Bartolomeo Schedoni

The copper plate is laid onto a second copper plate, with approx 2 cm of the larger plate showing at all margins. These margins all bear later paint, although the right margin has lost a vertical strip of paint measuring about 8inches. The painting as a whole has suffered in the past, perhaps some heat damage (?), and the resulting significant losses throughout the background and figures at the right bear quite crude old retouching. Other losses scattered throughout the knees and lower legs of Saint Sebastian, in the shadows under his chest, at the margins of the original plate, and throughout the lower right corner are not restored. The best preserved passage is that consisting of the body of Saint Sebastian, and of the robes and face of Saint Irene where the glazes, highlights and shadows, and modelling are well preserved. In the less well preserved figures at the right enough original paint remains in the important parts, such as the two faces, to make re-construction possible. With some attention and good restoration the legibility of this copper could be significantly improved.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Unrecorded in modern literature, this painting on copper has recently emerged and is here restored to Schedoni's known oeuvre. Only one other version of the composition is recorded, a very large canvas in the Capodimonte museum in Naples (185x125cm) which is unfinished and which was listed amongst the goods remaining in Schedoni's house upon his death.  The original state of the copper (without the later extensions) largely corresponds to the composition of the Naples canvas. There are however differences in the details: Saint Irene's undergarment is here blue where it is yellow in the Naples canvas; the headdress of the rearmost figure differs, as does the clothing of the woman leaning in from the right; the pile of drapery in the foreground, here blue and with a gold-embroidered edge, is of a plain ochre in the Naples canvas; and the Naples canvas omits all arrows, presumably a final detail that would have been added but for the artist's untimely demise. The presence of incised lines that are visible around parts of the contour of St. Sebastian (along the ball of his foot and lower contour of his right thigh, for example) suggests the transfer of the design from a drawing or cartoon.  

We are grateful to Professore Emilio Negro and Nicosetta Roio for endorsing the attribution to Schedoni, on the basis of photographs.