Lot 2002 Dα

This Florentine panel depicts the Madonna enthroned in hieratic majesty, holding the Christ Child, who raises his right hand in a gesture of blessing. The figures are flanked by John the Baptist and Saint Antony the Great. In the early 20th century, Giacomo De Nicola (1879-1926) assigned this devotional image to the Florentine artist Giovanni dal Ponte, who was active in the first half of the 15th century, and a small plaque with the artist's name was later added to the lower part of the frame. This plaque could now be removed, as the work is no longer attributed to this artist. Nothing about the piece merits any connection with Giovanni dal Ponte's idiosyncratic interpretation of the works of the Florentine painters of the early 15th century, especially Starnina, Masaccio and Masolino.
The piece was probably painted in Florence, but its author was most likely an artist of an earlier generation active in the late 14th century. The slender, elongated figure of the Virgin Mary is influenced by an image of the Virgin painted by Jacopo di Cione (formerly art market, Florence). This figure also embodies the same slender idealised image of the Madonna, as well as incorporating the pose in which she holds the Child. Therefore, the work can be attributed to an artist from Jacopo di Cione's close circle, possibly one working in his studio. Numerous images of the Virgin with a similar vertically orientated composition were produced in Cione's workshop throughout the latter part of the 14th century. The attribution is also supported by the presence of stamped motifs in the gold background that were created with stamps also used in Cione's studio. The present work can thus be assumed to have been painted in this highly productive workshop. The youthful image of the Virgin presented here is comparable to Cione's Madonnas of around 1370, such as that in the Moretti collection (Sotheby's, New York, 29.1.2015, lot 141), which appears to have been inspired by the works of Giottino. This indicates that the current work was probably painted in the workshop of Jacopo di Cione some time around 1370-1375. We would like to thank Professor Dr Gaudenz Freuler for this catalogue entry.