Lot Essay
Giovanni dal Ponte, so named after the location of his studio at Santo Stefano a Ponte in Florence, is believed to have been a student of Spinello Aretino. A prolific artist, Giovanni painted in a decorative, linear manner influenced by the Late Gothic style, with some degree of variation as he assimilated the artistic advances of his contemporaries. The figure of Saint John the Baptist in this composition can be compared to the same figure in two versions of Giovanni's Triptych: Coronation of the Virgin (Musée Condé, Chantilly; and Accademia, Florence). The fall of the Virgin's robe, with the right side draped over her left knee, recalls in reverse Spinello's treatment of the same subject (Pinacoteca, Città di Castello).