Saint John the Baptist, c. 1475/1485

Marks and Labels

Reverse bears former inventory numbers 88 in white or cream-colored paint (Molinier), canceled by red paint, as well as 59 in red paint (Dreyfus), and earlier-style NGA accession number in red paint.

Provenance

Art market, Italy, 1850s/1860s; Louis-Charles Timbal [1821–1880], Florence and Paris; sold 29 November 1872 to Gustave Dreyfus [1837–1914], Paris; (sale, Hôtel Drouot, Paris, 21–22 February 1873, no. 15 [with NGA 1957.14.247], bought in);[1] his heirs; purchased 1930 with the entire Dreyfus collection by (Duveen Brothers, Inc., London, New York, and Paris); sold 1944 to the Samuel H. Kress Foundation, New York.

Exhibition History

1937

The Art of the Renaissance Craftsman, Fogg Art Museum, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1937, no. 55, as by Bertoldo.

1985

Italian Renaissance Sculpture in the Time of Donatello, Detroit Institute of Arts; Kimbell Art Museum, Fort Worth, Texas; Forte Belvedere, Florence, Italy, 1985-1986, no. 80 (shown only in Detroit and Fort Worth).

Bibliography

1886

Molinier, Émile. Les Bronzes de la Renaissance. Les Plaquettes; Catalogue Raisonné. 2 vols. Paris, 1886: 1:59, no. 88, as by Bertoldo.

1908

Migeon, Gaston. "La collection de M. Gustave Dreyfus, V: Les plaquettes." Les Arts 80 (August 1908): 22, repro. in wooden frame, as by Riccio.

1931

Ricci, Seymour de. The Gustave Dreyfus Collection. Reliefs and Plaquettes. Oxford, 1931: 90, no. 124, pl. 37, as by Bertoldo, and with mounting flange shown still intact.

1938

Ragghianti, Carlo. "La Mostra di scultura italiana antica a Detroit (U.S.A.)." Critica d'Arte 3:4–6 (fasc. 16–18) (August–December 1938): 182, as by Francesco di Giorgio (earliest current attribution).

1943

Weller, Allen Stuart. Francesco di Giorgio 1439-1501. Chicago, 1943: 165-168.

1949

Seymour, Charles. Masterpieces of Sculpture from the National Gallery of Art. Washington and New York, 1949: 178, note 32.

1951

Renaissance Bronzes: Statuettes, Reliefs and Plaquettes, Medals and Coins from the Kress Collection. Introduction by Perry B. Cott. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1951: 142, repro. 62.

1965

Pope-Hennessy, John W. Renaissance Bronzes from the Samuel H. Kress Collection: Reliefs, Plaquettes, Statuettes, Utensils and Mortars. London, 1965: 25-26, no. 72, fig. 16.

1966

Montagu, Jennifer. "Plaquettes Revealed." Apollo 83 (March 1966): 229.

1968

Berenson, Bernard. Italian Pictures of the Renaissance. Central Italian and North Italian Schools. 3 vols. London, 1968: 1:142.

1975

Walker, John. National Gallery of Art, Washington. New York, 1975: 629, fig. 969.

1983

Wilson, Carolyn C. Renaissance Small Bronze Sculpture and Associated Decorative Arts at the National Gallery of Art. Washington, 1983: 35, no. 2.

1984

Walker, John. National Gallery of Art, Washington. Rev. ed. New York, 1984: 629, no. 976, repro.

1987

Toledano, Ralph. Francesco di Giorgio Martini. Pittore e scultore. Milan, 1987: 137-138, no. 55, repro.

1993

Fumi Cambi Gado, Francesca. “Sant’Antonio Abate, San Girolamo.” In Bellosi, Luciano, ed. Francesco di Giorgio e il Rinascimento a Siena, 1450-1500. Exh. cat. Chiesa di Sant'Agostino, Siena 1993: 200–201, fig. 1.

1994

Sculpture: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1994: 91, repro.

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