Lot 213: PIETRO DEGLI INGANNATI

THE PROPERTY OF A GERMAN NOBLEMAN ACTIVE IN THE VENETO C.1505 - 1548 SACRA CONVERSAZIONE oil on canvas 74 by 98.5 m.; 29 1/8 by 38 3/4 in.

Grand Duchess Pauline von Sachsen-Weimar-Eisenach (1852-1904); By whom given to her lady-in-waiting Anna, Baroness von Welck (1865-1925), in recognition of her diligent eleven-year service; After marrying Major General Bernhard von der Schulenburg (1844–1925), Anna and the painting moved to the Provostry in Salzwedel, Saxony-Anhalt (see fig. 1); By inheritance to her nephew Heinrich Baron von Welck, by whom taken to the family castle in Dresden, where it remained until the liberation of the castle in 1945; The painting was thereafter taken to the Gemäldegalerie, Dresden, where it remained until 1989 when it was returned to the current owner, the rightful heir of Heinrich Baron von Welck.

The attribution was first proposed by Dott. Roberto Contini, of the Gemäldegalerie, Berlin (written communication to the present owner). The composition must be based on the same cartoon as the Sacra Conversazione formerly in the Soranzo collection in Venice and another whose whereabouts are unknown.1 Since the handling of the latter two paintings is far from homogenous, it seems likely that the cartoon may have been used in different workshops. An alternative attribution to Francesco di Simone da Santacroce (1440/45-1508) should not be excluded. 1. See P. Caccialupi, "Pietro degli Ingannati", in Saggi e Memorie, Florence 1978, vol. 11, p 35 and 36, reproduced figs. 15 and 16.