MICHELE TOSINI, CALLED MICHELE DI RIDOLFO DEL GHIRLANDAIO | MADONNA AND CHILD WITH ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST

Norton Galleries, before 1955;

Where purchased by Walter P. Chrysler, Jr., Norfolk, 1955;

His sale, New York, Sotheby's, 1 June 1989, lot 19;

Where acquired by Heidi Chin;

By whom sold, New York, Sotheby's, 28 January 2000, lot 14;

Where acquired.

J.C. Harrison, "Italian Art - Fourteenth to Sixteenth Century," in The Chrysler Museum Gallery Guide, Norfolk 1987, p. 4, no. 7, reproduced.

On long-term loan to the Chrysler Museum, Norfolk, VA, August 1973 - 1989

Tosini's adopted name derives from the fact that he both trained and collaborated with Ridolfo Ghirlandaio in Florence. He later worked alongside Giorgio Vasari on the frescoes of the Salone dei Cinquecento in the Palazzo Vecchio. Tosini's version of Florentine mannerism, seen here in the exaggerated poses and musculature of the children, was popular among patrons. Walter P. Chrysler, Jr. was a passionate collector of fine and decorative arts, and had several important 16th- and 17th-century Italian paintings in his collection, including the present lot.