Lot Details

Description

Bartolomeo Schedoni workshop of

Modena 1578 - Siena 1615

The Deposition of Christ

1610-1615

Oil on canvas

in 78,74x107,48 (with frame)

Here is a new addition to our understanding of Bartolomeo Schedoni’s mature period, the artist who died prematurely in Modena - apparently by his own hand - at not even forty years of age, in 1615. A stylistic reading leaves little room for doubt: this new Deposition must have emerged from the painter’s workshop during the first half of the second decade of the century. Anyone even broadly familiar with the artistic milieu of Parma will have little difficulty comparing our canvas with the identical version now in the Galerie des Italiens at the Louvre Museum in Paris. The newly discovered painting deserves to reopen, on firmer grounds, the question of the final phase of the Modenese master’s career: a subject which, particularly in view of the numerous workshop replicas and derivations, remains difficult to disentangle at present. The recent cleaning - exploratory, so to speak - has already given an indication of how much the painting may gain once restoration is complete, particularly in terms of the rendering of the surfaces and the legibility of the image. An intervention by the workshop cannot be entirely ruled out, as has also been suggested for the Louvre example. Schedoni had two documented pupils, Bernardo Cervi and Stefano Gavassini; but it should be noted that it was initially Bartolomeo’s brothers who took on the task of accelerating his production when, during the artist’s final years, commissions from private patrons began to arrive in large numbers. It should immediately be noted that there are certain differences between our painting and the French example. The most important concerns the background. In the Louvre version - which is generally considered to involve workshop collaboration, or even to be by another hand - the background is dark and almost indecipherable. In our version, by contrast, even from a simple reproduction, one can make out a screen of vegetation, a rocky wall, and a staircase. But setting these variants aside, it is clear that the cultural and artistic matrix of the canvas is to be found in the purest tradition of Emilian painting.

From the critical analysis, Prof. Stefano Causa

The painting is accompanied by:

Expertise Prof. Stefano Causa

Dimensions

in 78,74x107,48 (with frame)

Provenance

Private collection, Brescia

Conditions

Recently cleaned.

Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each product to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Coradi Rare Finds is merely a subjective opinion.