Workshop of Alessandro di Mariano Filipepi, called Sandro Botticelli

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 painting is in sound condition overall with a vibrant tonality. The pattern in the green interior of Mary's mantle appears to be original despite wear elsewhere in the picture. Much of this wear runs along the age-related craquelure in the paint, leading to extensive retouching that has a soft and slightly mottled appearance. The gilded halos are significantly abraded and have not been restored. Many of the strong linear contours, typical of Botticelli's workshop technique, have been reinforced in the figures. Retouching to address losses along the joins is slightly discolored. The wood panel support, with the grain running diagonally at approximately 45 degrees clockwise, appears to retain its original thickness; the butterfly inserts across the joins have been replaced and two modern crossbars have been attached to the reverse. The support displays a slight convex warp.
"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."

This charming Madonna and Child with the Young Saint John the Baptist is one of four known versions of this composition, with minor variations, all of which are most likely based on the same unknown prototype.  Two of the other versions, also given to Botticelli’s workshop, were likewise executed in a tondo format, including one in a private collection which formed part of the 2016 Botticelli Reimagined exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London and another, formerly in the Hay collection, Washington DC, sold in these rooms in 1994.¹  The third version, in an upright rectangular format, is now considered an autograph work from late in Botticelli’s career and can be found in the Museum of Fine Art, Boston (fig. 1; inv. no. 95.1372).²


1. The former sold New York, Sotheby’s, 29 January 2015, lot 125, see M. Evans and S. Weppelmann, Botticelli Reimagined, London 2016, p. 269, cat. no. 119, reproduced; the latter sold New York, Sotheby’s, 14 January 1994, lot 4.
2. For the Boston panel see L. Kanter, Italian Paintings in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston 1997, p. 176, cat. no. 52.