Carlo Dolci

With Robilant and Voena, London;
From whom acquired by a private collector.

F. Baldassari, La pittura del Seicento a Firenze, Indice degli artisti e delle loro opere, Turin 2009, p. 332, reproduced in colour p. 47, plate XXVIII, and detail p. 330, fig. 144.

The following condition report is provided by Hamish Dewar who is an external specialist and not an employee of Sotheby's: Structural Condition The canvas has an old lining which has itself been strengthened with a more recent thin strip lining and this is ensuring a generally secure structural support, although there is one slightly raised line of craquelure running across the blue veil of the Madonna. This area, although raised, appears to be stable and could perhaps be further secured with localised consolidation. There is an overall pattern of very fine lines of drying craquelure which have been successfully secured by the lining process. Paint Surface The paint surface has an even varnish layer. Inspection under ultra-violet light shows a number of retouchings which appear to have been carefully applied to cover flake losses. The most significant of these are in the lower left and lower right of the composition, to the left and right of the Madonna's hands in the blue pigments of Her cloak. The largest of these two retouchings measure approximately 12 x 2.5 cm and 3 x 3.5. There is a further area measuring approximately 3.5 x 1 cm in the Madonna's blue veil and other scattered spots and lines of inpainting. There are also retouchings around the outer framing edges and an area in the background just below the upper horizontal framing edge which measures approximately 3 x 1 cm . There are minimal retouchings on the face and hands of the Madonna which appear well preserved. Summary The painting would therefore appear to be in good condition and the only area that may need to be addressed is the slightly raised line of craquelure mentioned above.
"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 intimate and melancholy portrayal of the Madonna at prayer was painted by Carlo Dolci, Florence's leading painter of the seventeenth century. The artist was successful in his lifetime and enjoyed the patronage of the Medici court, for whom he produced both portraits and works for private devotion, similar to the present work. The deep blue robe and the pearly fleshtones are characteristic, as is the placement of the protagonist so close to the pictorial plane. 

The composition is known through variants and copies, the best of which, and closest in layout to the present work, is the larger oval canvas (82.5 by 67 cm.) formerly with the Trafalgar Galleries, London.¹ Another half-length variant, in which the Madonna's face is turned further towards the viewer, is in the Musée du Louvre, Paris.² In both the London and Paris versions, as here, the artist depicts with great naturalism and sensitivity the Virgin's exquisite hands which are clasped in prayer, in a fashion that brings to mind the work of the other great Catholic painter of the period, Giovanni Battista Salvi, known as Sassoferrato, who was active in Rome and who specialised in such scenes.³

1. See F. Baldassari, Carlo Dolci, Turin 1995, pp. 125–26, cat. no. 99, reproduced plate XXVII.
2. Ibid., p. 125, cat. no. 98, reproduced.
3. See, for example, the work sold in these Rooms, 6 December 2007, lot 261, for £180,000.