Sold Without Reserve | GIOVANNI ANTONIO DA PESARO | CRUCIFIXION

Property from a Distinguished Private Collection, Sold Without Reserve
GIOVANNI ANTONIO DA PESARO
Pesaro, circa 1415-1478
CRUCIFIXION

tempera and gold ground on panel
16½ by 11¼ in.; 42 by 28.5 cm.

Condition Report:
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 painting is in sound condition overall. Given the age of the picture, it presents nicely with a strong sense of detail. There appears to be more than one campaign of retouching on the painting, some of which may have been applied to correct earlier retouches. Although most of the retouching has been carried out in a mimetic style, two losses in the bottom corners have been reintegrated with a minutely hatched selezione cromatica technique that has darkened slightly over time. The majority of the restoration appears to exist in the garments, where it compensates for losses in the dark blues and agerelated fading in the red glazes. Light scumbles focus on knitting together wear in the flesh passages of the Christ figure, while contours in the flanking figures have been strengthened, and glazing added to heighten saturation, for example in the pink tones in the faces. A vertical crack right of center, repaired, can be seen in raking light. Wear to the gold leaf is consistent with the age of the painting. A spring strainer fitted with tongue-in-groove wooden inserts has been attached to the reverse of the panel to provide additional support while allowing the wood to move in response to fluctuations in the environmental conditions. The panel displays a slight convex horizontal warp.

"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."

Provenance:
With Vittore Franscione, Florence, by 1944;

Private collection, Florence, by 1950;

Private Piemontese collection, by circa 1950-1960;

Anonymous sale, Milan, Porro & Co., 25 November 2009, lot 3;

There acquired.