Andrea Solario

M. de Somzée, Rue des Palais, Brussels;
His sale (‘Les Collections de Somzée’), Brussels, Fievez, 24 May 1904, lot 397 (as by Giovanni Antonio Boltraffio);
Geheimrat Josef Cremer, Dortmund, by 1914;
His sale, Berlin, Wertheim, 29 May 1929, lot 130 (as by Andrea Solario), when acquired by an ancestor of the present owner (by whom offered in these Rooms, 9 July 2014, lot 24, as Studio of Andrea Solario).

K. Badt, Andrea Solario. Sein Leben und seine Werke, Leipzig 1914, p. 195 (wrongly assuming that the present painting and the Philadelpha one are likely to be the same; as a late replica of the Leipzig one); 
H. Voss, Galeriewerk der Sammlung Cremer, Dortmund, Dortmund 1914, p. 7 (as Solario);
B. Sweeny, John G. Johnson Collection. Catalogue of Italian Paintings, Philadelphia 1966, p. 74, under no. 274 (under Versions);
D. A. Brown, Andrea Solario, Milan 1987, pp. 212–13, under no. 50, and as no. 50i (under Versions of the Philadelphia picture).

The following condition report is provided by Hamish Dewar who is an external specialist and not an employee of Sotheby's: Structural Condition The artist's panel is uncradled and is providing a good and stable structural support. There are various seals and scratches on the reverse of the panel. Paint Surface The paint surface has uneven and discoloured varnish layers and should respond very well to cleaning should this be required. There is some frame abrasion and rubbing around the outer edges. Inspection under ultra-violet light shows how discoloured the varnish layers have become and identifies only small, scattered retouchings, including a few small areas on Christ's cloak and perhaps some glazing in the background. The flesh tones and fine details of the painting appear very well preserved. There may be other retouchings beneath older discoloured varnish layers which are not identifiable under ultra-violet light. Summary The painting would therefore appear to be in very good and stable condition and should be transformed by cleaning and revarnishing.
"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."

This seems to have been one of Solario’s most popular compositions, because in addition to the two autograph versions listed in David Alan Brown’s 1987 monograph, a number of high quality studio repetitions are known, as well as yet more numerous weaker copies. The prime version is certainly the picture in Philadelphia, which is signed.¹ Professor Brown published a second autograph version in Leipzig.² Both of these appear to have an early French provenance (the Leipzig picture is recorded in Paris in 1666), and these and the studio repetitions are likely to date from Solario’s stay in France in the employ of Cardinal Georges I d’Amboise at Gaillon. The reverse of the present panel bears two wax seals, one of which is emblazoned with the fleur-de-lys, indicating that it too enjoyed French provenance.

Of the versions that Brown was able to examine prior to the publication of his monograph, he considered only the Philadelphia and Leipzig versions to be of sufficiently high quality to merit assigning their execution to Solario himself, and in listing the replicas, he noted that among those he had been unable to see (he knew the present picture only from old photographs), others may also prove to be autograph.³ Like the previously unrecorded version sold in these Rooms in 2011 for £320,000 (see fig. 1), the present painting, of remarkable luminosity and refinement and extremely high quality of execution, appears to be a fully autograph work.⁴

Badt wrongly assumed that the present work and the Philadelpha painting were one and the same. Fortunately, his mistake was not repeated by subsequent scholars, who were no doubt aware that Johnson had acquired the Philadelphia painting by 1904.

Infra-red imaging done by Art Access Research is available on request and will be posted with the online catalogue.

In July 2014 this painting was offered for sale as from the Studio of Andrea Solario. Subsequent study of the painting has led us to the view that it is an autograph work.

1 Philadelphia, John. G. Johnson collection, Philadelphia Museum of Art (inv. no. J 274); see Brown under Literature, pp. 186–88, 212–13, cat. no. 50, reproduced p. 185, fig. 146.

2 Leipzig, Museum der bildenden Künste, Speck von Sternburg Stiftung (inv. no. 1660); ibid., pp. 186–88, 214, no. 51, reproduced p. 187, fig. 147.

3 Ibid., p. 213: ‘È chiaro che qualunque opera che io non ho potuto studiare direttamente potrebbe risultare, a un esame più approfondito, una replica autografa.’

4 London, Sotheby’s, 7 December 2011, lot 4, for £320,000.