Lot 36: MASTER OF THE MISERICORDIA ACTIVE IN THE THIRD QUARTER OF THE 14TH CENTURY

THE PROPERTY OF A LADY

THE MADONNA AND CHILD ENTHRONED WITH SAINTS JOHN THE BAPTIST, ONOPHRIUS, ANTHONY OF PADUA, A BISHOP SAINT (SAINT NICHOLAS OF BARI?) AND OTHER SAINTS, TOGETHER WITH TWO ANGELS

measurements note
20 1/4 by 13 5/8 in.; 51.2 by 34.5 cm.

tempera on panel, gold ground, with a shaped painted top, unframed

NOTE

The artist is thought to have been active in Florence during the third quarter of the 14th century and his paintings are influenced by those of Taddeo Gaddi and Bernardo Daddi, as well as those of Agnolo Gaddi (to whom some of his paintings were formerly attributed). Indeed a hypothetical identification with Agnolo's older brother Giovanni Gaddi, recorded in Florence between 1369 and 1385, had at one time been tentatively proposed. Paintings by this hand were first grouped together under the name of the "Master of the Misericordia" by Richard Offner, after the artist's eponymous work - a Madonna della Misericordia - in the Galleria dell' Accademia, Florence (inv. 8562; reproduced in M. Boskovits, Pittura Fiorentina alla vigilia del Rinascimento 1370-1400, Florence 1975, fig. 225). Characteristic of the Master's works are the facial types of the figures, in particular that of the Madonna, as well as the decorative patterning of both the throne and the carpets in the foreground. This painting shares numerous elements with another panel by the Master, withdrawn from sale in New York, Sotheby's, January 22, 2004, lot 45, in which the motif of a gilt vase with flowers lower centre also appears.

The attribution to the Master of the Misericordia was first suggested by Prof. Miklos Bosvovits (from photographs) and endorsed by Everett Fahy (after first-hand inspection of the painting).