米凱萊·達·維洛那

With Mietke Galerie, Vienna, 1906;
Stefan von Auspitz collection, Vienna, by 1925 to at least 1931 (1931 inventory no. 1258 as “Carpaccio, Das Trojanische Pferd (Fiocco Carpaccio Tf. II”));
With Kurt Walter Bachstitz, The Hague, acquired from the trustee in bankruptcy of the above by 1938;
Private collection, Vaduz, 1969 - 1978;
Anonymous sale, London, Sotheby's, 8 July 1987, lot 25 (as Lazzaro Bastiani);
Anonymous sale, London, Philips, 11 December 2001, lot 114 (as Lazzaro Bastiani);
Anonymous sale, Zurich, Koller, 20 - 23 March 2007, lot 3006;
Where acquired by Alana collection;
From whom acquired by the present owner.

Vaduz, Fürstliche Liechtensteinische Gemäldegalerie, 1969 - 1973;
Zurich, Pfäffikon, Venezianische Kunst in der Schweiz und in Leichtenstein, 18 June - 27 August 1978, no. 52.

G. Ludwig and P. Molmenti, Vittore Carpaccio, La vita e le opere, Milan 1906, pp. 28-29 (as Lazzaro Bastiani);
A. Venturi, Storia dell'Arte Italiana, Milan 1907, vol. V, p. 282 (as Carpaccio);
R. van Marle, The Development of the Italian Schools of Painting, The Hague 1923-1938, vol. XVIII, pp. 179, 182, 326, note 1 (as possibly Lazzaro Bastiani);
B. Berenson, "Nove pitture in cerca di un'attribuzione", in Dedalo, V, 1924-1925, pp. 601-642, 688-722, 745-775;
G. Fiocco, Carpaccio, Milan 1931, pp. 15, 57, reproduced plate II (as Carpaccio);
R. Longhi, "Per un catalogo del Carpaccio", in Vita Artistica, III, no. 1, 1932, ed. 1968, p. 75;
G. Fiocco, "I pittori marchigiani a Padova nella prima metà del quattrocento", in Atti del Reale Istituto Veneto di Scienze, Lettere ed Arti, XCL,  1931-1933, p. 116-117;
G. Fogolari, "Pre' Sebastiano Bastianni, suo padre Lazzaro e il Carpaccio", in Rivista di Venezia, vol. XI, 1932, pp. 279-296 (as Carpaccio); 
G. Perocco, L'Opera completa del Carpaccio, Milan 1967, p. 117, cat. no. 114;
M. Natale, Venezianische Kunst in der Schweiz und in Liechtenstein, exhibition catalogue, Zurich 1978, p.93, cat. no. 52 (as Venetian School);
G. Passavant, "Venezianische Kunst in der Schweiz und in Liechtenstein, Austellung in Pfäffikon, Seedamm-Kulturzentrum (18 June - 27 August 1978) und Genf (Musée d'art et d'histoire (8 September - 5 November 1978)", in Kunstchronik, XXXII, no. 5, p. 175;
C. Volpe, "Il polittico di San Clemente di Marco Zoppo", in E. Verdera y Tuells ed., El Cardinal Albornoz y el Colegio de España, Bologna and Zaragoza 1979, p. 74 (as attributed to Jacopo da Valenza);
S. Lilie, Was Einmal war. Handbuch der enteigneten Kunstsammlungen Wiens, Vienna, 2003, p. 135;
M. Vinco, "Gli inizi di Michele da Verona", in Proporzione, Annali dalla Fondazione di Roberto Longhi, IX-X, 2008-2009, p. 43-46, reproduced fig. 52 (here and henceforth as Michele da Verona);
M. Vinco in M. Boskovits ed., The Alana Collection, Italian Paintings and Sculptures from the Fourteenth to Sixteenth Centuries, vol. II, Florence 2011, pp. 186-192, cat. no. 29, reproduced pp. 187-189, figs. 1-4.

The following condition report has been provided by Karen Thomas of Thomas Art Conservation LLC., 336 West 37th Street, Suite 830, New York, NY 10018, 212-564-4024, info@thomasartconservation.com, an independent restorer who is not an employee of Sotheby's. This picture remains in good condition in consideration of its having been transferred from its original wood support to a canvas support which was then adhered to a secondary wood panel support. Such drastic treatments can lead to significant loss of paint and detail, yet this expansive painting has fared well. Overall wear is visible, however the artist's graphic style allows the painting to hold together nicely. The sky appears to have proved vulnerable in the past, and a fair amount of restoration here addresses losses and cracks. The orange garment worn by the figure on the far left is also heavily restored. Elsewhere in the painting are found numerous small losses and a degree of wear consistent with the age of the painting, and it appears some facial elements have been strengthened. The surface has a satiny, even gloss. This painting does not appear to need any conservation treatment and may be displayed in its current state.
"This lot is offered for sale subject to Sotheby's Conditions of Business, which are available on request and printed in Sotheby's sale catalogues. The independent reports contained in this document are provided for prospective bidders' information only and without warranty by Sotheby's or the Seller."

The rare and somewhat enigmatic subject of this impressive painting had long eluded scholars until a cleaning in 2008 revealed details confirming Federico Zeri’s assertion that the scene depicted was the Dispute between Athena and Poseidon for Supremacy over Attica.¹  According to the account of Apollodorus in the Greek and Ovid in the Latin, Zeus sent the twelve gods of Olympus to judge a contest that would settle a dispute between Athena and Poseidon, both of whom claimed Attica as their own.²  At the center of the composition is the horse, conjured by Poseidon’s trident as a gift for the Athenians and the olive tree brought forth by Athena.  The goddess was deemed triumphant and Attica was renamed Athens in her honor.  The key to the subject’s identification was the discovery of the wings at Mercury’s feet, previously covered by old overpaint, revealing him as the messenger announcing the decision of the Olympians.³  The classically intellectual and obscure subject, matched with the imposing scale suggest this painting was intended to form part of a decorative cycle for a private studiolo.⁴

Much like its subject, the identity of this painting’s author had been confused in earlier literature.  Published as by Vittore Carpaccio and Lazzaro Bastiani for many years (see Provenance and Literature), Mattia Vinco corroborated the tentative proposals of Roberto Longhi and Licia Collobi that the painting is in fact by Michele da Verona.⁵  Michele was a major proponent of Venetian styles in the terraferma, incorporating the developments of Carpaccio and Bastiani, introduced to Verona by Francesco Bonsignori.⁶  Given the striking perspective of this painting, in certain respects its prime emphasis, it would seem logical to date to the 1490s, the period Michele was looking toward Carpaccio in Venice and his focus on perspective themes.⁷  The “ostentatious use of perspective” in this painting appears at first to be typically Venetian, yet the idiosyncratic treatment of the landscape is emblematic of Michele da Verona’s style.  As Mattia Vinco writes,

“They are characterized by the low line of the horizon and a natural world reduced almost to the semblance of a giardino all’italiana, extensively cultivated, geometrically ordered and strongly humanized.”⁸

 

1.  Oral communication by Federico Zeri, M. Natale, under Literature, p. 93.
2.  Apollodorus, Biblioteca, 3,14,1; Ovid, Metamorphosis, 6, 70-82.
3.  M. Vinco 2011, under Literature, p. 186.
4.  Ibid., p. 190.
5.  Ibid., p. 186.
6.  Ibid., p. 190.
7.  Ibid. p. 190.
8.  Ibid., p. 191.