Vincenzo Tamagni

Dr. Rothmann, Berlin, in 1927;
With Fischer Lucerna;
Kisters collection, Kreuzlingen, by 1965.

The following condition report has been provided by Karen Thomas of Thomas Art Conservation LLC., 336 West 37th Street, Suite 830, New York, NY 10018, 212-564-4024, info@thomasartconservation.com, an independent restorer who is not an employee of Sotheby's. This picture is in very good condition overall, with the artist's delicate sfumato technique nicely preserved. Restoration, limited primarily to repairs along the joins, isolated areas of craquelure, and minor losses is readily visible under ultraviolet illumination. Scattered tiny unretouched losses are not visibly obtrusive. Normal age-related increased transparency of the paint has allowed pentimenti to develop, including adjustments to the positions of the hands. Localized fine networks of miniscule drying cracks, such as in portions of the hair and in the band across the chest, result in a softening of details. The varnish has an even satiny surface. The wood support displays a marked lateral convex warp and the joins and old cracks (repaired) are visible in raking light. The back of the panel could not be accessed for examination due to the climate enclosure attached to the painting. This painting appears to have been relatively recently restored and can be displayed in its current condition.
"This lot is offered for sale subject to Sotheby's Conditions of Business, which are available on request and printed in Sotheby's sale catalogues. The independent reports contained in this document are provided for prospective bidders' information only and without warranty by Sotheby's or the Seller."

Federico Zeri was the first to ascribe this striking portrait to Vincenzo Tamagni in 1965, when the painting was in the Kisters collection, Kreuzlingen (see Provenance) and the attribution was more recently endorsed by Carlo Falciani.  Born in the Tuscan town of San Gimignano, Vincenzo Tamagni was a pupil of Giovanni Antonio Bazzi, called Sodoma.  His early works, such as the Virgin and Child with Saints in the ex-pharmacy of the Ospedale di Santa Maria della Croce in Montalcino, Siena, were very much in the style of his master, whom Tamagni closely imitated.  After a brief sojourn in Rome, the artist returned to Siena at which point his works took on the influence Andrea del Brescianino. 

This arresting portrait is clearly indebted to Brescianino’s painting style: the soft sfumato effects employed for the molding of the drapery folds and of the face, the heavily shaded eyes and pert little mouth instantly recall the Sienese master.  The face here can be closely compared to that of the sitter in Brescianino’s Portrait of a Lady now in the Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Antica di Palazzo Barberini, Rome (inv. no. 1778).¹

We are grateful to Carlo Falciani for endorsing the attribution following firsthand inspection.

 

1.  L. Mochi Onori and R. Vodret Adamo, Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Antica. Palazzo Barberini, i dipinti. Catalogo sistematico, Rome 2008, p. 311.