an image of a painting of a man holding a baby and a woman holding a bird
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46 - Antonio SOLARIO, known as Le Zingaro (1465–1530)
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Estimate €20,000 - €30,000
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Description
Antonio SOLARIO, known as Le Zingaro (1465–1530) Madonna and Child with Saint Joseph and Saint John the Baptist Linden wood panel, reinforced Height: 51.5 cm Width: 35 cm Previous restorations Provenance: Auction in London, Christie’s, 7 July 2006, lot 136 (attributed to Pier Maria Pennachi) Auction in Paris, Hôtel Drouot, PIASA, 15 November 2013, lot 67 (attributed to Benvenuti, known as l’Ortolano, hammer price 29,000?) Acquired at this auction by the current owner. Bibliography: Marco Tanzi, ‘Aggiornamenti per Filippo da Verona’, *Verona illustrata*, XIX, 2006, pp. 97–107, our painting on p. 106, note 2, attributed to Johannes Hispanus Laura Pagnotta, in ‘Bollettino d’Arte’ 2011, pp. 59–108 (Johannes Hispanus) Stefania Castellana, Johannes Hispanus, Persico Dosimo (CR), 2017, pp. 104–107 (‘Master of Saint Dorothy’). This painting exhibits all the characteristics of a small group of paintings of very high quality, the attribution of which has varied between two itinerant painters in Italy during the first quarter of the 16th century, both of whom were marked by the same influences: Johanes Hispanus, and Antoino Solario (who is not related to his Milanese namesake, Andrea Solario, a pupil of Leonardo da Vinci). Notable examples from this group include *The Virgin and Child with Saint Dorothea* (auction in London, Sotheby’s, 6 December 2006, lot 33, attributed to Antonio Solario), *The Virgin and Child with Saints Anthony the Abbot and Dorothy* (auction in London, Christie’s, 1 July 2026, lot 152, attributed to Johannes Hispanus). Stefania Castellana had excluded them from the corpus of Johannes Hispanus and grouped them under the conventional name of the ‘Master of Saint Dorothea’, a view from which she has since retreated. The distinction between these two Renaissance artists is based on a very small number of paintings signed by each of them and stylistically similar: against a Venetian background influenced by Giovanni Bellini, these painters incorporate elements from Perugino and Pinturicchio, from Ferrara masters such as Boccaccino or Mazzolino, and from Lombard masters such as Bramantino. The artist, who was born in Spain, appears to have been slightly influenced by the Florentine school, notably Botticelli and Piero di Cosimo (stories from the Decameron, on loan to the Prado Museum in Madrid), which is not the case with Solario or this painting. Information on the life and work of Andrea Solario is scarce and uncertain, starting with his place and date of birth. It is thought that he trained in Venice (he signed the Madonna in the National Gallery, London, ‘venetus’), then worked in the Marche region between 1502 and 1506, painted a cycle of twenty frescoes at the monastery of Santi Severino e Sossio in Naples (now the State Archives). He signed and dated his two masterpieces: *Salome Holding a Violin* and *Herodias with the Head of St John the Baptist* in 1511 (Doria Pamphilj Gallery, Rome), followed by the *Withypool Altarpiece* in 1514 (Bristol City Museum and Art Gallery). It is not known what his activities were after this date; some suggest he was in England (the poet and antiquarian John Leland, curator of Henry VIII’s libraries, cites numerous works by him in that country). He appears to have been slightly influenced in the latter part of his career by his namesake Andrea Solario. Our panel may be compared with the ‘Holy Conversation’ centred on the Virgin and Child at the Walters Art Gallery in Baltimore (inv. 37.502). We often find in his work the same type of children with blond curls, bright green curtains, and windows opening onto a northern landscape, for example in the *Virgin and Child* at the Museo Civico di Belluno (stolen in 1973 and recovered in 2025). The veined texture of the tree and the blue mountain are almost reminiscent of certain watercolours by Dürer. We would like to thank Mauro Lucco for suggesting this attribution to Antonio Solario for this painting, based on a digital photograph, in June 2026, and for his assistance in drafting this entry. Expert: Stéphane Pinta, Turquin gallery (viewable by appointment at the expert’s office)
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About the sale TREASURES OF THE LOIRE VALLEY: Mr X’s collection of antique paintings
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Auction time 11/22/2026 at 2:00 PM
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