Lot 76: Mariotto di Biagio di Bindo Albertinelli , Florence 1474 - 1515 Holy Family with Saint John the Baptist oil on panel

oil on panel

measurements note 51 1/2 by 30 1/4 in.; 130.8 by 76.8 cm.

F. Bocchi and Giovanni Cinelli, Le Bellezze della Citta di Firenze, Florence 1677, p. 406 (as by Fra Bartolomeo);
G. Richa, Notizie istoriche delle chiese fiorentine, vol. VIII, Florence 1759, p. 48;
J.A. Crowe and G.B., Cavalcaselle, A History of Painting in Italy, vol. III, London 1866, p. 478 (as a lost Fra Bartolomeo);
F. Knapp, Fra' Bartolomeo und die Schule von San Marco, Halle 1903, p. 268 (as a lost Fra Bartolomeo);
H. von der Gabelentz, Fra Bartolomeo und die florentiner Renaissance, vol I, Leipzig 1922, p. 198 (as a lost Fra Bartolomeo);
S. Padovani, L'età di Savonarola: Fra' Bartolomeo e la Scuola di San Marco, exhibition catalogue, Florence 1996, pp.141-143, cat. no. 37, reproduced;
R.B. Simon, Visions and Vistas: Old Master Paintings and Drawings, exhibition catalogue, New York 2000, pp. 12-13.
A.R. Blumenthal, Cosimo Rosselli, Painter of the Sistine Chapel, exhibition catalogue, Winter Park, Florida 2001, p. 204-207, cat no. 27.

Palazzo Niccolini, Florence, by 1677 (the panel bears the wax seal of the coat of arms of the Niccolini family);
Bingham Family, England;
Chester Dale, New York, by whom given to
Louise Marock, New York, 1974;
Thence by descent to Mr. and Mrs. George Buchanan.

The present panel, datable to circa 1510, appears to be the prime version of Albertinelli's Holy Family with Saint John the Baptist. Two other examples of the composition exist, the first, dated 1511, is in the Borghese Gallery, Rome, (inv. no. 310), and the other, considered to be a workshop replica, is in the Palazzo Corsini, Florence (inv. no. 160). This panel differs from the Borghese and Corsini compositions in several ways, most notably in the background, the poses and attitudes of Christ (here he has tangled his legs in his blanket, like a real, squirming baby, whereas in the other versions he balances on top), St. John the Baptist, and Joseph (here they both look at the infant Christ, whereas they look out towards the viewer in the Borghese and Corsini versions), in the still life elements, and in the atmosphere of the present panel, which is softer and more golden than in the other versions. Perhaps the most striking difference is the nocturnal setting of the manger, intertwined with foliage that appears in the present panel. These differences make this version seem the most lively and immediate of the three. Indeed, the present panel has in the past been considered by scholars to be the primary version: in a private correspondence of October 5, 1988, Ludovico Borgo pointed out that this is "an earlier and better version of the replica in the Borghese Gallery," and recent cleaning of the picture has revealed numerous pentimenti throughout. The partnership between Albertinelli and Fra Bartolomeo from 1509 - 1513 has led to some confusion of authorship of paintings ascribed to the two artists. The Holy Family with Saint John the Baptist exemplifies this problem of connoisseurship. In the 17υth century it had been considered to be by Fra Bartolomeo: it is listed among the works of the Niccolini family (whose seal is unusually located on the front of the panel (see fig. 1) by Bocchi and Cinelli (see Literature) as Vergine con S. Giuseppe, S. Gio Batista, e Giesù di mano di Fra Bartolomeo. Subsequent scholars (see Literature) have listed this picture as a lost Fra Bartolomeo, based upon Bocchi and Cinelli's description. In the 20υth century, Larry Kanter supported that attribution based on a drawing by Fra Bartolomeo in the Boymans-van Beuningen Museum, Rotterdam (N174)υ1, in which the head of the Virgin is closely related to that in the present painting. On the other hand, Dr. Serena Padovani (see Literature) supports an attribution to Albertinelli based on stylistic similarities between this painting and The Annunciation, in the Accademia, Florence, which is signed and dated 1510 Mariotti Florenti opus. In support of Padovani, Professor Sydney J. Freedberg and Dr. Everett Fahy also agree with the attribution to Albertinelli. (The Borghese panel was also made during the years of the partnership between the two artists. Dated 1511, it is signed with the cross and double ring monogram of their joint workshop, but has, for the most part, been given to Albertinelli.) 1 See C. Fischer, Fra Bartolomeo: Master Draughtsman of the High Renaissance, Rotterdam 1990, pp. 216-217, reproduced.