Follower of Michelangelo Merisi called Caravaggio

Czernin collection, Vienna and Salzburg (inv. no. 141), from at least 1844 until after 1970.

Salzburg, Residenzgalerie, 1970, no. 28 (as Follower of Caravaggio).

Černínská hlavní pokladna (Czernin Inventory), 1844 (as "Caravaggio");
Katalog der Graf Czernin'schen Gemäldegalerie in Wien, Vienna 1899, p. 15, cat. no. 141 (as Caravaggio);
K. Wilczek, Katalog der Graf Czernin'schen Gemäldegalerie in Wien, Vienna 1936, pp. 23 - 24 (as Follower of Caravaggio);
Eugen Czernin's folio of the years between 1942-46, BDA Archiv, Vienna, under no. GZ5026 from 1946, note 2-5, 9; 
H.E. Buschbeck and F. Fuhrmann, Katalog der Residenzgalerie, Salzburg: mit Sammlung Czernin, Salzburg 1955, p. 32, cat. no. 25;
E.H. Buschbeck, F. Fuhrmann, and A. Ingram, Residenzgalerie, Salzburg: mit Sammlung Czernin und Sammlung Schönborn-Buchheim, Salzburg 1962, p. 39, cat. no. 28;
E.H. Buschbeck, F. Fuhrmann, and A. Ingram, Residenzgalerie Salzburg mit Sammlung Czernin und Sammlung Schönborn-Buchheim, Salzburg 1970, p. 37, cat. no. 28;
B. Nicolson, The International Caravaggesque Movement, Oxford 1979, p. 29 (as Caracciolo);
B. Nicolson, Caravaggism in Europe, Turin 1989, vol. I, p. 74 (under Caracciolo as unconvincing attribution);
R. Juffinger, Residenzgalerie Salzburg: Gesamtverzeichnis der Gemälde, Salzburg 2010, vol. II p. 366, reproduced hanging in gallery in 1955 (as Follower of Caravaggio);
R. Juffinger and I. Walderdorff, Czernin, Verzeichnis der Gemälde, Vienna 2015, p. 44, reproduced (as Follower of Caravaggio).

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. Although this work needs some attention, it is in good condition. The canvas has a lining which nicely presents the surface. The work is slightly dirty, and the varnish is very dull. There is a group of restorations in Icarus's golden sleeve, and some retouches in his hair. There are a few isolated spots in the shadowed areas of his face. A few of the feathers in his wing have been strengthened and there are retouches to some cracks and one larger loss in his bare arm and shoulder. There are broad and aimless retouches in the upper background. There are also a few losses that have received broad retouches in the shadows of Daedalus's face. If the work were cleaned, the amount of retouching could be reduced significantly. The losses are small and isolated, and the paint layer is clearly in good condition despite the need for restoration.
"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."

Despite the creator of this canvas being thus far unidentified, the quality of this Daedalus and Icarus must point to a highly accomplished artist.  This is a tender depiction of the craftsman and father adhering ink black shining feathered wings the back of his adolescent son; wings that would ultimately result in the boy's demise. The theme, as told by Ovid in his Metamorphoses (VIII:183–235), was a rare one in Caravaggesque painting the seventeenth century. Benedict Nicolson, in his 1979 comprehensive survey of Caravaggesque painting, lists only two treatments of this subject:  the present painting, and another composition by Orazio Riminaldi.¹  A comparison with paintings by Nicolas Tournier from his Roman period reveals marked similarities in style and handling, although these are, hitherto, insufficient to justify a convincing attribution to him.

1.  Now in The Wadsworth Atheneum, Hartford. See P. Carofano and F. Paliaga, Orazio Riminaldi, Soncino 2013, p. 126, cat. no. 14, reproduced p. 81, pl. XVII.