Bicci di Lorenzo

Achille de Clemente Collection, Florence;
His sale, New York, American Art Association, 15-17 January 1931, lot 193 (as Agnolo Gaddi);
Anonymous sale, New York, Sotheby's Parke-Bernet, 20 January 1971, lot 1 (as Master of the Bambino Vispo);
Private collection, Milan.

B. Berenson, Quadri senza casa, Il Trecento fiorentino, Milan 1932, pp. 184-186 (as Master of the Bambino Vispo);
B. Berenson, Italian Pictures of the Renaissance - Florentine School, London 1963, p. 141 (as Master of the Bambino Vispo);
B. Berenson, Homeless Paintings of the Renaissance, Bloomington 1969, p. 146-147, reproduced p. 147.

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. These three tondi, all painted on softwood panels with a slight convex curvature in the vertical direction, are extraordinarily well preserved. The gilding of all three panels is in extremely good condition, with a fine craquelure and very slight abrasion. The paint film of all three is likewise well preserved. In the Virgin panel, scattered retouching is evident, notably at the neck of the dress. The panel with St. John shows a scratch at the proper right. Small scattered retouching is visible in the Man of Sorrows, notably at the knot at the center of the panel and in Christ's head. There appear to be several varnish layers of differing natural resins. Some worm tunneling is visible on the reverse of each, most severely in that of the Virgin.
"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."

Miklós Boskovits was the first to ascribe these striking predella roundels to Bicci di Lorenzo in 1978, an attribution most recently upheld by Sonia Chiodo.¹  Prior to Boskovits' comments, the panels had been published by Bernard Berenson as the so-called “Master of the Bambino Vispo” (see Literature), an artist now convincingly identified as Gherardo Starnina.  Berenson did, however, concede that these panels were treated very differently from other works by the Master of the Bambino Vispo and, comparing them to another predella depicting the Man of Sorrows, he wrote, “The same artist is, however, entirely Tuscan in the three medallions of a Predella (…) where the same theme is as completely presented in another and perhaps intrinsically nobler language.”²

There are marked parallels between the figures represented here with those in a portable triptych by Bicci di Lorenzo, dating to circa 1420 and sold London, Sotheby’s in 2007 (fig. 1).³  The faces of Christ and Saint John the Evangelist in the present roundels are remarkably similar to those of their counterparts in the Crucifixion scene decorating the right hand wing of the triptych.  The Madonna here is also reminiscent of the same figure in the Christ Carrying the Cross on the left hand wing.

Born in Florence, Bicci di Lorenzo trained under of his father, Lorenzo di Bicci, eventually taking over the workshop, which became a thriving enterprise, and was later handed to his own son, Neri di Bicci.  Though one of the most important painters of the early 15^th century in Florence, Bicci di Lorenzo actively ignored the popular Renaissance styles that were embraced by his contemporaries.  He, instead, adhered strictly to a Gothic treatment of his subjects, creating a distinctly retardataire style that he retained for the duration of his career.  Isolated figures depicted against gold backgrounds came to characterize Bicci di Lorenzo’s paintings and this beautiful Man of Sorrows with the Virgin and Saint John the Evangelist is entirely typical of his traditional, yet highly popular style.

We are grateful to Sonia Chiodo for endorsing the attribution on the basis of photographs.

1.  Frick Art Resource Library, photo archive note dated 3 October 1978; Private written communication from Sonia Chiodo, dated 16 October 2014.
2.  B. Berenson 1969, under Literature, p. 147.
3.  Anonymous sale, London, Sotheby’s, 4 July 2007, lot 46.