BENOZZO GOZZOLI | The Nativity

With Galleria Lorenzelli, Bergamo, by 1964; Private collection, Geneva, by 1976;

Thence by descent to the present collector.

The following condition report is provided by Henry Gentle who is an external specialist and not an employee of Sotheby's: Benozzo Gozzoli The Nativity Oil on soft wood panel, unframed The panel has been thinned and a rigid cradle applied to the reverse. The panel has been enlarged all round at a later date. The additions comprise of an extra 8cm width along the top edge and approximately 5cm width additions along the bottom and sides. The reverse of the panel has evidence of previous worm infestation and there are some fine vertical hairline fractures visible. Slight undulation across the panel is viewable under raking light conditions. The later additions have been carefully blended in to the original composition. The hairline cracks, visible on the reverse of the panel, are evident through the paint layer, where some minor paint loss has occurred; this is most evident along the diagonal hairline crack through Joseph and Mary. Aside from minor scattered loss across the surface, the paint layer is in a good preserved condition. The figures of Joseph, Mary and the Christ child are in excellent original condition with fine details , such as the eyes, the hair and the shadows, well preserved. Original gilding to the hem and collar of Mary's cloak, the star and Joseph's halo is also in a good state. Removal of the discoloured varnish would improve the overall tonality and reveal colours that are still retain their vibrancy.
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Benozzo Gozzoli was among the protagonists of the Florentine Renaissance and is known to have collaborated with Fra Angelico on the famous frescoes in the convent of San Marco in Florence, as well as the chapel of San Brizio in Orvieto Cathedral. He also specialised in altarpieces and smaller panel paintings such as the present work, painted during his maturity. His most celebrated project is undoubtedly the Journey of the Magi, painted in fresco between 1459–61, which covers three walls of the private chapel of the Palazzo Medici-Riccardi in Florence. This signed work includes a self-portrait of Benozzo, alongside likenesses of several Medici family members, and is marked by a striking use of bold and vibrant colours. We are grateful to Professor Filippo Todini for endorsing the attribution and for proposing a date of execution of 1480–90, when the artist was working between Pisa and Pistoia. During this mature phase in his career Benozzo often relied in part on the assistance of his sons. Indeed, Todini proposes that the figures of Joseph and the Christ Child were painted by Benozzo's most gifted son, Alessio di Benozzo, also known as Maestro Esiguo and Alunno di Benozzo.