Lot 220: ZANOBI DI JACOPO DI PIERO, CALLED ZANOBI MACCHIAVELLI

ZANOBI DI JACOPO DI PIERO, CALLED ZANOBI MACCHIAVELLI 1418/19 - 1479 PISA SAINT JEROME AND THE DONKEY tempera on panel, unframed 6 3/4 by 16 1/4 in.; 17.1 by 41.3 cm.

Nottingham, Nottingham Castle, Midland Counties Art Museum (according to an undated label on the reverse, but not included in the 1878 catalogue of the Museum).

H. Kiel, "Aus der Arbeit der Museen. Italien. Florenz.," in Pantheon, May-June 1968, p. 240;
A. Padoa Rizzo, "Zanobi Macchiavelli miniatore?," in Scritti di storia dell'arte in onore di Roberto Salvini, Florence 1984, pp. 323-324, note 9.

William Graham (1817-1885), Grosvenor Place, London;
His deceased sale, London, Christie's, 2-10 April 1886, as part of lot 182 (Unknown, Scenes from the Life of Saint Jerome), for 9 gns. to Lawrie;
Presumably bought back by the family after the sale and thence by inheritance to Herbert Jekyll, later Colonel Sir Herbert Jekyll (1846-1932), husband to William Graham's daughter, Agnes Graham (according to a label on the reverse, which reads "Major Jekyll");
With Carlo de Carlo, Florence, by 1968;
Anonymous sale, London, Christie's, 10 July 1992, lot 42.

The present painting once formed part of the predella to an altarpiece by the Florentine painter Zanobi Macchiavelli. Currently five of the predella panels are known, depicting scenes from the lives of Saints Jerome and Augustine. These panels include three works that were recorded by Berenson -- Saint Jerome and the Lion; Burial of Saint Jerome; and Saint Jerome Appearing to Saint Augustine (1)-- to which Kiel and Padoa Rizzo have added the present lot and a Death of Saint Augustine that was exhibited with Wildenstein in the 1960s.(2 )Kiel has also proposed that a Madonna and Child Enthroned with Saints John the Baptist, Jerome, Anthony Abbot, Mary Magdalene and a Donor (transfered from panel to canvas; formerly in the collection of Charles Livijn, London and published by Berenson in 1950 as "homeless"(3)) is the central panel from the same altarpiece (see Literature).

The panel tells the story of how, after Saint Jerome had removed the thorn from a lions paw, he became tame and was of service to him and the other monks. They tasked the lion with protecting their donkey when he went out of the monastery to collect firewood; however, one day the lion fell asleep and the donkey was stolen by a band of merchants. Consumed by guilt, the lion searched every day for his friend until he saw him carting goods along the highway with the merchants and their camels. Roaring with delight, the lion charged the caravan and scattered the men. He then led the donkey and the camels back to the monastery, where Jerome and the other monks received them. The thieves follow them there to apologize for their greed, whereupon the Saint forgives them. The artist has here depicted both the procession of the lion, donkey and camels and, simultaneously, Saint Jerome pardoning the merchants. Of the extant predella panels, the present work seems to be the second in the series, coming chronologically after Saint Jerome and the Lion. Indeed, there are many stylistic and narrative similarities between the two: both depict the action taking place right outside the cloister of the monastery, seen on the left, and in both, the lion is depicted quite regally and naturalistically, with a slightly curly, flowing mane and upraised paw. Although most of the panels seem to relate to the life and miracles of Saint Jerome, the inclusion of Saint Jerome Appearing to Saint Augustine and The Death of Saint Augustine would seem to suggest that the predella was composed of numerous other panels as well and depicted scenes from the lives of both saints.(4)

According to Vasari, Zanobi Macchiavelli was a student of Benozzo Gozzoli. He seems also to have been aware of the work of Fra Filippo Lippi, as a number of his early Madonnas were at one time given to that master. Macchiavelli's use of light and his rich, heavy draperies recall the work of Pesellino, and in fact, Macchiavelli was at one time confused with Zanobi di Migliore, who in 1453 entered into a three year contract with Pesellino and two other artists. Macchiavelli is in fact a distinct personality and his workshop seems to have been actively mainly in the area surrounding Florence and Pisa.

This work has been dated to the early 1460s, based on similarities to a Saint Jerome dated 1463 in Berlin. The gold ornaments on the edges of the panel appear to be later additions, as they do not appear on any of the other predella panels.


1. See B. Berenson, Italian Pictures of the Renaissance. Florentine School, London 1963, vol. I, p. 125, reproduced vol. II, figs. 805-807 and B. Berenson, Homeless Paintings of the Renaissance, London 1969, pp. 178-179, reproduced figs. 321a, b, c.
2. Wildenstein & Co., London, The Art of Painting in Florence & Siena from 1250 to 1500: A Loan Exhibition, exh. cat. 24 February - 10 April 1965, London 1965, p. 29, no. 50, reproduced fig. 52 (as Domenico di Michelino, Death of Saint Benedict).
3. B. Berenson, "Zanobi Macchiavelli," in The Burlington Magazine, vol. XCII, December 1950, p. 349, reproduced p. 347, fig. 20.
4. A. Padoa Rizzo, op. cit.