French School, circa 1600 French School, circa 1600

Anonymous sale, Replica Shoes 's Paris, June 23, 2011, lot 23;
Acquired from the above sale by the present owner.

The following condition report has been provided by Simon Parkes of Simon Parkes Art Conservation, Inc. 502 East 74th St. New York, NY 212-734-3920, simonparkes@msn.com, an independent restorer who is not an employee of Replica Shoes 's. This intriguing painting is on paper which has been mounted onto wood. There is a vertical join in the panel down the left side. The paper shows some bubbles here and there, and there is some cracking to the paint layer. The panel is visibly curved. While the painting may retain some original warm glazes, the painting most certainly is extremely dirty. It will certainly be exciting and quite fascinating to clean this picture, as the quality of the paint appears to be extremely good. No retouches are visible under ultraviolet light. There is a diagonal scratch from the bottom lip into the left background, a crack in the paint layer running vertically through the center of the forehead, and a small hole in the paper in the center left side. How much one cleans a picture like this is a matter of taste, but a small amount of cleaning would certainly be very productive.
"This lot is offered for sale subject to Replica Shoes 's Conditions of Business, which are available on request and printed in Replica Shoes 's sale catalogues. The independent reports contained in this document are provided for prospective bidders' information only and without warranty by Replica Shoes 's or the Seller."

This work is a head and shoulders copy after Leonardo da Vinci's famous portrait in the Musée du Louvre, Paris (inv. no. 779).