Francesco Trevisani

Probably commissioned by Niccolò Coscia (1681-1755);
Probably Abbot Albicini, Forlì.

The painting is lined, the paint surface is very dirty and the varnish is discoloured. There are two losses upper centre and lower centre. There are discoloured retouchings visible to the naked eye, predominantly in the lower half of the canvas, scattered sparsely in Christ's flesh tones, the Madonna's robe and in the landscape; larger areas of discoloured retouching are found in the back of the kneeling angel's head, his shoulder and to a vertical scratch above his foot measuring approx. 20 cm., as well as to a concentrated area in the right-hand corner. Inspection under ultraviolet light reveals these aforementioned retouchings, but very little other intervention. In overall good condition. Offered in a plain gilt wood frame with several losses.
"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."

This composition shares distinct compositional similarities with another Pietà by Trevisani in the Museo Nazionale in Messina.¹ The Messina picture is an arched-topped altarpiece (606 x 397 cm.) that was painted for the now-destroyed Chiesa delle Anime del Purgatorio in Messina. Frank R. DiFederico, in his 1977 monograph of Trevisani's works, dated the Messina Pietà to around 1690 and noted that in that picture the artist had combined a Roman-Bolognese composition with a fluid Venetian handling of colour and light, an approach characteristic of his early Roman works.

It is the central figures of the Madonna and the body of Christ that are closely comparable in the two paintings; the figure of Christ is almost exactly the same in both pictures, but reversed, and the limp arm of Christ is at more of an angle in the present work; the figure of the Madonna looking up to the heavens is also very similar, only in the present canvas the Madonna holds up Christ's hand in her own, whereas she has both her hands raised in the Messina picture, and Christ's hand is held up by the figure of the kneeling Magdalene. Saint John the Evangelist and the cloud-borne figure of God surrounded by angels and putti are also included in the Messina altarpiece.

Andrea Bacchi identifies the present work in Lione Pascoli’s contemporary biography of the artist as one of two paintings executed for the cardinal Niccolò Coscia, which then passed into the collection of the Abbot Albicini.² A second, smaller version (98 x 62 cm.) of the present composition commissioned directly from Albicini is also mentioned, which Bacchi suggests was the one sold at Rome, Christie’s, 20 October 1980, lot 236. He also cites a preparatory drawing in the Wallraf-Richartz Museum, and dates the present work, as well as the Messina picture, to circa 1725-30.

1. F.R. DiFederico, Francesco Trevisani, Washington 1977, p. 41, cat. no. 7, reproduced pl. 7.
2. L. Pascoli, Vite de’ pittori, scultori ed architetti viventi dai manoscritti 1383 e 1743 della Biblioteca Augusta di Perugia, Treviso 1981, p. 35 (as possibly referring to the Pietà now in the Kunsthistoriches Museum, Vienna, which has since been discredited).