Master of the Assumption of the Magdalene

Madonna and Child holding a goldfinch

Auction Closed

May 20, 03:42 PM GMT

Estimate

150,000 - 250,000 USD

Lot Details

Description

Property from a Distinguished Private Collection

Master of the Assumption of the Magdalene

Active in Ferrara first quarter of the 16th century

Madonna and Child holding a goldfinch

oil on panel

panel: 15 ¼ by 12 in.; 39 by 30.5 cm.

framed: 22 ½ by 19 ¼ in.; 57.2 by 48.9 cm.

Please note the additional provenance.

Probably Poniatowski collection (as indicated by wax seal coat of arms on the reverse);

Anonymous sale, Paris, Piasa, Drouot-Richelieu, 25 June 2004, lot 33 (as Lorenzo Costa);

There acquired by the present collector.

V. Lapierre, "L'Elevazione della Maddalena ed il suo enigmatico maestro", in Schifanoia: a cura dell’istituto di studi rinascimentali di Ferrara, vol. 40-41, 2011, p. 234, reproduced, fig. 8 (as location unknown).

In a letter dated 5 May 2004, Everett Fahy endorsed the attribution of this elegant Madonna and Child to this Ferrarese master, who bears close stylistic comparisons with Lorenzo Costa. His eponymous work is the Assumption of the Magdalene of circa 1500-1510 in the Pinacoteca Nazionale, Ferrara. Though rediscovered and reattributed following its sale in 2004 (see Provenance), this panel can be related with the Holy Family preserved in the National Gallery of Ireland (see E. Negro and N. Rojo, Lorenzo Costa, 1460-1535, Modena 2002, pp. 119-120, reproduced fig. 48), which has at various times been given to this rare but beautiful artist. Additionally, the format of the composition and overall technique here may be compared with the artist's Madonna with Saint Nicolas of Tolentino in the Thyssen-Bornemisza collection, Lugano.