Lot 36: Antonio Alberti da Ferrara (Ferrara? circa 1395-circa 1449) The Madonna and Child in an integral frame

The Madonna and Child
tempera on gold ground panel
62 x 45cm (24 7/16 x 17 11/16in).
in an integral frame

PROVENANCE:
With Galleria Celestini, Milan, from whence acquired by the present owner in 1960

Roberto Longhi has confirmed the attribution to Antonio Alberti in a certificate, dated 9 December 1957, where he compares the present work with a version of the same subject which was previously on the market in Berlin (see R. Longhi, Officina Ferrarese (Florence, 1956), no. 22, ill.) He suggested a date for the Berlin version of circa 1426 or shortly after. For the present example he suggested a date of around 1430. These paintings thus belong to the artist's early phase of production when he was working in Ferrara and the surrounding region and before his more prolonged working period in Urbino (there are records of his payments there in 1435, 1337 and 1338). Other works which Longhi has assigned to this period include the triptych of the Virgin and Child between Saints Bartholomew and Benedict (Città di Castello, Pinacoteca Comunale), the fresco of scenes from the Life of Saint Anthony (Città di Castello, San Domenico) and the scenes from the Life of Saint John the Evangelist (Ferrara, Pinacoteca Nazionale).