Michelangelo Cerquozzi

Alessandro Morandotti, Rome.

F. Zeri (ed.), Storia dell'Arte Italiana, Turin 1981, vol. VI,  reproduced fig. 273, p. 375;
G. Briganti, L. Laureati, L. Trezzani, The Bamboccianti: The Painters of Everyday Life in Seventeenth Century Rome, english edition, Rome 1983, p. 375.

The following condition report has been provided by Simon Parkes of Simon Parkes Art Conservation, Inc. 502 East 74th St. New York, NY 212-734-3920, simonparkes@msn.com , an independent restorer who is not an employee of Sotheby's. This large and amusing painting is in healthy condition. However, the restoration is not particularly successful. The canvas has been lined with a paste glue, most likely in the last 50 years, and at that time it is likely that the paint layer was also restored. Across the top of the picture paint loss has extended into the picture proper roughly two inches deep running from left to right. Cosmetic retouches have been applied to the edges generally, filling losses that have occurred around the extreme edges. In the picture proper there are fairly broad restorations here and there within the sky and while it is expected that prominent canvas weave be retouched in pictures like this, these retouches have been applied in a shoddy fashion and could be improved, although they are quite sparing considering the period and type of canvas. In the lower portion of the picture in the foreground there is a reasonably significant vertical restoration measuring approximately eight inches in the landscape in the center of the left side. There is a restoration in the neck of the fox. There is a horizontal restoration in the lower right running approximately four inches long. In the donkey itself, to the immediate left of the nose there is a vertical restoration running approximately four inches and a couple of others in the nose and in the ears. All of these restorations have been lazily applied and this picture would benefit from a fresh examination from a restorer. The fillings and restorations across the top edge have become unstable and if the picture were not to be cleaned, consolidation in this area would be required and a light coat of varnish would improve the picture. However, cleaning the painting would ultimately make the most difference.
"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 painting depicts a scene from a fable or folk tale.  Although it is somewhat difficult to be certain which fable is represented, it is likely Aesop's "The Ass, the Fox and the Lion."  In Aesop's tale, the fox and the donkey enter into an alliance for their mutual protection before going hunting together in the forest; however, the fox soon turns on the donkey, luring him into a pit for a lion.  Once the donkey is trapped, the lion turns on the fox, devouring him first, before eating his helpless companion.  A warning to never trust your enemy, Cerquozzi's image does not hint at the brutal end that awaits the two creatures. His donkey seems almost monumental, and the interaction between the two animals is striking in its humanity. 

Michelangelo Cerquozzi was a leading member of the Bamboccianti, a group of mainly foreign artists active in Rome, who worked in the manner of Pieter van Laer (1599-1642), called il Bamboccio, producing small works focusing on trivial or low-life subjects, related to contemporary Italian street-life.  Cerquozzi's most accomplished works blend the naturalism of the bamboccianti with strong narrative and anecdotal elements.  His Revolt of Masaniello (Galleria di Palazzo Spada, Rome), for example, is comic-heroic in its compact, matter-of-fact portrayal of the anti-Spanish rebellion that took place in the Piazza del Mercato in Naples in 1647. 

We are grateful to Laura Laureati for confirming the attribution to Cerquozzi based on photographs.