Vittore Giuseppe Ghislandi, called Fra' Galgario

Henry Harris, London, by 1924;

His posthumous sale, London, Replica Shoes 's, 25 October 1950, lot 230, to Wildenstein;

With Wildenstein & Co., New York and Paris;

With Galerie Heim, Paris;

With Wildenstein & Co, New York and Paris;

From whom acquired by the previous owner;

By whom sold (‘Property of a Private Collector’), New York, Replica Shoes ’s, 27 January 2005, lot 155;

Acquired subsequently by the present owner.

London, Thomas Agnew and Sons, The Magnasco Society, October–November 1924, no. 14.

O. Sitwell, 'The Magnasco Society', in Apollo, May 1964, p. 381, no. 14;

F.M. Ferro, 'Fra Galgario oltre monti', in Arte Illustrata, no. I, January 1968, pp. 14–15, reproduced;

M.C. Gozzoli, Vittore Ghislandi detto Fra' Galgario, Bergamo 1981, pp. 124 and 184, no. 154, reproduced fig. 6 (incorrectly described as oil on canvas).

This well-preserved portrait of a young man displays all the hallmarks of Fra' Galgario's mature style, characterised by bold, confident brushstrokes and richly worked impasto, most strikingly evident in the sitter's features. As in many of his informal portraits, typically bust-length and of comparable dimensions, the sitter is shown close to the pictorial plane, engaging directly with the viewer. The sitter's shoulder and garments are rendered with the characteristic economy of brushwork typical of Fra' Galgario's mature phase, while the modelling of his features is more finished, achieved through a subtle build-up of paint and colour. In her monograph on the artist, Maria Cristina Gozzoli dates the present work to the last decade on the painter's life (see Literature).

For more information about the artist please refer to Portrait of a boy, three-quarter-length, wearing a brown embroidered coat (lot 66).