Penitent Mary Magdalene, Attributed To Gian Lorenzo Bertolotto (1640 - 1721)

Artist: Genoese School (XVII), Attributed to Gian Lorenzo Bertolotto (1640 - 1721)

Title: Penitent Mary Magdelene Comforted by Angels

Date: Circa late 17th century

Overall size with the frame is 150cm x 108cm x 3cm and the painting itself measured at 128cm x 88cm

Biography:

Gian Lorenzo Bertolotto has only recently been rediscovered thanks to the research of Camillo Manzitti and Gianluca Zanelli. The artist was a pupil of his father, Michelangelo (still alive in 1674, but of whom no work has survived) and of G. B. Castiglione.

Bertolotto appears to have had a short yet prolific career. He is listed as a pupil of the renowned Genose painter Domenico Piola, with other sources listing him also being the pupil of Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione, Paolo Gerolamo, and Gregorio De Ferrari.

25 September 1646 and died there on 7 April 1720

Description:

The style, composition and type of painting positions this work within the Genoese School of the 17th century. The Genoese school developed early in the 17th century and took influence from Italian artists of the late 16th century as well as the Flemish artists Rubens and Van Dyck who visited the region to study the work of the Italian artists.

The present work is consistent with the work of other Genoese masters, in particular the work of Gian Lorenzo Bertolotto (Genoa 1640-1720). The depiction of the cherubim, the composition, shadows, atmosphere, pose of the figure, and the size of the work points to this work being attributable to Gian Lorenzo.

Exhausted by her penitence and meditation, indicated by the open book that she rests on the skull in the bottom right of the canvas, the Magdelene is shown gazing lovingly at the Christ on the cross held by one of the visiting angels, the other angel holding a perfume bottle - a symbol identifying Mary Magdalene.

The anatomical characteristics of the Mary and the angels suggest an artist of great skill, training and talent. Compositionally the canvas is ambitious in its format, the execution of perspective, scale, proportion and the spatial relationships is masterfully rendered.

A work titled Jupiter and Semele and the birth of Bacchus, showing similar compositional, technical, and stylistic attributes, was sold as ascribed to Gian Lorenzo Bertolotto by Finarte Auctions S.r.l in November 2023. Another work of similar size to the present work, depicting The Baptism of Christ, was recently sold by a Belgian dealer.

A particularly noteworthy characteristic of the present work is the striking illumination of the central figure as well as the cherubim. This specific treatment of light and shadow is comparable to other works attributed to, and authored by, Gian Lorenzo Bertolotto.

A number of figures in the above mentioned The Baptism of Christ, the authorship of which was confirmed by an Italian Art Historian, are posed, illuminated, and anatomically rendered in a manner that is almost identical to that of the main figure in the present work.

Adding to the likelihood that this work is by Bertolotto is the prominently featured, large-scale figures in the foreground of the paining. Bertolotto is particularly notable for his medium-large works featuring mythological, historical or religious scenes.

Due to the ongoing investigation and documentation of the artist's oeuvre, works by the artist continue to be uncovered and authorship of previously unattributed and incorrectly attributed works are being reassessed and reassigned to the oeuvre of Gian Lorenzo Bertolotto.

The auction record price for this artist at auction is 41,336 USD for Achilles Amongst the Daughters of Lycomedes, sold at Bonhams New Bond Street in 2015 - a work attributed to the artist.

Another painting of comparable size to the present work depicting The Baptism Of Christ was recently sold by a Belgian dealer for $13,655 USD.

Condition report: The painting has been lined in antiquity we think about 100-150 years ago and the canvas as laid is in very good tension. There are no subsequent repairs to the verso of the lining. There is fine craquelure throughout the work and areas of old fine paint loss have historically been retouched with some area of retouching throughout over the old areas of thin paint losses. In general, the retouching has aged well and was well blended. On impression at normal viewing distance the old paint loss isn't immediately obvious, but we would prefer to point this out within the report. The painting is highly decorative and the paint surface is stable. We think the painting has been cleaned quite recently and there are likely to be some fresher areas of refining, possibly over older retouching which may have become discoloured. Overall, in fair to good condition for its antiquity and in our opinion ready to hang on the wall as is.

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