Manner of Sano di Pietro

Mr. Watson Wise and Mrs. Emma Wise, Texas, by 1978;
Thence by descent to the present owner.

The following condition report has been provided by Karen Thomas of Thomas Art Conservation LLC., 336 West 37th Street, Suite 830, New York, NY 10018, 212-564-4024, info@thomasartconservation.com, an independent restorer who is not an employee of Sotheby's. The paint layers of this picture are in very good condition overall, although structural intervention is needed. The surface is coated with a significant accumulation of dirt, atop a discolored aged varnish. The proper left shoulder of the saint in the lower left — a roughly triangular shape between a crack in the panel and the Madonna — has been reconstructed. Remaining old losses are minor. The most recent of the various campaigns of retouching is recognizable with the naked eye by its matte appearance while many of the older retouches have shifted in tonality and no longer match their surroundings. Losses in the gold ground are found above and to the right of the Madonna. The panel retains its original thickness but a crack through the panel near the left edge runs the height of the panel. The paint layer is keeping the painting from separating into two pieces. The panel should be repaired to prevent paint loss and to structurally stabilize the artwork. Cleaning to remove the dirt and aged varnish can be expected to improve the overall appearance, brightening the colors and increasing the contrast.
"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."

This composition derives from a painting by Sano di Pietro formerly in Collezione Bichi-Ruspoli, Siena.¹ 1. B. Berenson, Italian Pictures of the Renaissance: Central Italian and North Italian Schools, London 1968, p. 382.