Pietro della Vecchia

Earl of Ashburnham, Ashburnham Place, Sussex, before 1877 to 1931;
Frank T. Sabin, London, 1931;
Anonymous sale, London, Christie's, 20 July 1956, lot 51, for £262, to Oscar Klein;
With Central Picture Galleries, New York;
From whom purchased by Marc and Lillian Rojtman, New York;
By whose estate sold, New York, Sotheby's, 28 January 2005, lot 543 (as attributed to Pietro della Vecchia).

London, Royal Academy, Winter Exhibition, 6 January – 15 March 1902, no. 86.

G.M. Richter, 'Two Titian Self-Portraits', in The Burlington Magazine, 1931, vol. 58, pp. 161–68 (as Titian, circa 1550);
APC (Art Prices Current), vol. XXXIII, London 1955–56, no. 4414;
B. Berenson, Italian Pictures of the Renaissance, Venetian School, London 1957, vol. I, p. 183, reproduced vol. II, plate 1008 (as Titian, circa 1560);
H.E. Wethey, The Paintings of Titian. II. The Portraits, London 1971, p. 180, cat. no. X-94 (as a 17th-century copy after Titian);
F. Rusk Shapley, Catalogue of the Italian Paintings, National Gallery of Art, Washington 1979, p. 519 (as a 17th-century copy after Titian);
B. Aikema, Pietro della Vecchia and the Heritage of the Renaissance in Venice, Florence 1990, pp. 28, 143, cat. no. 174 (as Pietro della Vecchia, circa 1650).
M. Merling in D. de Grazia and E. Gaberson, et al., Italian Paintings of the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries: The Collection of the National Gallery of Art, New York and Oxford 1996, p. 330, reproduced fig. 2 (as attributed to Titian).

The canvas has been relined and the paint surface is slightly dirty. The ground of the painting has become visible in multiple areas, particularly around the artist's head and beard, and in the folds of his sleeves and fur coat. There is a vertical line running the height of the canvas, approx. 5 cm. from the left margin, and another horizontal line, approx. 3 cm. from the lower margin, both due to the stretcher. Another vertical line running the height of the canvas, approx. 20 cm. from the right margin, has been caused by a fold or a seam in the canvas. Inspection under ultraviolet light reveals a rather opaque, milky varnish, as well as retouching to the aforementioned stretcher marks and spot retouching throughout, notably in the artist's right sleeve at his wrist, in the canvas he holds, and in the face of the statue behind. The painting is in overall fair condition. Offered in an elaborately carved, foliate gilt wood frame in good condition.
"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. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

This would appear to be the picture formerly in the collection of the Earl of Ashburnham, Ashburnham Place, Sussex, where it was long considered to be a self-portrait by Titian. Published as such by Berenson, it was subsequently doubted by scholars in the field. Aikema was the first to publish the picture as by Pietro della Vecchia and he considers it an autograph variant of Della Vecchia's Portrait of Titian in the National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C.¹ Giovanni Britto's print of 1550 in the British Museum, London,² may have served Della Vecchia as a source for both paintings, though it has also been hypothesised that they reflect an original painting by Titian (now lost). A painting believed to be by Titian, showing the artist drawing with a statue of Venus beyond, is described in a letter of 1675 from Marco Boschini to Cardinal Leopoldo de' Medici,³ though it is by no means certain that the attribution to Titian was correct.

1. See Wethey 1971, pp. 179–80, cat. no. X-93, plate 273, and more recently, Aikema 1990, pp. 142–43, cat. no. 173, reproduced fig. 57.
2. See Wethey 1971, reproduced plate 208. 
3. See L. Procacci and U. Procacci, 'Il Carteggio di Marco Boschini con il Cardinale Leopoldo de' Medici', in Saggi e Memorie di Storia dell'Arte, no. 4, 1965, p. 98.