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After Raphael's La Madonna della Seggiola, Early Oil Painting [169717]

Currency:USD Category:Art Start Price:1,500.00 USD Estimated At:3,000.00 - 5,000.00 USD
After Raphael's La Madonna della Seggiola, Early Oil Painting [169717]

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Incredible, early oil painting made after Raphael Sanzio's circa 1515 Italian Renaissance Masterpiece, La Madonna Della Seggiola or "Madonna of the Chair."
Raphael's original painting is housed at the Pitti Palace in Florence, Italy as part of the Palazzo Pitti Collection, owned by the Medici family since shortly after Raphael's death in 1520. It was originally located in the Uffizi but was transferred to the Pitti in the first decade of the 16th century. According to Raffaele Monti, in his 1966 Grosset Art Library publication, RAPHAEL, the original Madonna of the Chair was commandeered by the French in 1799 and restored in 1815. Most scholars date the original to around 1515-1516, soon after the Madonna of the Fish. The Madonna of the Chair is one of the most revered paintings of the Madonnas done by Raphael; it has been admired by many artists over the years and has been copied many times.

This early copy is an exquisite early oil painting that likely dates to the early 19th Century and clearly the work of a skilled artist. Original oil on canvas that has been re-stretched and mounted on a 30" wood frame that is braced inside the outer, decorative gilt frame. There is a very old paper label on the reverse of the inside wood frame with "No. 1732" written in ink in the English Round handwriting style. The outside gilted gold frame is handmade of wood and measures 34" square, with an inside circular spandrel liner intricately decorated with a Victoria period design, now barely visible. The viewing area, like Raphael's original, measures 28" in diameter. The outside gold gilt frame was probably custom made to fit the inside mount and looks to be circa 1900-1910 with style elements of both the Art-Deco and Victorian periods. The canvas was restretched in the second half of the 19th century, as wood corner braces, known as keys, were used to stabilize the mounting frame, which has oxidized to a deep brown color with age. The canvas has been trimmed along the edges and is mounted using antique metal staples, but there are nail holes present on the outer edge of the wood mount, a sign the mounting frame was re-built when the canvas was restretched, and originally the canvas was nailed to the wood mount. There are very slight impression lines visible when examining the painting horizontally from eye level, a condition common for pre-1850 paintings that were mounted on older frames that employed horizonal wood cross bars for stability, a design commonly used prior to the invention of keys to stabilize the frame at the corners. The canvas was not lined during the re-stretching process, which makes this uncommon for a piece restretched post 1850 as relining, as a restorative practice, came into widespread use in the mid-to-late 1800s. The absence of lining on a mount with the corner key design, indicates the restoration was performed closer to 1850. The back of the canvas has darkened significantly with age and some staining or oil/varnish "bleed-through" is present; this painting was touched-up using paint, varnish or both, at some point in it's history. Examining the edge of the circular viewing area shows the varnish/overpaint was applied prior to both re-stretching the canvas, as well as re-framing much later in the gilted gold frame. Fortunately, the staining on the reverse is relatively minor for a piece this old that has been overpainted or varnished. The painting is in relatively good condition for its age, with minor wear-through and tears in the canvas. Even areas that show no sign of overpaint or varnish, such at the faces, still have good color and show minimal fading, darkening, damage or other discoloration from dust, smoke, light, heat, or moisture exposure. Still, craquelure of the paint is present, though not severe and in irregular, inconsistant form, as expected of any authentic painting 100-200+ years old. There are two small (approx 1-1.5") tears visible in the circular viewing portion - please examine the photos carefully. Outside the viewing area, with magnified examination of the reverse, we found some tiny areas (less than 3mm in size) where the canvas is wearing through, another indication that this painting likely dates to at least the early 1800s, but could possibly be as old at the late 1700s.
Another great piece from original art collection out of the Hyatt Estate.
Italy