Lot 169
  • 169

Antiveduto Gramatica

Estimate
60,000 - 80,000 GBP
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Description

  • Antiveduto Gramatica
  • The Denial of Saint Peter
  • oil on canvas

Provenance

With the Subert Gallery, Milan;
From whom acquired in 1974 by the family of the present owner.

Condition

The following condition report is provided by Hamish Dewar who is an external specialist and not an employee of Sotheby's: The canvas appears lined. The paint surface has an uneven varnish layer. There is a pattern of craquelure throughout with some associated small paint losses. There is an area of blistering within the dark pigments of Peter's cloak and sleeve. This appears stable. Inspection under ultra-violet light shows a discoloured varnish layer and also shows scattered retouchings throughout including within the figures' necks, some small spots within the flesh tones and retouchings to the edges and background of the composition. Overall the painting is in reasonably good condition. The work is framed.
"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

This hitherto unpublished work by Antiveduto Grammatica encompasses all the Caravaggesque qualities that came to define his dramatic and realist output of work. The sharp light that falls across the maid, the distinct gesturing of the protagonists, and the precise detail with which the fabrics, the faces and the hands are rendered, are in the distinctive style of Antiveduto.

Antiveduto's origins were Sienese but he was probably born in Rome and worked there his whole life. He led a prolific studio, in which it is said the young Caravaggio was employed, having just arrived there from Lombardy. There is little doubt, however, that it was Antiveduto who was more influenced by the young Caravaggio, than vice versa. The scene depicted here is that of the denial of Saint Peter as specifically recounted in the Gospel of Luke. The expressive figure of the accusatory maid is a favourite motif of Antiveduto’s – females such as she, although usually represented as saints, recur throughout his repertoire. Two particularly comparable female figures, close in spirit and in execution, are Saint Praxedis at the Galleria Sabauda, Turin,1 and the Madonna and Child with a book, of which there are several known versions.2 In the latter, the figure of the Madonna has similarly fine pleats of gathered white linen at her wrist, and Saint Praxedis wears the same outfit as the maid in the present painting, likewise gesturing with a sharply lit outstretched hand. The depiction of female figures and saints in profile, their pale features against dark backgrounds, as seen here, can be found in numerous examples of Antiveduto’s work.

1. See H. P. Riedl, Antiveduto della Grammatica (1570/71–1626): Leben und Werk, Munich 1998, reproduced pl. V.
2. Riedl 1998, figs 38–40.