Lot 323: Attributed to Gabriele Castagnola (Italian, 1828-1883), Filipo Lippi and the Sister Buti, Abraded signature or inscription l.r., identi

Attributed to Gabriele Castagnola (Italian, 1828-1883)

Filipo Lippi and the Sister Buti
Abraded signature or inscription l.r., identified on a handwritten
label affixed to the stretcher.
Oil on canvas, 27 x 20 1/2 in. (69.5 x 52.5 cm), in a carved and gilded frame.
Condition: Craquelure, surface grime.

N.B. Sister Buti is often identified as Lucrezia Buti, described as the artist's muse. There is a legend, reported by Vasari but not substantiated elsewhere, that Fra Filippo was preparing frescoes for the cathedral in Prato, when he was asked to paint a picture for the convent chapel of S. Margherita of Prato. There he met the beautiful Florentine, Lucrezia, who at the time was either a novice of the Order or a young lady placed under the nuns' guardianship. Lippi asked that Lucrezia might be permitted to sit for the figure of the Madonna (or perhaps S. Margherita). A seduction ensued, the artist absconded with the young woman, and Vasari further claims that Lucrezia became the mother of Filippino Lippi.