Čís. položky 4


Workshop of Andrea del Verrocchio


Workshop of Andrea del Verrocchio - Obrazy starých mistrů

(Florence 1435–1488 Venice)
Madonna and Child,
tempera and oil on panel, 60.7 x 44 cm, framed

Provenance:
Private European collection

The present painting appears to be hitherto unpublished and unknown to scholars. It is a typical work painted in the workshop of Andrea del Verrocchio in around 1475 and it is an exceptionally fine example of 15th century Florentine private devotional painting.

The composition, with the Madonna standing behind a ledge and the Child in a gesture of blessing on the left, adopts Verrocchio's most famous composition of the Madonna, of which there are many sculpted and painted versions, made to his design by pupils, collaborators and followers. Among these were some great masters including Botticelli, Domenico Ghirlandaio, Perugino and Lorenzo di Credi, although there is little agreement among critics as to their participation in the works that emerged from the workshop.

The present composition can be compared with the marble relief in the Museo Nazionale, Bargello, Florence (see Fig. 1), which has until recently been considered an autograph work by Verrocchio himself (see A. Butterfield, The Sculptures of Andrea del Verrocchio, New Haven and London 1997, fig. 110) and the plaster cast in the Victoria and Albert Museum in London (inv. no. 7576-1861; see A. Wright Renaissance Florence. The Art of the 1470s, London 1999, pp. 182-83) and the stucco relief in the Dibblee Collection, Oxford (see J. Pope-Hennessy, The Study and Criticism of Italian Sculpture, New York 1980, p. 226). Among the paintings, it is possible to include the panel in the Gemaeldegalerie in the Staatliche Museen in Berlin, (inv. no.108) often attributed to Verrocchio himself or, alternatively, to the young Pietro Perugino, and the Madonna in the Staedelsches Kunstinstitut of Frankfurt (inv. no. 702), accepted as the work by the ‘Master of the Gardner Annunication’, alias Piermatteo d’Amelia (see P. Lee Rubin-A. Wright in Renaissance Florence, op .cit., pp. 78 and foll.).

The positioning of the hand in the foreground, holding the blue flap of the cape, adopts the marble model in the Bargello and the robust body of the Child is directly inspired by studies of cherubs by Verrocchio and his assistants; among them in particular, a drawing in the Jonathan Richardson Collection (Christie’s London, 8th April 1986, Lot 1; see D. A. Brown, Leonardo: Origins of a Genius, New Haven and London 1998, p. 37, fig. 27).This drawing was in the past considered an autograph work, but is now attributed to the workshop.

The typology of the figures and the sculptural modelling achieved by means of loaded brushstrokes, are close to Verrocchio's style as developed by the early Lorenzo di Credi around 1480. A reference to the manner of the young Leonardo can also be detected in the present composition. This is especially evident in the fluid design of the contours and the chromatic range of the deep tones, as well as in the landscape with the pointed, bluish mountains that rise over the water; which is a direct reference to the background in the famous Annunciation for the church of San Bartolomeo at Monteoliveto near Florence and today in the Uffizi (see D. A. Brown, Leonardo: Origins of a Genius, op. cit, pp. 75-99).

Within the group of Madonnas from the Verrocchio workshop, this panel displays some specific characteristics: the realism of the details, such as the blonde hair of the Madonna and the blue eyes of the Child, which is accompanied by a marked striving for a three-dimensional form. The application of paint over a tempera base, is achieved with superimposed layers of thin paint mixed with an oily binder, as revealed in infrared reflectography (see fig. 2); this is a technique similar to that used by the young Leonardo and Lorenzo di Credi, and one that was extremely innovative at the time.

The scene is set in a shaded room, opening on the right to a landscape with a view of a lake, and illuminated on the left by a mullioned window. This is a motif of clear Flemish inspiration, perhaps derived from a prototype by Memling known in Florence, which reappears in the Madonna and Child in the Louvre (R.F. 1266), and is very close in terms of the treatment of light and shade to works believed to be by the young Ghirlandaio dating from the period of his collaboration with Verrocchio (see E. Fahy, in Firenze e gli antichi Paesi Bassi, exhibition catalogue, Florence 2008, pp. 170-71).

Technical analysis

IR reflectography (IRR) shows a linear underdrawing that outlines the figures and the main details of the picture, in a manner typical of the working practice of Verrocchio and the studio. This drawing seems to be made with a thin brush, probably on the basis of a cartoon, as some small lines or dots are apparent behind the veil. Here curly hair was initially drawn and then covered with the blue mantle. It is possible that a sharp, dry drawing medium was used in some areas, probably a metalpoint. A ruler was used under the architecture.
Pentimenti can be detected by IRR. In particular, the book was originally smaller and painted opened, then repainted closed and turned with the pages facing towards the viewer.
Significant changes occurred on the right, where the door went up to the top of the picture originally and, above all, the landscape was different: a fence enclosed part of the scene, with hills and a tall thin tree behind, covering part of the sky. This first version only remained at a drawing stage, and was not painted, possibly as its scale perceived as being to be too big and unbalanced for the proximity to the room, so the current fuller landscape was realized, with a distant horizon. Pigments, characterized by reflectance spectroscopy, include lapis lazuli used for the Madonna’s cloak and azurite for the other blue areas of the picture, such as the sky, the mountains and the water. The green hills were painted with the typical shades of verdigris from Italian 15th century painting; the same pigment is found in the darker green column of the window. Reds include vermillion in the skin tones, mixed with lead white, in the cherries and in the Madonna’s dress, while shadows appear to be obtained by adding black pigment to a red lake, in a manner that also Leonardo and his followers would follow. A good quality carmine-type red lake (from coccid insects) constitutes the book cover.
The extreme accuracy in the study of light and shadow, as we can clearly see on the column, with the shaft of light on the internal side, displays a precision that indicates observation of Flemish painting.
The painted surface conserves its partially raised edges, which display a rare wavy shape.



Additional images:
Fig. 1: Workshop of Andrea del Verocchio (Florence 1435–1488), Madonna and Child, marble, bas-relief, Bargello National Museum, Florence
© Reproduced with the permission of Ministero per i Beni e le Attività Culturali / Raffaello Bencini/Alinari Archives, Florence
Fig. 2: Infrared reflectograph of the present painting

19.04.2016 - 18:00

Dosažená cena: **
EUR 149.400,-
Odhadní cena:
EUR 150.000,- do EUR 200.000,-

Workshop of Andrea del Verrocchio


(Florence 1435–1488 Venice)
Madonna and Child,
tempera and oil on panel, 60.7 x 44 cm, framed

Provenance:
Private European collection

The present painting appears to be hitherto unpublished and unknown to scholars. It is a typical work painted in the workshop of Andrea del Verrocchio in around 1475 and it is an exceptionally fine example of 15th century Florentine private devotional painting.

The composition, with the Madonna standing behind a ledge and the Child in a gesture of blessing on the left, adopts Verrocchio's most famous composition of the Madonna, of which there are many sculpted and painted versions, made to his design by pupils, collaborators and followers. Among these were some great masters including Botticelli, Domenico Ghirlandaio, Perugino and Lorenzo di Credi, although there is little agreement among critics as to their participation in the works that emerged from the workshop.

The present composition can be compared with the marble relief in the Museo Nazionale, Bargello, Florence (see Fig. 1), which has until recently been considered an autograph work by Verrocchio himself (see A. Butterfield, The Sculptures of Andrea del Verrocchio, New Haven and London 1997, fig. 110) and the plaster cast in the Victoria and Albert Museum in London (inv. no. 7576-1861; see A. Wright Renaissance Florence. The Art of the 1470s, London 1999, pp. 182-83) and the stucco relief in the Dibblee Collection, Oxford (see J. Pope-Hennessy, The Study and Criticism of Italian Sculpture, New York 1980, p. 226). Among the paintings, it is possible to include the panel in the Gemaeldegalerie in the Staatliche Museen in Berlin, (inv. no.108) often attributed to Verrocchio himself or, alternatively, to the young Pietro Perugino, and the Madonna in the Staedelsches Kunstinstitut of Frankfurt (inv. no. 702), accepted as the work by the ‘Master of the Gardner Annunication’, alias Piermatteo d’Amelia (see P. Lee Rubin-A. Wright in Renaissance Florence, op .cit., pp. 78 and foll.).

The positioning of the hand in the foreground, holding the blue flap of the cape, adopts the marble model in the Bargello and the robust body of the Child is directly inspired by studies of cherubs by Verrocchio and his assistants; among them in particular, a drawing in the Jonathan Richardson Collection (Christie’s London, 8th April 1986, Lot 1; see D. A. Brown, Leonardo: Origins of a Genius, New Haven and London 1998, p. 37, fig. 27).This drawing was in the past considered an autograph work, but is now attributed to the workshop.

The typology of the figures and the sculptural modelling achieved by means of loaded brushstrokes, are close to Verrocchio's style as developed by the early Lorenzo di Credi around 1480. A reference to the manner of the young Leonardo can also be detected in the present composition. This is especially evident in the fluid design of the contours and the chromatic range of the deep tones, as well as in the landscape with the pointed, bluish mountains that rise over the water; which is a direct reference to the background in the famous Annunciation for the church of San Bartolomeo at Monteoliveto near Florence and today in the Uffizi (see D. A. Brown, Leonardo: Origins of a Genius, op. cit, pp. 75-99).

Within the group of Madonnas from the Verrocchio workshop, this panel displays some specific characteristics: the realism of the details, such as the blonde hair of the Madonna and the blue eyes of the Child, which is accompanied by a marked striving for a three-dimensional form. The application of paint over a tempera base, is achieved with superimposed layers of thin paint mixed with an oily binder, as revealed in infrared reflectography (see fig. 2); this is a technique similar to that used by the young Leonardo and Lorenzo di Credi, and one that was extremely innovative at the time.

The scene is set in a shaded room, opening on the right to a landscape with a view of a lake, and illuminated on the left by a mullioned window. This is a motif of clear Flemish inspiration, perhaps derived from a prototype by Memling known in Florence, which reappears in the Madonna and Child in the Louvre (R.F. 1266), and is very close in terms of the treatment of light and shade to works believed to be by the young Ghirlandaio dating from the period of his collaboration with Verrocchio (see E. Fahy, in Firenze e gli antichi Paesi Bassi, exhibition catalogue, Florence 2008, pp. 170-71).

Technical analysis

IR reflectography (IRR) shows a linear underdrawing that outlines the figures and the main details of the picture, in a manner typical of the working practice of Verrocchio and the studio. This drawing seems to be made with a thin brush, probably on the basis of a cartoon, as some small lines or dots are apparent behind the veil. Here curly hair was initially drawn and then covered with the blue mantle. It is possible that a sharp, dry drawing medium was used in some areas, probably a metalpoint. A ruler was used under the architecture.
Pentimenti can be detected by IRR. In particular, the book was originally smaller and painted opened, then repainted closed and turned with the pages facing towards the viewer.
Significant changes occurred on the right, where the door went up to the top of the picture originally and, above all, the landscape was different: a fence enclosed part of the scene, with hills and a tall thin tree behind, covering part of the sky. This first version only remained at a drawing stage, and was not painted, possibly as its scale perceived as being to be too big and unbalanced for the proximity to the room, so the current fuller landscape was realized, with a distant horizon. Pigments, characterized by reflectance spectroscopy, include lapis lazuli used for the Madonna’s cloak and azurite for the other blue areas of the picture, such as the sky, the mountains and the water. The green hills were painted with the typical shades of verdigris from Italian 15th century painting; the same pigment is found in the darker green column of the window. Reds include vermillion in the skin tones, mixed with lead white, in the cherries and in the Madonna’s dress, while shadows appear to be obtained by adding black pigment to a red lake, in a manner that also Leonardo and his followers would follow. A good quality carmine-type red lake (from coccid insects) constitutes the book cover.
The extreme accuracy in the study of light and shadow, as we can clearly see on the column, with the shaft of light on the internal side, displays a precision that indicates observation of Flemish painting.
The painted surface conserves its partially raised edges, which display a rare wavy shape.



Additional images:
Fig. 1: Workshop of Andrea del Verocchio (Florence 1435–1488), Madonna and Child, marble, bas-relief, Bargello National Museum, Florence
© Reproduced with the permission of Ministero per i Beni e le Attività Culturali / Raffaello Bencini/Alinari Archives, Florence
Fig. 2: Infrared reflectograph of the present painting


Horká linka kupujících Po-Pá: 10.00 - 17.00
old.masters@dorotheum.at

+43 1 515 60 403
Aukce: Obrazy starých mistrů
Typ aukce: Salónní aukce
Datum: 19.04.2016 - 18:00
Místo konání aukce: Wien | Palais Dorotheum
Prohlídka: 09.04. - 19.04.2016


** Kupní cena vč. poplatku kupujícího a DPH

Není již možné podávat příkazy ke koupi přes internet. Aukce se právě připravuje resp. byla již uskutečněna.