Master of the Greenville Tondo

Private Collection, Brussels, by 1922;
By whom sold, Brussels, Sainte-Gudule, 29-30 June 1922, lot 152 (as Raffaellino del Garbo);
With Silberman Galleries, Vienna and New York;
With Newhouse Galleries, New York (as by Eusebio da San Giorgio).

D. Stephen Pepper, Bob Jones University Collection of Religious Art: Italian Paintings, Greenville, S.C. 1984, p. 317;
F. Todini, La Pittura Umbria, Milan 1989, vol. I, p. 197.

This tondo panel appears flat, stable, and supported by cradling on the reverse. Overall the condition of the painting is quite good. An older, slightly milky varnish has discolored over time and thus the painting appears slightly dirty to the naked eye. While there might be some minor retouches beneath this varnish it is difficult to tell. On top of the varnish there are a few minor retouches which are applied quite locally, such as in the green drapery of the Madonna and the fur of St. John. Overall, the paint quality appears high and in actuality there appear to be no major areas of damage. In a carved and gilded wooden frame. The top left corner of the frame is loose
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

The present tondo is one of a small group of  works by the anonymous painter known as the Master of the Greenville Tondo. Federico Zeri isolated the personality of this painter around a tondo depicting the Madonna and Child with Angels in the collection of the Bob Jones University in Greenville, South Carolina.¹ Both Everett Fahy and Zeri subseqently added a number of compositions to this artist's oeuvre, categorizing him as a close Tuscan follower of Perugino.² The early work of the Master can be identified in two compositions, a large altarpiece in the church of Santa Cristina at Pacole near San Gimignano, and in another tondo, depicting the Madonna and Child with Two Angels, in the Ca' d'Oro in Venice.³

Stylistically, the face of the Virgin in the present work may be compared with that of the Virgin's face in the Jonas Nativity (St. Petersburg, Florida, Museum of Fine Arts). Both depictions of the Virgin emphasize the soft, idealized attributes so recognizable in the work of Perugino and his immediate followers. Additionally, both the St. Petersburg work and the present composition were at one time erroneously attributed by Wilhelm Suida to Eusebio da San Giorgio, a fact which helps demonstrate the close links with which the present artist shares with Perugino's followers.

We are grateful to Everett Fahy, who first identified the present work as by the Master of the Greenville Tondo in 1966, for confirming its attribution based on firsthand inspection.

 

1.  A. Scharf, The Bob Jones University Collection of Religious Paintings, Greenville 1962, p. 54.
2.  The twenty-one works cited are listed in the Bob Jones University catalogue, which addresses the fact that Zeri omits the eponymous work in his catalogue, Italian Paintings in the Walters Art Museum, Baltimore 1976, p. 179.
3.  Zeri 1976, p. 179.