CIRCLE OF BERNARD VAN ORLEY | The Virgin and Child in a landscape

With Lionel Harris/ The Spanish Art Gallery, London, by August 1928 (by whom advertised in Pantheon, September 1928, as attributed to Van Orley);
With Mortimer Brandt, New York;
From whom purchased by Ruth K. Palitz, 28 December 1935;
Thence by descent until sold ('Property from the descendants of Clarence Palitz'), New York, Sotheby's, 26 January 2012, lot 2, where acquired by the present owner.

Minneapolis, Walker Art Center, 1942, no. 8.q.

M. Friedländer, Early Netherlandish Painting: Jan Gossart and Bernart van Orley, vol. VIII, Leiden 1972, p. 108, cat. no. 126d, reproduced pl. 111 (as a copy after Van Orley);
L.I. Hendrikman, 'Madonna col bambino all fontana', in C. Pirovano (ed.), Musei e Gallerie di Milano-Pinacoteca Ambrosiana, vol. I, Milan 2005, pp. 237 and 239.

The panel is cradled, flat and stable. The paint surface is relatively clean and the varnish clear and even, and the painting is in overall good condition. The underdrawing has become visible in the flesh tones of the Virgin and the Child. Inspection under ultraviolet light reveals sensitively-executed retouchings: pinprick spots and fine lines throughout the sky, and more sparsely scattered in the figures' flesh tones and the Virgin's red garment. There is a more concentrated, vertical area of retouching in the background, centre left, in the bridge, approx. 3 by 1 cm., and a small area in the background, centre right, no longer than 1 cm. The Virgin's dark blue sleeves also appear to have been restored.
"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 Madonna and Child in a distant river landscape relates to the similar coposition (though in reverse) of the Virgin and Child seated by a fountain, by Bernard van Orley (1487/91–1541), dated to around 1516 and currently in the collection of the Ambrosiana, Milan.¹ When offered in 2012 an old photo-certificate was noted, inscribed and dated by Max J. Friedländer (23 September 1929) and by W.R. Valentiner (24 November 1935), ascribing this painting to The Master of 1518.

1 Inv. no. 46; see Friedländer 1972, p. 107, cat. no. 126, reproduced pl. 111, fig. 126.