Giuseppe Cesari, called Il Cavalier d'Arpino

With Leger Galleries, Ltd., London, by 1930;
With Gallery M. and C. Sestieri, Rome, by 1960;
From whom acquired by Joseph F. McCrindle, New York and London, 1962;
Henfield Foundation;
By whom given to the Minneapolis Institute of Art, 1962 (Acc.no. 62.4). 

Arpino, Italy, Museo Civico; Rome, Palazzo di Venezia, Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Antica,  Guiseppe Cesare Il Cavaliere d'Arpino, 1973;
Minneapolis, Minnesota, Minneapolis Institute of Arts, Problems in Connoisseurship, 16 February 1985 - February 1986.

A. Clark, "Cavaliere d'Arpino's Virgin and Child with Saints,", in The Minneapolis Institute of Arts Bulletin, vol. LI, June 1962, p. 47-8, reproduced, p. 48;
The Art Quarterly, vol. XXV, Summer, 1962, p. 176, reproduced, p. 170;
Gazette des Beaux-Arts, La Chronique des Arts, February 1963, p. 66;
W. Vitzhum, "The Cavaliere d'Arpino's Madonna and Child with Saints John the Baptist, Mary Magdalen and Anna," in The Minneapolis Institute of Arts Bulletin, vol. LIX, 1970, pp. 48-51, reproduced, p. 48;
Catalogue of European Paintings in the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, Minneapolis 1970, pp.  398, cat. no. 212, reproduced, p. 399;
B. Fredericksen and F. Zeri, Census of Pre-Nineteenth Century Italian Paintings in North American Public Collections, Cambridge, Massachusetts 1972, p. 52;
H. Röttgen, in Bolaffi Arte, 1973, reproduced (review of exhibition held in Arpino and Rome);
L. Steinberg, The Sexuality of Christ in Renaissance Art and Modern Oblivion,  Cottin, France, 1986, p. 134;
R. Contini, Pietro Cortona per la Sua Terra da Allievo a Maestro, Milan 1997;
H. Röttgen, Il cavalier Giuseppe Cesari D'Arpino, Un grande pittore nello splendore della fama e nell' incostanza della fortuna, Rome 2002, pp. 25, 256-7, cat. no. 33, reproduced in color, p. 25. 

While the paint surface has suffered somewhat, the composition and image overall are impressive and there remain some nice passages of paint such as the Child, the hair of Mary Magdalene and in St. Elizabeth's drapery. The canvas is relined and somewhat pressed overall. There are scattered restorations that are now visible to the naked eye, particularly in the Virgin's blue mantle and the painting has suffered from abrasion, again notably in the blue which is perhaps due to oxidation. There is an old repair over what appears to be a puncture in the pink drapery over the Virgin's leg lower center and scattered reworkings in the background lower right. Inspection under UV reveals a possible old scratch or tear on the right most figure's hand, a possible old horizontal tear 6 in. from the upper edge and a etar in the arm of John the Baptist at right. There are retouches throughout the flesh tones particularly in Mary Magdalene. The painting requires a certain amount of attention and careful conservation but readdressing some of the discolored restorations would improve its appearance significantly. Offered in a carved gilt wood frame.
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.

Herman Voss was the first modern scholar to attribute this painting to the Cavaliere d'Arpino. Since that point, it has been universally accepted as a key work from Cesari's early maturity.¹ The composition is based on a full scale preparatory drawing in the Musée Pincé, Angers, comparison with which indicates that the painting is in fact a fragment, originally conceived as a large scale altarpiece, approximatley 2.7 by 2 meters, with full length figures and Saint James on the right, whose drapery is still partially visible at the right edge of the canvas.² Herwarth Röttgen dates the picture to 1592-3, and compares it to the Madonna from Cesari's Crucifixion with Mary, Saint John the Evangelist, and Mary Magdalene (Certosa di San Martino, Naples), a picture commissioned from the artist on 28 June 1589, only a couple years prior to the present work.³ The model used for the Madonna in both the present painting and in the Certosa di San Martino picture appear to be the same, and in dress, pose, and handling they are indeed markedly similar. The same can be said for the figure of Saint Anne, who appears to derive directly from Cesari's preparatory drawing (Gabinetto Disegni e Stampe degli Uffizi, Florence) for the head of an old woman from his fresco series in the Capella Contarelli, Rome. 

1.  See Literature, Röttgen 2002, p. 256.
2.  See Literature, Vitzhum 1970.
3.  Ibid, p. 254.