Antonio Zanchi

Anonymous sale, Rome, Christie's, 1 December 1988, lot 274, where acquired by the present owner.

"The following condition report has been provided by Sarah Walden, an independent restorer who is not an employee of Sotheby's. This painting has a fairly old lining and a new stretcher. The restoration is also quite recent and has admirably reintegrated damage caused by past rolling of the canvas. A constant hazard for large paintings, it can of course be safely done with the paint outwards over a rigid core, but in this case the result has been successive horizontal lines of damage. The denser paint in the flesh has suffered more than the dark background, with one horizontal crossing the face and eye of Hercules, and from there spaced out fairly widely down the picture, with a cluster of retouching also around the head of Cacus. The left edge has quite wide retouching as has the base edge, but the majority of retouching is spread across the figures. However the impressive restoration has redressed the accident without any sense of strain or contrivance. Fortunately the unaffected original paint is unworn and intact so that the painting remains remarkably powerful. This report was not done under laboratory conditions."
"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."