Lot 214: Studio of Francesco Raibolini, il Francia (Bologna c. 1450-1517)

Studio of Francesco Raibolini, il Francia (Bologna c. 1450-1517)
The Madonna and Child with two angels
oil on panel
13½ x 10¼ in. (34.3 x 26 cm.)

E. Negro and N. Roio, Francesco Francia e la sua Scuola, Modena, 1998, p. 170, no. 41.e, as 'deriving from Francia's panel in Raleigh'.

Lillian Rojtman Berkman, New York; (+) Sotheby's, New York, 28 January 2005, lot 524, as 'Studio of Il Francia' ($72,000).

This Madonna and Child with two angels derives from Francesco Francia's signed panel in the North Carolina Museum of Art, Raleigh and the painting in the Boymans-Van Beuningen Museum, Rotterdam (E. Negro and N. Roio, pp. 168-169, nos. 41.a and 41.b). The composition was first adopted by Francia in an earlier panel (Alte Pinakothek, Munich; op. cit., p. 166, no. 37) and is notable because of its close association with the work of Pietro Perugino and Umbrian painting. The present painting is one of three known studio variants and faithfully adheres to Francia's composition.