Giovanni Battista Salvi, called Sassoferrato

Possibly private collection, Saint Petersburg;

Herman Walentin Schalin, Helsinki (1865–1954);

Thence by family descent to the present owners.

The following condition report is provided by Sarah Walden who is an external specialist and not an employee of Sotheby's: This painting was apparently transferred to a new canvas in 1899 in St. Petersburg. A tradition had apparently grown in the Hermitage of transfers from panel to canvas, but this must have simply been an exploit for the sake of it as there is no sign of underlying damage of any sort. Rather the condition of the paint virtually throughout is exceptionally beautiful. Three later patches have been added behind: one behind an old short three cornered tear in the mid left background, another behind a small knock in the drapery of the Madonna at lower right, and a third in the upper right background near the corner. Under ultra violet light there is only a small touch by the chin of the Child, a few others in the upper central background and some other minor touches on the hand of the Madonna under the Child's hand. Essentially the exceptionally finely preserved brushwork has retained its rich unworn tonality, with all the glazing intact. Some older varnish has been left in the shadows of the Madonna's head and also in the shadows around the head of the Child in very careful minimal cleaning in the past. The exceptionally beautiful condition of the figures reflects this past care. There are a few other past retouchings along the base edge. In the outer reaches of the painting the varnish has blanched down the sides affecting the background and the varnish over the outer blue drapery. This may be the result of moist air, and the varnish could be regenerated or replaced. If the underlying paint has also blanched it may also need to be regenerated and revived. This report was not done under laboratory conditions.
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Sassoferrato specialised in the production of private devotional works, and was primarily employed by his patrons to provide images for personal spiritual contemplation. This is amongst the finest examples of a composition known in a number of variants, some including putti around the Madonna, most notable among which are the paintings in the Museo del Prado, Madrid, and in the Galleria Nazionale delle Marche, Urbino.¹ The design appears to be an invention from a lost work by Guido Reni, now known only through contemporary engravings,² but the distinctive colouring and handling of the drapery is entirely Sassoferrato's own. Here, the neckline of the Madonna's red robe is modelled in a darker hue than the rest of the garment, a touch which appears in some of the artist's most beautiful and refined versions of this subject, such as the aforementioned painting in Urbino, or that in the Pinacoteca Comunale, Cesena.

An inscription in Russian on the reverse of this painting records that it was transferred onto a new canvas in 1899, in Saint Petersburg, by Nicolai Sidorov. Sidorov was the brother of the better known Alexander, who had learnt sophisticated transfer techniques from Andrey Filippovich Mitrokhin (1766–1845), the first dedicated restorer in the State Hermitage Museum. Mitrokhin transferred several paintings in the museum from panel to canvas, including Raphael's Holy Family,³ and his method was perpetuated by his pupils so as to become the basis of Russian restoration. 

Herman Walentin Schalin lost his sight as a cause of scarlet fever at the age of 12, and thereafter trained as a piano tuner in Finland. The reputation that he built was such that he was invited to work for concert pianists throughout Finland, Germany and in Saint Petersburg, in which city he is presumed to have acquired the present painting, probably after its transfer to a new canvas, possibly as a gift. 

We are grateful to Professor François Macé de Lépinay for endorsing the attribution to Sassoferrato on the basis of photographs.

1. See F. Macé de Lépinay et al., Giovan Battista Salvi 'Il Sassoferrato', exhibition catalogue, Milan 1990, respectively pp. 72 and 94, cat. nos 21 and 35, reproduced in colour.

2. See The Illustrated Bartsch. Italian masters of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, vol. 40, New York 1987, pp. 330–37, especially cat. no. 30 C1, reproduced p. 330.

3. Inv. no. 91; see S. Vsevolozhskaya, Italian painting. The Hermitage, Saint Petersburg 1984, p. 233, reproduced in colour figs 44 and 45.