費得利科·巴洛奇

Private collection, USA.

The following condition report has been provided by Simon Parkes of Simon Parkes Art Conservation, Inc. 502 East 74th St. New York, NY 212-734-3920, simonparkes@msn.com, an independent restorer who is not an employee of Sotheby's. This work is presentable, although it may improve with a re-examination of the retouching. The canvas has an old lining and an old stretcher that are sufficient. The painting shows hardly any retouches at all under ultraviolet light or to the naked eye. The varnish is currently quite fluorescent under ultraviolet light, with remnants of what appears to be an older varnish over the right eye. If the work were cleaned, an old damage in the lower corner would become more apparent, and some of the slightly gritty texture to the gesso layer would also become more apparent in the darker colors. There are tiny specks in the forehead and slight thinness beneath the check on the right side of the face that could be re-examined. The work is of fine quality, unretouched and clearly well preserved, but it would also respond well to careful retouching.
"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."

Previously unpublished, this handsome and arresting portrait is a new addition to the corpus of Federico Barocci.  Barocci was one of the most influential artists of the late sixteenth century and at the time of his death in 1612 was among the most sought after, and indeed highly paid, painters in Italy.  The physiognomy is beautifully understood and the gradation of color, shifting gently in pastel-like tones, is entirely typical of the artist.  The artist molds the flesh of the sitter’s face with his characteristic sfumato effect, using warm pinks to highlight the cheeks, nose and forehead.  The hair and beard are depicted with refined strokes and the curls straying from his hairline and the soft moustache overreaching his lips are intensely naturalistic.  Barocci expertly defines the dry stiff texture of the ruff, its seam visible where the looping pleats compress convincingly beneath his chin.

On the reverse of the stretcher, affixed with two wax seals, is an old label that reads: Jac(...) Lazza(...) / Aniell(...) Al(...)io  50 / Paolo Lazzari / Dionisio(?) Lazzari.  It is interesting to note that a canvas by Pietro Paolini depicting The Cardsharps, formerly with Jean Luc Baroni, bears a similarly affixed label with the same names but instead with the inventory number 60 and evidently formed part of the same collection.

We are grateful to Professor Daniele Benati for endorsing the attribution on the basis of photographs.