Carlo Portelli da Loro

Robert Staynor Holford (1808-1892), Dorchester House, London and Westonbirt, Gloucestershire;
Thence by descent to Sir George Lindsay Holford (1860-1926);
His deceased sale, London, Christie's, 15 July 1927, lot 95 (as Rosso Fiorentino);
Private collection, Ireland, 1999;
Private collection, Switzeland;
With Lauraine Diggins Fine Art, Melbourne.

Lauraine Diggins Fine Art, Melbourne, Annual Collectors' Exhibition, 2008, pp. 2-5.

H. Milford, The Holford Collection. Dorchester House, vol. 1, Oxford 1927, pp. 5, 28, no. 46, plate XLII, (as Rosso Fiorentino).

The painting is a little less orange in tone than it appears in the catalogue illustration. The support consists of two vertical panels joined to the reverse with wooden batons. There is also a 5 cm horizontal addition to the bottom of the panel. Overall the support appears to be stable although there is a very slight convex bow. The paint surface is secure and in good condition under a discoloured varnish. Inspection under UV light reveals minors scattered retouchings in the lines of the craquelure and some more significant retouching along the horizontal line of the join at the bottom. Offered in a carved gilt wood frame in good condition.
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NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

There are only twenty known works attributed to Carlo Portelli and the present work is an interesting addition to his early oeuvre.  Much work has been done on his late output but there is yet to be a full exploration of Portelli's early influences and development as an artist. 

The present picture clearly shows how formative the influences of his older contemporaries, Pontormo and Rosso Fiorentino, were for the young Portelli and it is no surprise that when in the Holford collection this work was attributed to Rosso.  Whilst the frontal position of the seated Madonna differs from Portelli's better-known three-quarter length and profile depictions (see, for example, the Madonna and Child with Saints Margaret and John the Baptist, Princeton University Art Museum) the sideways position of Christ and the treatment of his hair, his expression and the drapery are much more typical, as is Portelli's exquisite use of pastel shades. 

Despite a later exposure to the work and techniques of Salviati amongst others, Portelli was to remain faithful to the legacy of Rosso throughout his career.  We are grateful to Dott. Pierluigi Carofano for endorsing the attribution to Portelli on the basis of photographs, and for proposing a date execution circa 1535-40.