Giuseppe Cesari, called Cavaliere d'Arpino

This small canvas dates to circa 1615-20 and is the prime version of a composition that Cesari repeated on copper a few years later. The second version was formerly at Locko Park and was sold at Sotheby's London, 6 December 1995. While in the present lot the Virgin and angels float above a distant town, in the second version they appear to rise out of a tomb. Cesari painted small works with sacred subjects influenced by icons for religious patrons.

Shortly after Nelson Shanks acquired this painting, Dr. Herwarth Röttgen confirmed its status as the autograph predecessor to the published second version.