Ubaldo Gandolfi

The following condition report has been provided by Simon Parkes of Simon Parkes Art Conservation, Inc. 502 East 74th St. New York, NY 212-734-3920, simonparkes@msn.com, an independent restorer who is not an employee of Sotheby's. This work has been well restored and could be hung as is. There are numerous restorations throughout the figure addressing cracking, small losses and some abrasion. The face shows very few restorations. Under ultraviolet light, it can be seen that the darker colors have fewer retouches; although there are restorations here, they certainly do not indicate any real weakness. The work may be dirty, but given that the retouches are careful and effective, cleaning is not necessarily recommended. The varnish could be adjusted.
"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."

Gandolfi trained and worked in Bologna and serves as an eighteenth century book-end to the great Emilian tradition of draftsmanship tradition begun by the Carracci in the late sixteenth century. Along with his brother Gaetano, Gandolfi focused on accurate figurative representation which was fused with a light painterly touch. 

This work, depicting the second of Hercules' seven labors, puts on full display Ubaldo's verisimilitude in depicting the human form. The scene depicts Hercules resting after having just defeated the Hydra, a nine-headed monster that inhabited a swamp near Lerna and terrorized the countryside dwellers. The theme was common in the Bolognese tradition as it afforded artists a dramatic opportunity to depict the nude male form while simultaneously offering the viewer an appealing metaphorical rendering of the triumph of good over evil. 

This work is accompanied by a certificate from Donatella Biagi Maino, who fully endorses the attribution to Ubaldo Gandolfi.