Piero di Cosimo,
1462 Florence - 1521 THE VIRGIN AND CHILD WITH YOUNG SAINT JOHN Oil on panel. Diameter: 91.5 cm. An expert's report by Mauro Umberto Lucco dated 6 July 2011 is enclosed. The hitherto unknown work at hand can - especially due to its round shape - be attributed without a doubt to a Florentine artist of the first decades of the 16th century. It shows a depiction of the Virgin Mother with her child and the young Saint John in a charming landscape setting, which clearly implies an existing familiarity with paintings by Leonardo da Vinci, Fra Bartolomeo and Raphael. Here, the artist creates an interpretation entirely of his own, as the Virgin Mary seems to be pushing Baby Jesus away from herself towards Saint John, who is kneeling in adoration in front of him. The simple rural landscape and unaffected posture of the three figures give the painting something lovingly spontaneous and natural, which is not entirely typical for Florentine painting of those years. The perfect balance of the composition, the luminous, almost radiant colouration, the exact capturing of the atmosphere and the clear shapes bring to mind a great Italian artist of the late 15th or early 16th century, namely Piero di Lorenzo, in memory of his first teacher Cosimo Rosselli, also known as Piero di Cosimo. In his late works (until ca. 1520) Piero di Cosimo definitely drew inspiration from the Florentines' artistic liveliness, however he always contributed something entirely authentic and original to his works. His style influenced painters such as Mariotto Albertinelli, Domenico Puligo and Andrea del Sarto. The similarities between the present painting and the recorded creative work of Piero di Cosimo become most apparent in comparison with the Sacra Famiglia and the San Giovannino (both Cini Collection, Venice), which belong to the artist's last creative period. Both of these works show the same almost tonal colour gradations, as already described by Vasari in his biography of Piero di Cosimo: ''a blending and dissolving of colours'', a ''softly graceful colouration''. Other similarities also include the Virgin's physiognomy, the arrangements of the folds and the resting cows in the background, quite a typical, recurring motif in Cosimo's landscapes. In addition, there are many other convincing similarities with his work. For this purpose, reference should be made to other tondi, unambiguously attributed to the artist: ''Madonna col Bambino'' (Museum of Art, Toledo, Ohio), ''Natività con San Giovannino e due angeli'' (Galleria Borghese, Rome) and above all the ''Sacra Famiglia con San Giovannino, due angeli, San Margherita e San Martino'' (Philbrook Museum, Tulsa, Oklahoma). The last two mentioned works are also part of the artist's last creative years and illustrate, as well as the present painting, the high level of maturity of the late painterly work of Piero di Cosimo.
Piero di Cosimo, 1462 Florenz - 1521 MADONNA MIT KIND UND DEM JOHANNESKNABEN Öl auf Holz. Durchmesser: 91,5 cm. Gerahmt. Eine Expertise von Mauro Umberto Lucco vom 6. Juli 2011 liegt bei. Das hier vorliegende, bisher unbekannte Werk von hervorragender Machart ist zweifelsohne - gerade wegen seiner runden Form - einem florentiner Künstler der ersten Dekaden des 16. Jahrhunderts zuzuschreiben. Es handelt sich hier um eine Darstellung der Muttergottes mit Kind und dem jungen Johannes, einem sehr beliebten Sujet der mittelitalienischen Malerei jener Zeit. Die Personen sind eingebettet in eine anmutige Landschaft, welche eindeutig auf eine Vertrautheit mit den Bildern von Leonardo da Vinci, Fra' Bartolomeo und Raffaello schließen lässt. Der Künstler erschafft in dem vorliegenden Gemälde eine ganz eigene Interpretation, denn Maria scheint Jesus hier von sich weg und hin zu Johannes schieben zu wollen, der in Anbetung vor ihm kniet. Die einfache ländliche Landschaft und die ungekünstelte Körperhaltung der drei Figuren geben dem Bild etwas Liebevoll-Spontanes