Raffaellino del Garbo

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 picture presents well, with some wear due in part to past cleanings. Scattered old losses and retouching — some of which has discolored, most notably in the somewhat heavy-handed restoration in the flesh passages — are found throughout. The most extensive retouching is discernible in the background and the green arched canopy of the throne of wisdom. Two fine, recent cracks are located at the lower center of the Virgin's mantle, with a small loss. The wood panel preserves its original construction, consisting of three vertical boards stabilized by 2 horizontal cross-battens. There is a slight lateral, grain-oriented convex warp. The butterfly repairs to the back appear to be of a modern date. Corrective retouching to adjust the tonality of off-color retouches would be advisable. Alternately, a conservation treatment including careful cleaning and more sensitive retouching could restore some of the picture's refinement.
"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This hitherto unpublished tondo was recognised by Nicoletta Pons as a work by the Florentine painter, Raffaellino del Garbo.  Raffaellino was a pupil of Fillipino Lippi and was considered by Giorgio Vasari to be the most gifted among Filippino's assistants.¹  The artist’s paintings are characterized by a certain eclecticism, combining the influences of his master with those of Perugino and Piero di Cosimo.² The somewhat fanciful head coverings and veils of the Magdalene and Saint Catherine, reminiscent of those adopted in paintings by Perugino, are typical of Raffaellino.  The artist favored whimsical costumes and drapery as much in his treatment of sacred subjects as he did in his secular paintings. 

The features and distant gaze of the Madonna here recall those of the anonymous sitter in Raffaellino’s Portrait of a Lady, formerly in the collection of Lady Desborough at Panshanger and most recently sold at New York, Christie’s in 2008.³   Both paintings bear the hallmarks of Raffaellino's figures: the soft, rounded cheeks and chin; the small curved nose; the broad, smooth forehead and thinly drawn brows.

We are grateful to Nicoletta Pons for suggesting the attribution on the basis of photographs.

 

1.  G. Vasari, Lives of the Most Eminent Painters, Sculptors and Architects, Florence 1550, New York 1979 edition, vol. II, p. 852.
2.  Paula Nuttall “Raffaellino del Garbo,” in Jane Turner ed., The Dictionary of Art, New York 1996, p. 847.
2.  Anonymous sale, New York, Christie’s, 15 April 2008, lot 234.