Neri di Bicci

Van Gelder collection, Brussels;

In the collection of the father of the present owner by 1965;

Thence by inheritance.

R. Van Marle, The Development of the Italian Schools of Painting, The Hague 1928, reprinted New York 1970, vol. X, p. 540, reproduced p. 539, fig. 322.

The panel is cradled, and is seemingly constructed of a single plank. There are two vertical splits which are not easily noticeable - one at the top 6 inches from the left margin, runs for approx 2 inches. Second at bottom margin, 7 inches from left edge, runs up to the heads of the ox where there is a small area of tenting. Otherwise the condition seems good overall, the paint surface is stable, with only a few surface scuffs and losses, mostly at the edges. The varnish is old and dirty/ discoloured. The gold appears to be original in the halos and fabric trimming, and remains in good condition. Inspection under UV light reveals some minor scattered strengthening sand retouchings, including some in the dark of the ground, some in the shadows of the infant’s and Madonna’s face, but overall in seemingly nice condition. It seems very likely there is some strengthening in the dark cloak of the Madonna but this is not visible under UV light.
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This is a characteristic painting by Neri di Bicci. While his figure types are instantly recognisable, the present work displays a sophistication in the disposition of the figures, particularly that of Joseph peering out from behind the architectural setting, as well as that of John the Baptist gazing into the the scene from the edge of the pictorial plane, which distinguishes it from the bulk of the artist's impressive catalogue.  

Neri was the third in line from a family of artists: his father Bicci di Lorenzo (1373–1452) and his grandfather Lorenzo di Bicci (1350–1427) had been successful painters before him. He was a member of the Compagnia di San Luca in Florence by 1434 and began his artistic career as an assistant in his father’s workshop, taking over its running after Bicci di Lorenzo became ill in 1446. It was after his father’s death in 1452 that Neri di Bicci became an independent artist in his own right and he began keeping a diary, both professional and personal, which covers his principal years of activity from 1453 to 1475. This account, called Le Ricordanze, has been described as 'the most extensive surviving original document to record the activity of a 15th-century painter'.¹ His paintings successfully integrate the early Quattrocento models of his father’s paintings with those of the more naturalistic artists of his own generation, such as Fra Angelico, Domenico Veneziano, Filippo Lippi and Andrea del Castagno. Neri di Bicci and his workshop received a constant stream of commissions from the Florentine nobility and religious institutions, and a number of talented artists were employed by him over the years: Cosimo Rosselli, Giusto d’Andrea, Francesco Botticini and Bernardo di Stefano Rosselli are amongst those documented in the Ricordanze.

1. B. Santi, 'Neri di Bicci', in J. Turner (ed.), The Dictionary of Art, London 1996, vol. II, p. 801. The manuscript of Le Ricordanze consists of 189 sheets and is held at the Uffizi, Florence.