Zanino di Pietro

R. Longhi, "Ancora un panello di Zanino di Pietro" in Paragone, XIII, no. 153, 1962, p.60, reproduced plate 57.

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 small charming work seems to be restored to a good level, and it should be hung in its current condition. The frame is also very attractive and restored. The work has a very healthy paint layer, which may be slightly disturbed in the dark colors around the donkey's head. There are no restorations visible under ultraviolet light. There is a restoration in the archway in the upper right, but the picture appears to be in very good condition
"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."

First documented in Bologna from 1389, Zanino di Pietro there developed his naturalistic style and narrative aptitude.  His signed triptych, a Crucifixion in the Museo Civico, Rieti, is datable to circa 1405 and the inscription, HOC OPUS DIPINXIT ZANINI PETRI HABITATOR VEEXIIS I CTRATA SATE APOLLIARIS, suggests the artist had moved to Venice before its execution.  Along with Jacobello del Fiore and Niccolò di Pietro, Zanino was to become one of the foremost painters in Venice in the early fifteenth century.  Serena Padovani identified Giovanni di Francia, the artist who in 1429 signed a Madonna and Child now in the Palazzo Venezia, Rome, as being one and the same hand as Zanino in Pietro (see S. Padovani, "Una nuova proposta per Zanino di Pietro", in Paragone, vol. XXXVI, 1985, pp. 73-81).

We are grateful to Larry Kanter for endorsing an attribution of this lot to Zanino di Pietro upon firsthand inspection.