Private Collection, London;
With C. Sestieri in Rome in 1979 and 1980 according to the Fototeca Zeri.

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 Sotheby's. This panel seems to be in very original condition. The work is painted on an unusually wide single section of wood. There is one reinforcement in the lower right to support a crack in the panel. The upper right and left corners are visible and show the original un-gilded panel. The gilding itself seems to be original and the painted areas, although showing restorations quite clearly under ultraviolet light, are also in good state particularly for a work of this period. The restorations have been accurately applied and address the crack in the lower right, some losses on the floor in the lower center and other random spots here and there. The faces and hands of the figures are well preserved and the only other loss of any note is in the chin of the round red face on the far right.
"This lot is offered for sale subject to Sotheby's Conditions of Business, which are available on request and printed in Sotheby's sale catalogues. The independent reports contained in this document are provided for prospective bidders' information only and without warranty by Sotheby's or the Seller."

The Master of Gaglianvecchio takes his name from a small village near Sanseverino in the Marches where the artist's oldest known work originates, a painted Crucifix from circa 1420 now in the Pinacoteca Civica in Sanseverino.¹ His distinctive personality was first proposed by Andrea De Marchi and points to an artist whose early style was heavily influenced by Lorenzo Salimbeni (1374 - circa 1420) before moving into the sphere of Arcangelo di Cola da Camerino (active 1416-1429).² At least three other works can be securely added to his oeuvre, a Crucifixion with a Donor in the Pinacoteca in Camerino, another Crucifixion in Pievebovigliana; and a Triptych in the Museo Diocesano in Spoleto.³

This Coronation of the Virgin, dated 1450, is steeped in the contemporary Marchigian style: the clearly demarcated brows and the stern-gazed faces are typical of the period, while in the decoration of the Madonna's robes a late Gothic flavor can still be felt, which goes back to Gentile da Fabriano. Certain features of the panel's craftwork, which stand out for their rich and varied tooling, can also be found in the Camerino and Pievebovigliana crucifixions. In particular the penta-lobe punchmarks in the haloes point to the closeness between the artist and Arcangelo di Cola.⁴   

The inscription along the lower edge refers to a Brother Thomas who has yet to be identified. Since the Camerino Crucifixion -- which also bears an inscription but which in that case can be linked to the name of the depicted donor -- originally came from a church originally owned by the Umbrian Benedictine congregation of Sassovivo, Dr. Matteo Mazzalupi hypothesizes that Frater Thomas could be Brother Thomas of Foligno, Abbot of Sassovivo between 1440 and 1467.⁵ As he goes on to state, however, this can only be a suggestion as countless friars by that name would have lived in the area.

We are grateful to Dr. Matteo Mazzalupi for proposing the attribution and to Professor Andrea De Marchi for his endorsement.


1. See M. Mazzalupi in A. De Marchi and M. Giannatiempo Lòpez (eds.), Il Quattrocento a Camerino, Milan 2002, pp. 167-168, reproduced.
2. See A. De Marchi, Arcangelo di Cola a Firenze, "Prospettiva", 53-56, 1988-89, pp. 190-99. Dr. Mazzalupi has recently tentatively suggested a possible identification with Angelo di Bartolomeo da Camerino (see his chapter 'Intorno a Bartolomeo di Tommaso, ricerche sulla "Scuola di Ancona"', in A. De Marchi (ed.), Intorno a Gentile da Fabriano. Nuovi studi sulla pittura tardogotica, Livorno 2008, pp. 121-123).
3. See Mazzalupi's catalogue entries in De Marchi and Giannatiempo López, op. cit., pp. 168-170, cat. nos. 18 and 19. Mazzalupi has informed us (private communication) that the Spoleto Triptych may be only partially the work of the Master of Gaglianvecchio since most of it seems to have been executed by a more modern and talented apprentice, possibly the young Giovanni Angelo d'Antonio da Bolognola.
4. See M.S. Frinta, Punched Decoration: on Late Medieval Panel and Miniature Painting, Prague 1998, p. 452, cat. no. Ka 57.
5. Private communication, 28 October 2010.