- 128
Bartolo di Fredi
Description
- Bartolo di Fredi
- Saint Lawrence
- tempera on panel, gold ground
Provenance
From there removed and dismantled, this panel presumably moved to the house of Malenotti, San Gimignano, 1835;
Possibly collection of the provost of the collegiate of San Gimignano, Malenotti, San Gimigano;
Private Scottish collection;
By whom sold, London, Phillips, 4 July 2000, lot 35;
Private English collection.
Literature
G. della Valle, Lettere senesi, vol. II, Rome 1785, pp. 197 - 198;
L. Kanter, "A Massacre of the Innocents in the Walters Art Gallery", in The Journal of the Walters Art Gallery, 41, 1983, pp. 21 - 27;
G. Freuler in, La miniatora senese degli anni 1370 - 1420, C. De Benedictis et al. ed., Milan 2002, pp. 184 - 185
G. Freuler in, La collezione Salini: Dipinti, sculture e oreficerie dei secoli XII, XIII, XIV, e XV, L. Bellosi ed., Florence 2009, pp. 210 - 215.
Condition
"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."
Catalogue Note
Freuler applied a process of elimination in order to determine from which altarpiece the saints originated. The presence of Saints Anthony Abbot and Nicholas of Tolentino, dressed in the black robes of the Augustinians, suggest the altarpiece was commissioned by the Order of Saint Augustine.2 Since Saint Anthony Abbot is included as a smaller figure in the pilaster, Freuler was able to disregard any recorded altarpieces in which that saint features among the larger, central panels. Having excluded a number of possibilities in this manner, Freuler was able to narrow his search until he settled upon an altarpiece described by Giorgio Vasari in the church of Sant’Agostino, San Gimingano, signed by Bartolo di Fredi and dated 1388.3
At this moment in Bartolo di Fredi’s career, the artist’s creativity and quality of execution was at its very peak. Stylistically, this Saint Lawrence is entirely in keeping with other works produced around this date. If we compare the figure to Bartolo di Fredi’s Saint Thomas Aquinas in the fresco decorating the Palazzo Pubblico, Siena, we find striking parallels.4 Saint Thomas Aquinas, dating to circa 1390, has the same round, broad crown, the same long nose, downturned mouth and curlicue ears and the same solemn expression. Similarly, the face of the equally beautiful Saint Stephen, from the same Sant’Agostino altarpiece, can be compared directly with that of a blond young lady in Bartolo di Fredi’s Return of the Virgin scene now in the Museo Civico d'Arte Sacra, Montalcino.5 The latter panel formed part of the artist’s Coronation of the Virgin altarpiece for the church of San Francesco at Montalcino which is also signed and dated 1388.
We are grateful to Gaudenz Freuler for endorsing the attribution on the basis of firsthand inspection.
1. L. Kanter, under Literature, op. cit., pp. 21 – 27; G. Freuler, under Literature, op. cit., pp. 214 – 215.
2. Ibid., p. 212.
3. G. Vasari, Lives of the most eminent painters, sculptors and architects, Florence 1550, New York 1979 edition, vol. I, p. 284.
4. Information kindly provided by Gaudenz Freuler in a private written communication with the department, dated 6 November 2014; G. Freuler, under Literature, pp. 185-186.
5. Ibid.