Poppy Harvey-Jones
Head of Sale
Lot 8*
Workshop of Tiziano Vecellio, called Titian(Pieve-di-Cadore 1485-1576 Venice)Portrait of Titian and his friend Francesco Zuccato
Amended
4 December 2013, 14:00 GMT
London, New Bond Street£10,000 - £15,000
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Workshop of Tiziano Vecellio, called Titian (Pieve-di-Cadore 1485-1576 Venice)
Portrait of Titian and his friend Francesco Zuccato
oil on canvas
96.8 x 88.5cm (38 1/8 x 34 13/16in).
oil on canvas
96.8 x 88.5cm (38 1/8 x 34 13/16in).
Footnotes
PROVENANCE
Senator Domenico Ruzzino, Venice, by 1648
Conte Vitturi, by 1740
Thomas Moore Slade, Rochester, 1776
John Bligh, 4th Earl of Darnley, Cobham Hall, Kent, by 1790
His sale, Christie's, London, 1 May 1925, lot 82 (£336 to Smith, as by Titian)
Frank T. Sabin, London
His sale, Christie's, London, 18 March 1955, lot 156 (846 gns. to D.A. Martin as by Titian)
Sale, Fischer, Lucerne, 3 December 1955, lot 1711 (as by Titian)
Private Collection, Switzerland, since 1955
EXHIBITED
The British Institution, London, 1824
LITERATURE
G. Merino, in: Galaria, Venice, 1629, p. 232, as by Titian
C. Ridolfi, Le Maraviglie dell'arte, Venice, 1648, ed. Detlev von Hadeln, 1914, vol. I, p. 199-200, as by Titian
G.F. Waagen, Works of Art and Artists in England, London, 1838, vol. III, p. 381, as by Titian
G.F. Waagen, Treasures of Art in Great Britain, London, 1854, vol. III, p. 19, as copy after Titian
G.M. Richter, "Two Titian Self-Portraits", in: Burlington Magazine, no.337, vol. LVIII, 1937, p. 161-8, as by Titian
G.M. Richter, "The Three Different Types of Titian's Self-Portraits", in: Apollo, vol. 13, no. 78, June 1931, p. 339-43, as by Titian
ENGRAVED
Anonymous artist, probably 18th century, in verso, British Museum, published by Richter in Apollo (see literature)
The present painting is sold with three letters of authentication: one from Professor Rodolfo Pallucchini, dated 1 December 1986; and the other two from Dr Filippo Pedrocco, 12 February 2006 and 10 October 2008 (based upon firsthand inspection of the painting before and after restoration).
Long considered an autograph work by Titian, the present painting comes close to the work of the great Venetian master. It is mentioned as early as 1648 when it was seen by Carlo Ridolfi in the collection of Domenico Ruzzini, Venice. In his Meraviglie dell'arte Ridolfi describes two portraits one of which is 'quello di Titiano fatto da se medesimo nello specchio nell'ultima sua eta' con Francesco del Mosaico, che gli dimostra una carta disegnata'. Titian appears here in exactly the same pose as in his unfinished self-portrait, now in the Gemäldegalerie, Berlin.
The present painting is undoubtedly contemporary with Titian but the more precise rendering of the facial details in particular mark this picture out as the work of a different artist. By this stage in his career (the elderly artist is approximately 70 years old here), Titian had developed a technique generally broader in its handling and which differs from the present work.
Saleroom notices
Please note that the present lot was imported and that VAT will be charged at a preferential rate of 5% on hammer price and the prevailing rate on buyer's premium.
