Bicci Di Lorenzo

LOT 5 PROPERTY OF THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART SOLD FOR THE ACQUISITIONS FUND BICCI DI LORENZO FLORENCE 1373 - 1452 THE MADONNA AND CHILD WITH SAINTS MATTHEW AND FRANCIS inscribed on the halos: SCS·MATTEVS·AP[OSTOLVS]; AVE·MARIA·GRATIA·PLE[NA]; SCS·FRANCISCHV[S] tempera on panel, shaped top, gold ground, in a carved and gilt engaged tabernacle frame with paired Solomonic columns overall: 44 5/8 by 22 1/4 in.; 113.3 by 55.6 cm.; painted surface: 32 3/4 by 18 3/4 in.; 83.2 by 47.6 cm.

Lorenzo di Bicci (Florence circa 1350-1427?) A triptych: The Madonna and Child with Saints Mary Magdalene and Christopher (central panel); The Angel of the Annunciation and Saint Bartholomew (left wing); The Virgin Annunciate and Saint Anthony Abbot (right wing); A female figure (outside right wing) tempera and gold on panel 21 7/8 x 19 in. (55.5 x 48.2 cm.) PROPERTY OF A GENTLEMAN Born in Florence around 1350, Lorenzo di Bicci may have trained with the Master of the San Niccolò Altarpiece, though his early paintings are highly informed by the work of Orcagna and his circle. A highly talented painter and businessman, Lorenzo would pass his thriving studio down to his son, Bicci di Lorenzo, and eventually to his grandson, Neri di Bicci, both masters in their own right. Intact triptychs from this period are extremely rare, and the present example constitutes an exceptional survival. A head in profile on the reverse of the right wing may portray one of the patrons of this exquisite object; however, identification of this figure is no longer possible. We are grateful to Everett Fahy for confirming the attribution based on first-hand inspection of the painting.

Lorenzo di Bicci (Florence c. 1350-1427?) The Madonna and Child in glory tempera and gold on panel 23 x 14¼ in. (58.5 x 36.3 cm.) Count Giuseppe Napoleone Primoli, Palazzo Primoli, Rome. Godfrey Locker-Lampson, London, by 1938. Anonymous sale; Christie's, London, 30 January 1948, lot 155, as 'Giovanni da Milano' (220 gns. to Canterbury). Dr. Alfred Scharf, until 1954. G. L. Lampson, A Few Italian Pictures Collected by Godfrey Locker-Lampson, n.d. [c. 1938], pp. 18-19, no. VI, as 'Giovanni da Milano'. B. Berenson, Italian Pictures of the Renaissance: Florentine School, London, 1963, I, p. 162, as 'Niccolò di Tommaso'. M. Boskovits, Pittura fiorentina alla vigilia del Rinascimento: 1370-1400, Florence, 1975, pp. 56, 336, pl. 58. R. Fremantle, Florentine Gothic Painters, from Giotto to Masaccio, London, 1975, p. 412, no. 840. D. Sutton, 'Robert Langton Douglas, Part IV,' Apollo, CX, no. 209, July 1979, pp. 8, 12, fig. 20. R. Offner, A Critical and Historical Corpus of Florentine Painting, Supplement: A Legacy of Attributions, New York, 1981, pp. 41, 99, fig. 79. M.S. Frinta, Punched Decoration on Late Medieval Panel and Miniature Painting: Part I, Catalogue Raisonné of All Punch Shapes, Prague, 1998, p. 506. Lorenzo di Bicci was born in Florence around 1350 and may have lived into the second decade of the 15th century. His name is first registered in the Florentine painters' guild in 1370 and his earliest documented work is a panel of Saint Martin Enthroned now in the Depositi Gallery, Florence, which dates to shortly after April 1380 and was painted for the Florentine guild of wine merchants, the Arte dei Vinattieri. He continues to appear in archival documents from Florence until 1410. The surviving records that mention Lorenzo provide a rich depiction of what life was like for a typical fourteenth-century artist in Italy. He was paid not only for independently commissioned paintings, but for work on major decorative campaigns, such as that of the Florence Cathedral, valuations of other art objects, drawn designs for projects in different media throughout the city, and the embellishment of pre-existing works with gold and enamel, to name just a few of his ventures. He was a painter-businessman who passed his practice down to his son, Bicci di Lorenzo, and his grandson, Neri di Bicci, both masters in their own right who ran thriving studios in Florence. Lorenzo di Bicci's art is informed by the works of Orcagna and his followers, including Jacopo di Cione and Niccolò di Pietro Gerini, and some scholars have convincingly argued that he was specifically trained in the workshop of a minor master called the Master of the San Niccolò Altarpiece. The present panel seems to date to Lorenzo's early period, in which he painted the Christ Child 'radiating strength and health' but lacking in corporeal density (Boskovits, op. cit., p. 56). The rosy-cheeked child kicks his feet playfully and grasps the little finger of his mother's hand - a remarkably innovative gesture of tenderness - but seems to float weightlessly in the Madonna's arms. In this way Lorenzo created Madonnas and saints, described by Boskovits as always in 'a type of ecstasy, with fixed eyes resplendent like enamel', that are relatable to humans but always in a distinct, sacred realm (ibid, p. 56). Lorenzo's art is also characterized by a luminous and nuanced use of color, particularly evident in the present panel. The Madonna's sumptuous red robe is depicted with incredibly sensitive attention to light and shadow, with dark glazes layered on for added richness in areas of shade. The central pair of figures is surrounded by a mandorla composed of red seraphim, of the highest angelic order, and blue cherubim, of the second-highest, which are depicted in sets of eight as outlined by church doctrine. Each angel is differentiated, with distinct facial expressions and orientations toward the central group, and enlivened with delicate lines of gold that evoke resplendent, holy light. One in particular, on the right, looks out directly to engage the viewer. The vermillion-colored seraphim echo the Madonna's rosy cheeks and her reddish-orange hair, which is beautifully articulated in individual strands and partially covered by a veil whose translucency, along with that of the Christ Child's shroud, is a testament to the artist's skill. The Madonna nursing the Christ Child is an iconographical type that dates back in Western art as far as the second century A.D. In this role, the Madonna is a symbol of nourishment and protection, both as the Mother of God and therefore as Mater omnium (Mother of all) and Nutrix omnium (Nurturer of all). As such, she also takes on the role of intercessor, or Maria Mediatrix, whose prayers could not be refused by the son whom she so nurtured. In this context of her role as nurturer, the golden stars adorning the Madonna's robe are particularly noteworthy, referring to her title as Stella Maris (Star of the Sea) and evoking the guiding light she provides. The first recorded owner of this painting was Count Giuseppe Primoli, a renowned collector and photographer as well as the great-grandson of Napoleon's brother, Lucien Bonaparte. Today the ground floor of his home, the Palazzo Primoli, contains objects from his collection and comprises the Museo Napoleonico, bequeathed to the city of Rome when the Count died in 1927.

LOT 233 LORENZO DI BICCI DOCUMENTED IN FLORENCE 1370 - 1427 HEAD OF AN ANGEL IN PROFILE 15,000—20,000 USD measurements measurements note diameter: 11 5/8 in.; 25.5 cm. Description fresco on earthenware, a tondo, unframed CATALOGUE NOTE We are grateful to Everett Fahy for identifying this painting tobe a work by Lorenzo di Bicci, based on firsthand inspection.

LOT 22 LORENZO DI BICCI DOCUMENTED IN FLORENCE 1370 - 1427 MADONNA AND CHILD ENTHRONED 120,000—180,000 GBP measurements measurements note 112 by 52.5 cm.; 44 1/8 by 20 3/4 in. Description tempera on panel, gold ground, pointed top PROVENANCE Grafen von Reischach collection (by family tradition for generations), in whose private chapel at Schloß Riet, Baden-Wurttemberg, it hung until the 1950s; Private collection, Ulm (Germany), until recently. CATALOGUE NOTE A leading figure in Florence during the second half of the 14th century, Lorenzo di Bicci belonged to the first of three generations of successful artists: his son Bicci di Lorenzo and grandson Neri di Bicci both succeeded him in running the family workshop for a period that spanned almost a century. Lorenzo di Bicci is recorded as a member of the Arte dei Medici e Speziali from 1353 to 1386, but is not documented as a painter in Florence until 1370; the year by which he was enrolled in the Florentine painters' guild. His first documented work is a painting destined for the church of Orsanmichele, datable to shortly after 1380. Seven years later Lorenzo was employed alongside Spinello Aretino and Agnolo Gaddi to help decorate the Duomo, for which he provided drawings for four statues of apostles destined for the façade of the cathedral. Despite his success, there is a notable scarcity of documented works in Lorenzo di Bicci's oeuvre and many of his commissions appear to have come from the clergy and the lower-middle class Florentine guilds. This impressive panel almost certainly formed the central part of a triptych and, given its size, was probably destined for a chapel. It may be compared to similar panels by Lorenzo di Bicci in which the Madonna and Child appear either alone or with saints standing alongside them: compare, for example, the Madonna and Child with Saints John the Baptist and Peter , formerly with Wildenstein, New York, which is the central panel of a triptych (the two lateral leaves of which are in the Museo Nazionale di San Matteo, Pisa);1 and the Madonna and Child , also formerly with Wildenstein, New York.2 The Madonna and Child are seated on a ledge draped with a sumptuous cloth: the delicate sgraffito reveals that the gold ground also runs beneath the lower part of the picture, indicating that no expense was spared on this commission. The decoration on the Child's drapery also reveals that silver leaf (now oxidised) originally lay beneath and the neckline and cuff of His yellow tunic are embellished with a delicate pattern in gold. The ledge on which the Madonna and Child are seated is not dissimilar to that in the central panel of Lorenzo di Bicci's triptych in the Museo della Collegiata, Empoli.3 The overall design is reminiscent of a number of Lorenzo di Bicci's compositions in which the Madonna leans into the Christ Child, enveloping him affectionately in her arms: compare, for example, the painting in the Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore.4 This painting is an early work by the artist and although it is characteristic in type, the figures recall similar compositional motifs by Andrea Orcagna in whose workshop Lorenzo di Bicci may have trained. We are grateful to Prof. Miklós Boskovits for proposing an attribution to Lorenzo di Bicci on the basis of photographs; an attribution independently endorsed by Dott. Andrea de Marchi and Everett Fahy, to whom we are also grateful. 1. The Madonna and Child with Saints John the Baptist and Peter , measuring 118 by 68.5 cm., was sold, London, Sotheby's, 1 November 1978, lot 3, and is published by R. Offner, in A Critical and Historical Corpus of Florentine Painting. A Legacy of Attributions , ed. H.B.J. Maginnis, New York 1981, p. 41, reproduced fig. 81. The lateral leaves showing Saints Anthony Abbot, Lawrence, and Lous of Toulouse and Saints Francis, Catherine, and Michael respectively are published in idem , p. 42. 2. The Madonna and Child , measuring 122 by 74 cm., was sold, London, Sotheby's, 1 November 1978, lot 4, and is published by Offner, op. cit. , p. 41, reproduced fig. 82. 3. Reproduced by R. Fremantle, Florentine Gothic Painters, From Giotto to Masaccio , London 1975, p. 411, fig. 837. 4. Reproduced by Fremantle, op. cit. , p. 411, fig. 839.