Mariotto di Biagio di Bindo Albertinelli

R. Bingham collection, Britain, before 1849;
By whom sold, London, Phillips Son and Neale, 11 July 1849; 
John Poyntz Spencer collection, Althorp House, by 1851;
Thence by descent until at least 1976;
Anonymous sale, New York, 18 January 1983, lot 31.

Catalogue of the pictures at Althorp House, in the county of Northampton, Althorp 1851 (as Fra Bartolomeo); 
K. Garlick, "A Catalogue of Pictures at Althorp", in The Walpole Society, 1974-1976, vol. 45, Glasgow 1976, cat. no. 614 (as Giovanni Antonio Sogliani).

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. A picture in very nice condition, with minimal retouching. The rich array of colors used in Mary's garments and in the drapery is well preserved, as are the glazes used throughout. Scattered minor losses are visible under ultraviolet illumination, primarily in the green garment, with two modest losses: one in Mary's proper right hand and another in the child's proper right hand. Strokes of reinforcement are found in the pattern in the green drapery and in the deepest shadows of Mary's red dress. The varnish has a soft, satiny finish. The wood panel support has a slight lateral convex warp. Strips of wood have been nailed into the edges, and three crossbattens span the reverse. This picture is ready to be displayed in its current 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."

This beautiful Madonna and Child beside a window was painted by one of the leading protagonists of the early Florentine Renaissance, Mariotto Albertinelli.  The artist trained under Cosimo Rosselli alongside Fra Bartolommeo, with whom he set up a workshop in the 1490s.  Albertinelli and Fra Bartolommeo appear to have been close friends and the two operated under an equal partnership, dividing proceeds from their commissions in half.   In certain collaborations the two hands are inextricably intertwined, working so closely that it can be difficult to decipher the work of one from the other. 

In Albertinelli’s independent works, however, his painting style diverges from Fra Bartolommeo, favoring more subtle chromatic shifts, and faintly archaic forms as evidenced in the present painting.  The soft contours of the flesh are formed with an almost hazy sfumato effect, evading the stronger chiaroscuro preferred by Fra Bartolommeo.  The transitions of color in the drapery, with diffused highlights, have not yet taken on the Peruginesque quality that we see in Albertinelli’s later works.  The artist has taken great care in the representation of the draped curtain: cross-hatched lines along the main fold at left denote the sheen of precious metal threads in the cloth-of-gold lining, and the embroidery is finely painted in raised lines, creating a tactile surface.  The landscape shown through the window at right is painted with a remarkable looseness.  The trees, some fine and long limbed, others made full with layered rows of browning leaves, are reminiscent of those in the background of Fra Bartolommeo’s Noli Me Tangere, now in the Musée du Luovre, Paris (inv. no. 39).