Name: MARCO DI PAOLO VENEZIANO (ACTIVE VENICE, PADUA AND TREVISO C.1350-1393)
Brand: The Deposition
Price: 35000.00 USD
Availability: SoldOut

MARCO DI PAOLO VENEZIANO (ACTIVE VENICE, PADUA AND TREVISO C.1350-1393)
The Deposition
tempera and gold on panel
27¹⁄₂ x 16¹⁄₂ in. (69.8 x 41.9 cm.)

Mr. and Mrs. W.C.H.M. Georgi, the grandfather of the present owner, and by descent.

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Lot Essay

Published here for the first time, this beautiful Deposition was identified by Christopher Platts as the work of Marco di Paolo Veneziano (private communication with the department, dated 13 February 2021). The youngest son of Paolo Veneziano, Marco di Paolo was a gifted painter in his own right and by the second half of the Trecento had become the leading artist in Venice. An initial reconstruction of the painter’s oeuvre was first proposed by Miklòs Boskovits and later amplified by Andrea De Marchi (see A. De. Marchi, ‘Una tavola nella Narodna Galeria di Ljubljana e una proposta per Marco di Paolo Veneziano,’ Gotika v Sloveniji, J. Höfler ed., Ljubljiana, 1995, pp. 241-256). Marco di Paolo’s popularity came from his exquisite anecdotal detail and capacity for storytelling. Not only is the execution of this painting typical of his style, with the figures’ incisive drapery folds, angular noses and bright eyes, but it also includes his characteristic halo tooling – a three-dot cluster connected by spirals – which the artist adopted while training in his father’s workshop.

Platts dates the panel between 1360 and 1370, noting its stylistic affinity with the artist’s Crucifixion in the Martello collection, New York (ibid.). Like the Martello Crucifixion, this Deposition would likely have formed part of a larger ensemble with smaller narrative scenes from the Passion of Christ stacked one above the other, two high and two wide, at either side. Platts tentatively proposes the present scene may indeed come from the same complex as the Martello panel, though further research on both panels would be needed to support this appealing hypothesis.

We are grateful to Christopher Platts for proposing the attribution on the basis of photographs and for kindly providing information for the catalogue note.

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Condition report

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The condition of lots can vary widely and the nature of the lots sold means that they are unlikely to be in a perfect condition. Lots are sold in the condition they are in at the time of sale.

We are grateful to Thomas Art Conservation LLC for providing the following condition report:
Overall, the paint layers of this panel are in very good condition, particularly
in light of the painting’s age. Beneath a moderately discolored varnish, the
confident brushwork is evident, with little in the way of wear or abrasion.
For the most part, losses are concentrated in an area running down the
center of the painting, possibly corresponding in part to a join in the panel.
Losses have also occurred along cracks originating from the top of the panel,
extending into the horizontal arms of the cross. These losses have been
restored, and some of the restoration paint has begun to shift in tonality
(most easily seen in Christ’s figure). The largest losses are located in the head
of God the Father, through the upper tier of angels, and in Jesus’ thighs and
knees. Narrow lines of loss following old cracks pass through Mary’s blue
mantle and Jesus’ head and torso. Grain-oriented cracks, with associated
lifting and newer, small losses, can be found around the join, in the upper
few inches, and through the right-most standing figure. Some amount of
typical age-related fading has occurred in the red lake paints used to model
the folds of the red garment on the left.
The gold ground displays an age-appropriate degree of wear and regilding.
The original arched shape of the background has been extended with new
gilding to create the rectangular format.
The vertically grained wood panel displays a mild compound lateral warp.
The panel has been thinned to a thickness of approximately 1 cm and a
slightly thicker secondary wood panel with two cross-grain crossbars has
been attached to the back. The secondary support has several grain-oriented
cracks, many of which appear to parallel to the cracks and losses on the face
of the painting.
Lifting paint should be consolidated to prevent further losses, but otherwise
the painting can be displayed in its current condition. However, cleaning and
a new restoration would have a positive effect on the appearance, revealing
the full tonality and highlighting the quality of the picture. In the long term,
the wood panel support would benefit from structural conservation to
prevent recurrence of lifting and loss along the join and old cracks in the
panel.

Print Report