- 101
North Italian School, circa 1600
Estimate
10,000 - 15,000 USD
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Description
- An old woman and a child, possibly an allegory of wisdom and ignorance
- bears signature and date lower right: Jusepe de Ribera / Espanol F. 1640.
- oil on canvas
- 37 1/8 by 23 3/4 in.; 94.3 by 60.3 cm.
Provenance
Private collection, France;
With P. Jackson Higgs & Co., New York;
Mr. and Mrs. Henry H. Timken (1831-1909), San Diego (as Jusepe de Ribera);
By whom gifted to the Fine Arts Gallery, San Diego, 1931 (inv. no. 1931.3).
With P. Jackson Higgs & Co., New York;
Mr. and Mrs. Henry H. Timken (1831-1909), San Diego (as Jusepe de Ribera);
By whom gifted to the Fine Arts Gallery, San Diego, 1931 (inv. no. 1931.3).
Exhibited
Los Angeles, Los Angeles Art Association, Loan Exhibition of International Art, 15 October - 15 December 1937, no. 113 (as Jusepe Ribera and titled A Sybyl).
Literature
San Diego Fine Arts Gallery Bulletin, November 1931, reproduced p. 12 (as Ribera);
E.S. Siple, "Recent acquisitions in America," in The Burlington Magazine, vol. LX, 1932, p. 115 (as Ribera and titled A Sybyl);
N.S. Trivas, "Lesser Known American Art Collections, II. The Fine Arts Gallery of San Diego California," in Apollo, 1941, no. 33, p. 137 (as Jusepe de Ribera and titled A Sybyl);
J.G. Andrews, A Catalogue of European paintings, 1300-1870, San Diego 1947, pp. 81-82 (as Jusepe Ribera and titled A Sybyl);
J.A. Gaya Nuño, La pintura española fuera de España: Historia y catálogo, Madrid 1958, no. 2364 (as Jusepe Ribera and titled A Sybyl);
C. Felton, Jusepe de Ribera: A Catalogue Raisonné, Ph.D. thesis, University of Pittsburg 1971, pp. 442-443 (under rejected attributions);
E. Young, "Spanish Painting from International Gothic to Goya," in Apollo (115), no. 244, June 1982, p. 436 (as anonymous, North Italian school);
J. Marciari, Italian, Spanish, and French Paintings before 1850 in the San Diego Museum of Art, San Diego 2015, pp. 227-230, cat. no. 47, reproduced p. 228 (as anonymous Neapolitan artist, circa 1640).
E.S. Siple, "Recent acquisitions in America," in The Burlington Magazine, vol. LX, 1932, p. 115 (as Ribera and titled A Sybyl);
N.S. Trivas, "Lesser Known American Art Collections, II. The Fine Arts Gallery of San Diego California," in Apollo, 1941, no. 33, p. 137 (as Jusepe de Ribera and titled A Sybyl);
J.G. Andrews, A Catalogue of European paintings, 1300-1870, San Diego 1947, pp. 81-82 (as Jusepe Ribera and titled A Sybyl);
J.A. Gaya Nuño, La pintura española fuera de España: Historia y catálogo, Madrid 1958, no. 2364 (as Jusepe Ribera and titled A Sybyl);
C. Felton, Jusepe de Ribera: A Catalogue Raisonné, Ph.D. thesis, University of Pittsburg 1971, pp. 442-443 (under rejected attributions);
E. Young, "Spanish Painting from International Gothic to Goya," in Apollo (115), no. 244, June 1982, p. 436 (as anonymous, North Italian school);
J. Marciari, Italian, Spanish, and French Paintings before 1850 in the San Diego Museum of Art, San Diego 2015, pp. 227-230, cat. no. 47, reproduced p. 228 (as anonymous Neapolitan artist, circa 1640).
Condition
The canvas has a wax relining which is stable. The paint layer is in good condition, with built up impasto in the brushwork and highlights throughout which have retained their color nicely. Though a dark painting overall, there are many areas of colorful and bright paint, particularly in the older woman's hands, the fringe detail on her dress, and in the wrinkles on her forehead. The work has been cleaned and can be hung in its current condition. Scattered retouches are visible under ultraviolet light, particularly in the lower left corner and in the dark area above the older woman's raised hand. There are some areas of abrasion and thinness in the darker areas and background of the canvas. Offered in a giltwood frame.
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.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.
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.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.
Catalogue Note
Although a secure attribution for this fascinating painting has eluded scholarly consensus, it bears stylistic similarities, particularly in the rendering of the old woman's face, to an anonymous painting depicting an old man with a mandolin in the Palazzo Barberini.1 1. Inv. no. 938, oil on canvas, 172 by 125 cm. See F. Cappelletti and A. Lemoine, I bassifondi del Barocco: La Roma del vizio e della miseria, exhibition catalogue, Rome 2014, pp. 204-205, cat. no. 28, reproduced (as anonymous artist, mid 17th century, circle of Jusepe de Ribera).