Antonio d'Enrico, detto Tanzio da Varallo

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 work has what appears to be an old and stiff lining. The cupping to the paint layer, which is so typical for works of this period, is still quite visible. The painting has probably been recently restored. There seem to be two different campaigns of restorations visible under ultraviolet light. Some retouches are fluorescent and others read the more traditional purple. The bulk of the latter retouches have been applied on the top of the ruff, and there are also some in the forehead and cheek on the left. A vertical strip of about 2 inches on the right edge shows very strongly under ultraviolet light. This could suggest that the entire strip of canvas is a later addition. Alternately, there may be a good deal of restoration in this area, or perhaps some glazing to marry the two surfaces. In addition, retouches that look very milky under ultraviolet can be seen in the eyes, on the right of the nose, in the right side of the mustache, and in the left side of the mouth. There are isolated retouches in the coat, mainly between the fingers and across the bottom edge, and other isolated retouches on his shoulder on the left. Only a few retouches are visible in the left background. The visible texture to the canvas could be improved with some care. But the retouches are quite accurate and the work can also certainly be hung in its current state.
"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."

One of the most strikingly original painters of the early seicento, Tanzio combined the innovations of Caravaggio (whose style had developed in the same tradition of Lombard painting) with his own more robust and eccentric idiom. He trained in his native Varallo with his older brothers, the sculptor Giovanni and the fresco painter Melchiorre d'Enrico, but left in early 1600 for Rome. It is there that he come into contact with the prevailing Caravaggesque style. Tanzo is also believed to have made a trip to Naples and the Abruzzi also, returning to his home town around 1615. His work is defined by the combination of the Caravaggesque realism he learnt on his travels South, with the modified elegance of Lombard Late Mannerism.

We are grateful to Marco Tanzi and Francesco Frangi for both independently confirming the attribution on the basis of photographs.  Tanzi will publish it in a forthcoming article in Prospettiva.  Frangi dates the work to the late 1620s.