Mantuan School
(First Half 16th Century)

"John the Baptist"

oil on pine wood panel backed by cradle board
unsigned.
Presented in a fine 19th-century Renaissance-style frame.
19-5/8" x 14", framed 30-1/4" x 25-1/4"

Provenance: Possibly collection of Benoist Montigneul; his sale, sold as a work by Andrea Solario, Jean-Antoin Masson [auctioneer], Paris, France, May 2, 1810, lot 153; Private collection, Italy; Christie's, South Kensington, England, March 29, 2017, lot 30; Bonhams, New Bond Street, London, England, July 4, 2018; lot 87.

**The painting exhibits past signs of professional restoration and is in overall very good condition. For its 2017 sale, Christie's had the condition report prepared by an outside London restorer, who notated the work's structural integrity and good state of preservation - as much of the "delicacy of the drawing and modelling appears to be in good condition." The restorer further determined that "cracks have formed around the cradle battens on the back of the panel; they are only partially visible on the surface of the painting." Inpainting under UV light is conservative; much is filler to these light vertical wood grain cracks (observed by the restorer) and to two older shrinkage cracks to the sitter's hair and to the back of the head that were likely inpainted when the cradling was applied some time ago. These repairs are as to be expected with age and the wood medium. Under UV light additional inpainting was found to the nose, to the hands, left arm, to the lower right sleeve, to the center left background, and to the bottom edge. On the backside of the panel, the bottom edge exhibits some historic wormwood. Since the 2017 report, the painting has been cleaned/conserved; the wax/resin surface coat has been removed and the painting conveys excellent clarity of color and detail that was previously lacking. Additional pictures and the 2017 condition report prepared for Christie's are available upon request.