Master of the Tortona Nativity, possibly identifiable as Bernardino Zenale

Lutomirski collection, Zurich (according to an old label on the reverse;  
Senator Giacomo Frizzoni, Bergamo, by 1933;
Freiherr Von Kleist, Schloss Hard, Ermatinger;
His sale, Zurich, Fischer, 18 May 1933, lot 1267;
Anonymous sale, London, Christie's, 11 July 2001, lot 77 (as Marco d'Oggiono).

D. Sedini, "Marco d'Oggiono, tradizione e rinnovamento", in Lombardia tra Quattrocento e Cinquecento, Milan 1989, pp. 234 - 236, reproduced.

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. The good condition of this painting is evidenced by the vibrant colors of the landscape elements and various garments, the minute depiction of the leaves in the foliage and sharp contours of the draped fabrics. The head of Joseph is in particularly good state of preservation. A fine craquelure, consistent with the age of the painting, is visible across the picture. Very mild cupping and scattered pinpoint losses follow the aging cracks. In lighter passages such as the sky and Mary's face, retouching has been employed to visually subdue the drying cracks and to allow the modeling of the flesh to be better appreciated. In the animals on the left, especially the donkey, restoration addresses abrasion. The varnish imparts a soft, satiny surface. The wood panel support, comprised of a single vertically grained board, displays a moderate convex lateral warp. A brief hairline crack is found near the bottom right corner.
"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 tranquil Nativity scene, heavily influenced by Leonardo, is one of a small number of works grouped under the name of the Master of the Tortona Navity.  This composition is known in three versions: one in the collection of the Ospedale Maggiore, Milan; a second in the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam; and a third in the church of Santa Maria di Canale, Tortona, after which the master is named. ¹  The present composition is almost identical to that of the Milan painting but is also very closely related to the eponymous Tortona altarpiece, published by Wilhem Suida in 1953.²   The pictorial scale of Tortona painting has been adapted, however, to fit a more elongated, vertical format.  The  architectural setting in the Tortona panel has a higher roof, displaying more sky in the background, the wooded area has been omitted and replaced with distant hillside and mountain, with buildings in the middle ground, and the donkey at left is raised up, its head level with that of the Virgin.  

Domenico Sedini notes that the present picture is not only better preserved than the Ospedale Maggiore version, but is also stylistically of a higher quality than both that and the Tortona panels.³   The composition in its present format achieves a more balanced equilibrium, the crystalline landscape is perfectly conceived and the definition of the figures, expressed with a miniaturist’s detail and care, are indisputably superior.⁴

Andrea De Marchi has suggested that paintings given to the Master of the Tortona Nativity may be identifiable as the hand of Bernardino Zenale, at the very end of his career.⁵ In the case of this painting, De Marchi cites the heightened illumination of the architecture, the angels in flight and the echo of shadow and light on the drapery as evident hallmarks of Zenale.

We are grateful to Mauro Natale for endorsing the attribution on the basis of photographs and to Andrea De Marchi for suggesting an identification of the anonymous master to Bernardino Zenale.

 

1.  D. Sedini, under Literature, p. 235, reproduced figs. 131a and 131b.
2.  W. Suida, Bramante pittore e il Bramantino, Milan 1953, p. 135, reproduced plate CLXVI.
3.  D. Sedini, op. cit., p. 235.
4.  Ibid.
5.  Private written communication with Andrea De Marchi, dated 11 October 2014.