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Lot Essay
The name 'Francesco' was discovered by Eve Borsook (see E. Borsook, 'Maestro Francesco and a portrait of the Signoria in Florence' in Festschrift Ulrich Middeldorf, Berlin, 1968, pp. 60-3) on a panel depicting The Madonna and Child among saints and angels, formerly in the Church of Santa Maria in Quarto, in the Florentine countryside, and now in Galleria dell'Accademia in Florence. Alongside this signature, the panel also bore the date 1391. Miklòs Boskovits later defined this artist's profile and corpus, indicating that his output was focused mainly on devotional paintings depicting the Madonna and Child, or the Coronation of the Virgin surrounded by Saints (see M. Boskovits, Pittura Fiorentina alla vigilia del Rinascimento, Florence, 1975, pp. 236-7, notes 161 and 162).
The coincidence of the Gondola and Salvetti arms on the plinth of this gold ground panel suggests that it was made for a family formed by the marriage of these two houses. The Gondola arms are likely those of the husband, standing on the dexter side of the plinth, while those on the other side may belong to his wife, born Salvetti.
We are grateful to Professor Boskovits for suggesting the attribution to 'Francesco' on the basis of photographs, and to Jan van Helmont for his identification of the arms.
The coincidence of the Gondola and Salvetti arms on the plinth of this gold ground panel suggests that it was made for a family formed by the marriage of these two houses. The Gondola arms are likely those of the husband, standing on the dexter side of the plinth, while those on the other side may belong to his wife, born Salvetti.
We are grateful to Professor Boskovits for suggesting the attribution to 'Francesco' on the basis of photographs, and to Jan van Helmont for his identification of the arms.