Lot Essay
The original, on canvas, 81 x 60 cm, executed circa 1514, is in the Uffizi. In the 17th century it was acquired by Cardinal Leopoldo de' Medici, an active collector of Venetian paintings (see Gli Uffizi Catalogo Generale, 1979, inv.no. P 1271, with ill.).
The attribution of the original has been subject to changes throughout the centuries. It has been considered as a work by Leonardo da Vinci, Sebastiano del Piombo and Titian. As is shown by the inscription on the reverse of the canvas of the present lot, the attribution of the original to Piombo was still considered valid at the time. Although the painting is recorded in the Uffizi catalogue (loc.cit.) as by Titian and was accepted by Morassi, the picture is not recorded in the catalogue raisonné published by H.E. Wethey in 1975.
The artist A. Gardelli seems to be unrecorded.
In an English 18th century carved and gilded wooden frame
See illustration
The attribution of the original has been subject to changes throughout the centuries. It has been considered as a work by Leonardo da Vinci, Sebastiano del Piombo and Titian. As is shown by the inscription on the reverse of the canvas of the present lot, the attribution of the original to Piombo was still considered valid at the time. Although the painting is recorded in the Uffizi catalogue (loc.cit.) as by Titian and was accepted by Morassi, the picture is not recorded in the catalogue raisonné published by H.E. Wethey in 1975.
The artist A. Gardelli seems to be unrecorded.
In an English 18th century carved and gilded wooden frame
See illustration