Venetian schools, Dr. Gustavo Frizzoni. Frizzoni came from a family of collectors and connoisseurs; his elder brother, Teodoro (1838–1931), shared student lodgings with Jacob Burckhardt and his uncle Federico (1807–93) owned the magnificent Frizzoni-Salis collection, housed in his family villa at Bellagio. Frizzoni was both a pupil and collaborator of the great connoisseur, Giovanni Morelli (1816–91), whose method of identifying the minute characteristics of artists was developed and perpetuated by Berenson himself. Frizzoni's close association with many Italian restorers also greatly enhanced his writing on the early condition of works of art and their provenances.

The present work will be published in Hans-Joachim Eberhardt's monograph on Liberale da Verona.

1. For example, in del Bravo, under Literature, see plates LXXV, XCI and XCIII.
2. Inv. no. MNK XII-A-106; see Marinelli and Marini, under Literature, pp. 279–82, cat. no. 53, reproduced in colour p. 281.
3. See del Bravo, under Literature, plate CLXXIX.