An unknown Italian artwork at the Auckland Art Gallery
by Simona Albanese
In the various art galleries of the southern hemisphere there are still preserved many artworks of international origin, including a large quantity of Italian paintings. In the Auckland Art Gallery there is a large Italian canvas (1545 x 2015mm), most probably of Venetian origin, retained in the Gallery's storage for a very long time, still expecting a possible attribution.
|
Unknown artist Joseph receives his siblings Late 16th century Oil on canvas Mackelvie Trust Collection Courtesy of the Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tamaki (accession. No. M1882/2/1) Figure 1. |
Joseph receives his siblings (fig.1), is the painting in question. It was acquired in 1882 by James Tannock Mackelvie (1824-1885), a merchant who made his fortune in Auckland during the second half of the 19th century. Mackelvie purchased this painting from Hamilton Palace in London, together with two paintings by Guido Reni (1575-1642), Saint Sebastian (accession no. M1882/2/3) and The Christ Child Asleep(accession no. M1882/2/2). These works were sent to Auckland in 1882 and are still part of the international collection of the Gallery.
While the painting by Reni has always been attributed to the artist, Joseph receives his siblings has not still received a definite provenance. In fact, in the last few centuries the painting has received several attributions, among which it was erroneously sold for a painting of Jacopo Carrucci the Pontormo (1494-1557). This occured when, in 1882, two paintings with the same subject, but of different invoice, were sold in the Hamilton Palace auction. Joseph in Egypt (accession no.1131) by Pontormo was purchased by the National Gallery of London, while Joseph receives his siblings by an anonymous hand was sent to Auckland.
The painting by Pontormo is part of a series painted by the artist together with other artists between 1515 and 1520. But as yet we do not know if the painting in Auckland was part of a series of paintings of the life of Joseph, who the author was and the period in which is was executed. The only information available received before the sale of the work to Mackelvie is from G.F Waagen, who attributed the painting to Jacopo Bassano (1510-1592), remembering a work placed in the lounge near the library. (1)
From the moment the painting arrived in Auckland various catalogues (printed between 1885 and now) the work is described as by Pontormo and coming from London's Hamilton Palace. (2)
During the 1980s Peter Tomory and Robert Gaston tried to catalogue for the first time all the international artworks located in the New Zealand and the Australian public collections. (3) Joseph receives his siblings was not listed in the book, confirming that the painting was not in situ. How could the painting be on display in another location if it was in a bad state of conservation? Where was it stored? Unfortunately there are no documents on this work or certainties on which to base the facts.
A supposition could be that the artwork was on loan for a short period of time or perhaps under the supervision of some other scholars. However it is difficult to confirm this hypothesis as the work was not in a good hanging condition (needing restoration) and unframed. (4)
In the 1990s, the then director of the Gallery, Christopher Johnstone, decided to write to different historians among whom were Professor William R. Rearick and Cecil Gould (Director of the National Gallery of London between 1973 and 1978), asking their opinion on attribution and restoration requirements. During the same period Mary Kisler, curator of the Mackelvie Collection, and Sarah Hillary, Principal Conservator at the Auckland Art Gallery, carried out research on the work.
After careful study, research and a visit to Bassano del Grappa, Kisler suggested that the painting was from a Venetian environment and perhaps work of a young Francesco Bassano (1549-1592), but as the painting was in poor condition she has not succeeded in a uniform attribution. Hillary carried out some analysis on the conservation of the painting.(5) Due to scarcity of funds it was not possible to restore the painting, and it was relocated into Gallery storage, once again depriving the public access to this work.
During her research Kisler was in contact with several art historians, including Rearick and Gould, of whom she asked their opinion. The first thought there was only a vague connection between the painting in Auckland and one of the members of the Bassano family. For him the work was able to be ascribed to the style of Vicentino, a Venetian artist, active in the Veneto region and in the studio of the Bassano family only after 1575. But obviously due to the scarcity of documentation this cannot be authenticated and it is known that during the same period many artists worked in the Bassano studio. This still leaves the correct attribution in doubt. Gould, instead, thought that the painting in Auckland was done by Jacopo Bassano, as described in the Carlo Ridolfi book Le meraviglie del'arte ovvero le vite degli illustri pittori veneti e dello stato, Venice, 1648. In a section on the life of Jacopo Bassano, it mentions that he painted a series on the parables. (6)
After the analyses and supposition by art historians and researchers, today the painting is stil yet to have a certain attribution. If the work were restored it would be possible to establish the period of execution, the type of material used (such as the type of binding), in order to do a technical and comparative analysis with previous restorations and other works of a similar vintage.
Joseph receives his siblings is one of the Biblical stories in Genesis, where Joseph, son of Jacob, many years after having being treacherously sold off by his brothers realises that the better solution is to receive them rather than seek revenge.
|
Detail, Figure 2. |
Even if the painting cannot be attributed with certainty to a member of the Bassano family, it can certainly be considered as part of a circle of artists who underwent the influence of strong personalities working in the period, such as Tintoretto (1518-1594).
|
Detail. Figure 3. |
Depending on the area studied on this extensive canvas the execution of the painting varies a great deal; the work of a maestro in the overall execution and particularly in the pavilion (fig.2) and in some of the faces (fig. 3), while other parts the work is more probably by a more junior artist, such as in the painting of most of the hands. It is even possible to see the result of an unreliable 19th century restoration of the painting (fig. 4), especially where the colours have been abraded and there is discolouring.
|
Detail. Figure 4. |
The work could even be an 18th century copy of an original by an unknown artist, (6) but this too is supposition.
To understand in full the validity of these suppositions and to find a possible author for the painting, in my opinion, the best solution would be the immediate restoration of the work so that it could finally be displayed when the Auckland Art Gallery reopens to the public in 2011.
I wish to thank: Mary Kisler (Mackelvie Curator, International Art, Auckland Art Gallery) for her continuous support and the information provided; Sarah Hillary (Principal Conservator, Auckland Art Gallery) who has provided her conservation report on the artwork, and my father, Giorgio Albanese (Conservator, Palazzo Venezia, Rome, Italy), for his opinion on the actual state of conservation of the painting. My father had the opportunity to see the artwork in person during one of his visits to New Zealand (28 September 2007).
(1) G.F. Waagen, Art Treasures of Great Britain III, London, 1854, p.
304.
(2) Catalogue of the Mackelvie Collection for Auckland, New Zealand,
Auckland, 1885, p. 57; C.D. Whitcombe, Descriptive and historical
handbook to the Auckland Art Gallery, and Mackelvie Collection with
biographical notices of the principal artists, etc, Auckland: Wilsons
and Horton, 1888, p. 70; Catalogue of the Auckland Municipal Art
Gallery, also of the Mackelvie Collection: with brief illustrative notes
on the artists, etc, /compiled under the direction of the Auckland City
Council, and the Trustees of the Mackelvie Collection, Auckland: Brett
Printing, 1914, p. 59; Catalogue of the Auckland Municipal Art Gallery,
also of the Mackelvie Collection: with brief illustrative notes on the
artists, etc, /compiled under the direction of the Auckland City
Council, and the Trustees of the Mackelvie Collection, Auckland: Brett
Printing and Publishing, 1921, p. 89; Auckland Municipal Art Gallery and
the Mackelvie Collection. Supplementary catalogue (illustrated),
Auckland: Brett Printing, 1922 (no mention of the work); Catalogue of
the Auckland Art Gallery, including the Mackelvie Collection /compiled
by the direction of the Auckland City Council, and the Mackelvie
Trustees, Auckland: Brett Printing, 1925, p. 181; A Summary Catalogue of
paintings and drawings and sculpture, Auckland: Pelorus Press Ltd, 1964
(no mention of the work); C.W. Vennel, The Mackelvie Trust, Auckland:
Wilson and Horton Ltd, 1971, p. 14; The Mackelvie Collection: a
centenary exhibition, 1885-1985, Auckland: The Mackelvie Trust, Auckland
City Art gallery, Auckland Institute and Museum, 1985 (no mention of the
work); B. Gamble & P. Shaw, Auckland City Art Gallery: a centennial
history, Auckland: Auckland City Art Gallery, 1988.
(3) P Tomory & R. Gaston, European Paintings before 1800 in Australian
and New Zealand Public Collections, Sydney, 1989.
(4) Mary Kisler mentioned that the work wasn't on loan to The
Auckland Museum, because there were no existing documents to testify
that.
(5) The report is dated 25 November 1999.
(6) Gould thought the painting an episode of the Gospel of Matthew: 18,
23-25.
(7) Comment of Professor Claudio Strinati, who had the opportunity to
see the photo of the artwork my father showed him in 2007, after his
return to Italy.
Copyright © 2008 NZArtMonthly. All Rights Reserved