ANDREA PREVITALI | The Rest on the Flight into Egypt

Count Francesco Tomini, Milan (as Lorenzo Lotto);
Count Guglielmo Lochis (1789–1859), Bergamo, by 1833 (as Lorenzo Lotto);
By descent to Count Carlo Lochis (1843–1899), Bergamo (as Lorenzo Lotto);
With Raffaelle Pinti (1826–1881), London, by 1874 (consigned by the above);
With Frank T. Sabin, London;
By whom anonymously sold, London, Sotheby's, 18 February 1953, lot 139, for £175 to Bellesi;
Rita Bellesi, Florence, by 1955;
Private collection, Bergamo;
Giovanni Testori (1923–1993), Milan;
Private collection, Milan, by 1962;
With Van Diemen–Lilienfeld Galleries, New York;
Private collection.

F. Heinemann, Giovanni Bellini e i Belliniani, Venice 1962, vol. I, p. 140, under cat. no. S. 328;
P. Zampetti, 'Andrea Previtali', in I Pittori Bergamaschi, Il Cinquecento, vol. I, Bergamo 1980, p. 137, under cat. no. 53;
G. Brambilla Ranise, La raccolta dimezzata: Storia della dispersione della pinacoteca di Guglielmo Lochis (1789-1859), Bergamo 2007, pp. 69–72, cat. no. 2B, reproduced p. 71, fig. 2B.

The canvas is lined, the paint surface is relatively clean and the varnish is clear and even. There are no major damages visible to the naked eye, but some there is a degree of wear visible particularly in the landscape on the right-hand side, and there is a pin-prick loss in the central foliage. Inspection under ultraviolet light reveals two campaigns of retouching both consisting of small spots scattered throughout, more significant areas of concentrated retouching include the figure of the Christ child and the Madonna's robe, the lower part of the basket, the face and torso of the figure on the left and in the darks of the distant hills upper left and upper right. In overall good condition. Offered in an elaborately carved and gilt wood frame with pine cone, pomegranates and pea pod decoration in very good condition.
"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 idyllic pastoral landscape with the Holy Family resting in the foreground was first attributed to Previtali by Giovanni Morelli in 1865.¹ A related composition by Previtali, but with some small differences, is in the collection of Lord Faringdon, at Buscot Park.² Both the Buscot Park picture and the present version were in the collection of the Counts Lochis, Bergamo, until their sale in 1874 (see Provenance).  The Buscot Park canvas does not include the charming distant view that we see to the left of the present picture, nor the cow grazing in the foreground. It too features a tower in the landscape at the right, but this slender campanile is instead an imposing square medieval tower. Heinemann dates the Buscot Park picture to 1510,³ although Zampetti (see Literature), in noting Previtali's debt to Lorenzo Lotto, believes it to be marginally later; all agree that the present canvas post-dates the Buscot Park picture and was likely executed around 1523.⁴

1 See Brambilla Ranise 2007, p. 70.
2 Zampetti 1980, p. 137, cat. no. 53, reproduced p. 156, fig. 3.
3 Heinemann 1962, p. 140.
4 Zampetti 1980, p. 137.