Lot No. 35 -


Michele Tosini, called Michele di Ridolfo del Ghirlandaio


Michele Tosini, called Michele di Ridolfo del Ghirlandaio - Old Master Paintings I

(Florence 1503–1577)
Saint Mary Magdalene,
oil on panel, 88 x 70.4 cm, framed

We are grateful to Heidi Hornik for confirming the attribution after examination of the present painting in the original and for her help in cataloguing (written communication).

Heidi Hornik considers this painting of Saint Mary Magdalene to be an important addition to the artist’s oeuvre. Tosini positions Mary Magdalene in a cave. There is a rocky landscape in the background. The Saint gazes upwards in an elegant turn, lifting a thin, translucent white veil across her breast that is held by the slender fingers of her right hand. The iconographical symbols of the Magdalene appear in the lower portion of the painting. An open prayer book is in the lower right while her left hand grasps the alabaster jar. The graceful long neck captures Mannerism at its most beautiful. Also striking, apart from the refined pose and the white flesh tones of her left arm, reminiscent of Michelangelo, is the sheer sumptuousness and luxury of the fabrics of her dress. The undulating drapery with shimmering folds create different layers typical of Tosini. Clearly, Tosini’s Magdalene is not only a penitent sinner.

Heidi Hornik has analysed the changing image of Saint Mary Magdalene in Renaissance art in the course of the late fifteenth and the sixteenth century, and Tosini’s contribution to the iconographical development (see H. Hornik, Michele Tosini and the Ghirlandaio Workshop in Cinquecento Florence, Portland 2009, pp. 104–110). Tosini’s Magdalenes offered the sixteenth-century aristocratic viewer and patron a portrait not of a woman scarred by the rigors of her penitential practices, as Donatello would have portrayed her in the early fifteenth century, nor the bland, aloof women with no attributes that Perugino had painted. Neither is she the voluptuous seductress of Titian, though a certain influence of the Venetian master’s inventions in the iconography of Saint Mary Magdalene is certainly discernible in the present composition. Tosini’s direct connection to Titian’s Magdalenes came from their mutual friend Giorgio Vasari. Tosini, in his noble but emotional representation is commendable for finding a way to give his patrons, their wives, and the church an appropriate image of Mary Magdalene as he understood her and as they could relate to her: A female saint who could be sensual but decorous, stylish but identifiable, repentant but physically beautiful. It is very clear who Mary Magdalene was to Tosini. She was a saint, a sinner, and a beautiful, confident woman whom he chose to paint in a way that appealed to his male patrons as well as their wives. Tosini combined aristocratic tastes and elements of courtly portraiture favoured by the ruling families. Mary Magdalene, in her role as sinner-turned-penitent, offered an excellent role model for a sixteenth century elite audience (see H. Hornik, The Invention and Development of the ‘Secular’ Mary Magdalene in Late Renaissance Florentine Painting, in: Mary Magdalene in Medieval Culture. Conflicted Roles, ed. by P. Loewen, R. Waugh, in the series Routledge Studies in Medieval Literature and Culture, New York/Oxon 2014, pp. 75-97).

Michele di Jacopo Tosini was born to the Florentine family of Jacopo Tosini, a gatekeeper of the city. His earliest biographer was his friend and colleague, Giorgio Vasari, who describes that Tosini initially trained in the workshops of Lorenzo di Credi (1459–1537) and Antonio del Ceraiolo (d. 1525). He then joined the Ghirlandaio workshop under the direction of Ridolfo (son of Domencio Ghirlandaio, the teacher of Michelangelo) at the age of thirteen in 1516. According to Vasari, Ridolfo loved Michele like a son, causing Michele to be known as Michele di Ridolfo del Ghirlandaio. After Ridolfo’s death in 1564, Tosini took over the Ghirlandaio workshop. His excellent reputation among wealthy patrons meant that his developing ‘secularized type’ of portrait of Mary Magdalene not only conflicted with the earlier precedents, but also was very influential. Michele, alongside Bronzino, Montorsoli, and Vasari helped to establish the Accademia del Disegno in 1563, and his influence grew even further, because this event changed the way future artists would be trained. Stylistically, in the 1560s Tosini adapted the maniera of Francesco Salviati, Agnolo Bronzino, and Michelangelo. The Mannerist style of his paintings of this period – including the figure illustrated here – can be characterized as elegant, ornate, decorative, and with meticulous attention to detail. Bright changeant or changing colours resembled the coloured light as reflected off beautifully woven silk and showed off the sitter’s wealth through the luxurious textures and thickness of the draperies depicted in the paintings. Female portraiture exaggerated the long, graceful necklines and slender fingers of the sitters. Certain female saints became popular for private viewing and devotion by wealthy audiences who wanted to relate to these women – indeed, the most frequently painted saints in Florence in the 1570s were Mary Magdalene, Catherine, and Helen.

The present Saint Mary Magdalene can be dated to circa 1565–1570. Heidi Hornik compares it with another Magdalene by Tosini (circa 1570, oil on panel, 87 x 65,7 cm, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, the Samuel H. Kress Collection). Whilst the present painting shares with the Houston painting the iconography of a Magdalene as a noble, beautifully dressed, courtly woman, it emphasizes the penitent aspect of her more than other comparable works. She is sensuous and elegant while regaining her role as penitent and intercessor for the faithful at the same time.

22.10.2019 - 17:00

Realized price: **
EUR 95,867.-
Estimate:
EUR 60,000.- to EUR 80,000.-

Michele Tosini, called Michele di Ridolfo del Ghirlandaio


(Florence 1503–1577)
Saint Mary Magdalene,
oil on panel, 88 x 70.4 cm, framed

We are grateful to Heidi Hornik for confirming the attribution after examination of the present painting in the original and for her help in cataloguing (written communication).

Heidi Hornik considers this painting of Saint Mary Magdalene to be an important addition to the artist’s oeuvre. Tosini positions Mary Magdalene in a cave. There is a rocky landscape in the background. The Saint gazes upwards in an elegant turn, lifting a thin, translucent white veil across her breast that is held by the slender fingers of her right hand. The iconographical symbols of the Magdalene appear in the lower portion of the painting. An open prayer book is in the lower right while her left hand grasps the alabaster jar. The graceful long neck captures Mannerism at its most beautiful. Also striking, apart from the refined pose and the white flesh tones of her left arm, reminiscent of Michelangelo, is the sheer sumptuousness and luxury of the fabrics of her dress. The undulating drapery with shimmering folds create different layers typical of Tosini. Clearly, Tosini’s Magdalene is not only a penitent sinner.

Heidi Hornik has analysed the changing image of Saint Mary Magdalene in Renaissance art in the course of the late fifteenth and the sixteenth century, and Tosini’s contribution to the iconographical development (see H. Hornik, Michele Tosini and the Ghirlandaio Workshop in Cinquecento Florence, Portland 2009, pp. 104–110). Tosini’s Magdalenes offered the sixteenth-century aristocratic viewer and patron a portrait not of a woman scarred by the rigors of her penitential practices, as Donatello would have portrayed her in the early fifteenth century, nor the bland, aloof women with no attributes that Perugino had painted. Neither is she the voluptuous seductress of Titian, though a certain influence of the Venetian master’s inventions in the iconography of Saint Mary Magdalene is certainly discernible in the present composition. Tosini’s direct connection to Titian’s Magdalenes came from their mutual friend Giorgio Vasari. Tosini, in his noble but emotional representation is commendable for finding a way to give his patrons, their wives, and the church an appropriate image of Mary Magdalene as he understood her and as they could relate to her: A female saint who could be sensual but decorous, stylish but identifiable, repentant but physically beautiful. It is very clear who Mary Magdalene was to Tosini. She was a saint, a sinner, and a beautiful, confident woman whom he chose to paint in a way that appealed to his male patrons as well as their wives. Tosini combined aristocratic tastes and elements of courtly portraiture favoured by the ruling families. Mary Magdalene, in her role as sinner-turned-penitent, offered an excellent role model for a sixteenth century elite audience (see H. Hornik, The Invention and Development of the ‘Secular’ Mary Magdalene in Late Renaissance Florentine Painting, in: Mary Magdalene in Medieval Culture. Conflicted Roles, ed. by P. Loewen, R. Waugh, in the series Routledge Studies in Medieval Literature and Culture, New York/Oxon 2014, pp. 75-97).

Michele di Jacopo Tosini was born to the Florentine family of Jacopo Tosini, a gatekeeper of the city. His earliest biographer was his friend and colleague, Giorgio Vasari, who describes that Tosini initially trained in the workshops of Lorenzo di Credi (1459–1537) and Antonio del Ceraiolo (d. 1525). He then joined the Ghirlandaio workshop under the direction of Ridolfo (son of Domencio Ghirlandaio, the teacher of Michelangelo) at the age of thirteen in 1516. According to Vasari, Ridolfo loved Michele like a son, causing Michele to be known as Michele di Ridolfo del Ghirlandaio. After Ridolfo’s death in 1564, Tosini took over the Ghirlandaio workshop. His excellent reputation among wealthy patrons meant that his developing ‘secularized type’ of portrait of Mary Magdalene not only conflicted with the earlier precedents, but also was very influential. Michele, alongside Bronzino, Montorsoli, and Vasari helped to establish the Accademia del Disegno in 1563, and his influence grew even further, because this event changed the way future artists would be trained. Stylistically, in the 1560s Tosini adapted the maniera of Francesco Salviati, Agnolo Bronzino, and Michelangelo. The Mannerist style of his paintings of this period – including the figure illustrated here – can be characterized as elegant, ornate, decorative, and with meticulous attention to detail. Bright changeant or changing colours resembled the coloured light as reflected off beautifully woven silk and showed off the sitter’s wealth through the luxurious textures and thickness of the draperies depicted in the paintings. Female portraiture exaggerated the long, graceful necklines and slender fingers of the sitters. Certain female saints became popular for private viewing and devotion by wealthy audiences who wanted to relate to these women – indeed, the most frequently painted saints in Florence in the 1570s were Mary Magdalene, Catherine, and Helen.

The present Saint Mary Magdalene can be dated to circa 1565–1570. Heidi Hornik compares it with another Magdalene by Tosini (circa 1570, oil on panel, 87 x 65,7 cm, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, the Samuel H. Kress Collection). Whilst the present painting shares with the Houston painting the iconography of a Magdalene as a noble, beautifully dressed, courtly woman, it emphasizes the penitent aspect of her more than other comparable works. She is sensuous and elegant while regaining her role as penitent and intercessor for the faithful at the same time.


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Auction: Old Master Paintings I
Auction type: Saleroom auction
Date: 22.10.2019 - 17:00
Location: Vienna | Palais Dorotheum
Exhibition: 12.10. - 22.10.2019


** Purchase price incl. charges and taxes(Country of delivery: Austria)

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