Antonio Scarpa, Pavia, 1832-1833;
Pinacoteca Scarpa, Motta di Livenza, 1833-1895;
Their sale, Milan, Giulio Sambon, 14 November 1895, lot 53 (as School of Raphael);
Eugene Kraemar, Paris;
Anonymous sale, Paris, Galerie Georges Petit, 2-5 June 1913, lot 37 (as Francesco Granacci);
Anonymous sale, New York, Anderson Galleries, 15 April 1926, lot 25 (as Giulio Romano);
Mark Leopold, New York;
His sale, New York, Kende Galleries, 14 April 1944, lot 58 (as Ridolfo del Ghirlandajo);
Where acquired by the widow of Mark Leopold;
By whom given to the grandmother of the present owners.

Descrizione della Pinacoteca del Sig. Giovanni Scarpa esistente fino al 1833 in Motta, Provincia di Treviso, restaurata dai Veneti artisti sig.ri Giacomo Tonegutti e G. Battista Carrer e riaperta nel 20 Ottobre 1844, Portogruaro, Castion 1859, p. 7, cat. no. 14;
Descrizione..., 1872, p. 26, cat. no. 81;
P.G. Molmenti, "La Pinacoteca Scarpa in Motto di Livenza," in Archivio Veneto, Vol. VIII, Part I, 1874, p.13, no. 81;
S. Reinach, Répertoire de peintures du Moyen âge et de la Renaissance (1280-1580), vol. v, Paris 1922, p. 348;
P. Andor, A régi képtár katalógusa, Szépművészeti Múzeum catalogue, Budapest 1954, vol. I, p. 197; 
P. Andor, A régi képtár katalógusa, Szépművészeti Múzeum catalogue, Budapest 1967, vol. I, p. 235, under cat. no. 6;
C. von Holst, Francesco Granacci, Munich 1974, pp. 183, 201-2, cat nos. 190, 131a, and possibly 131b, reproduced, p. 238, fig. 158 (under erroneous attributions);
E. Fahy, Some Followers of Domenico Ghirlandajo, New York 1976, p. 197 (as Homeless);
V. Tátrai,Treasures of Venice: Paintings from the Museum of Fine Arts, Budapest, Minneapolis 1991, p. 39;
S. Momesso, La Collezione di Antonio Scarpa (1752-1832), Padua 2007, pp. 74-76, under cat. no. 4, reprodu♒ced (as location unknown).

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 painting has not been cleaned for some time and will undoubtedly clean as can be by in the two tests, one at the upper center and one in the center left. There is a break in the panel running vertically through the center, suggesting that the panel is made from two sections of wood. Beneath this old varnish the paint layer seems to be in healthy state. Cracking has developed in the deepest colors of the robe of the Madonna, but there are no visible retouches beneath this varnish except for a few pots in the lower sky and in the forehead of Christ. The cleaning should leave a patina of age to lend a little character to the paint layer.
"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 artist's eponymous work is his copy after Perugino's Lamentation (Galleria Palatina, Palazzo Pitti, Florence) in the Church of San Bartolo in Tuto, Scandicci (near Florence). Little is known about the painter's activity though it is possible that he began his training under Perugino (given the existence of the aforementioned copy). Since the style of the Master's other known works are closer to that of the pupils of Domenico Ghirlandaio, and in particular to Ridolfo Ghirlandaio, to whom this picture has been given in the past, it is likely that he was later active in Florence. The smooth handling and Raphaelesque overtones in this picture are particularly close to those in the Master's panel of The Madonna and Child with the Infant St. John the Baptist sold at Sotheby's, London, 9 December 1981, lot 24. For a comprehensive list of the artist's oeuvre see E. Fahy, op.cit., pp. 196-197.

The present painting once belonged to the Italian scientist and collector Antonio Scarpa (1752-1832) who from the age of twenty was professor of anatomy and surgery at Modena and then professor at the University of Pavia. In addition to his career as a scientist, Scarpa was an avid art collector, and amassed a considerable collection of Old Master Paintings, which were subsequently housed in a gallery in Motta di Livenza.¹ The present work, group was sold in the single owner sale of his collection as School of Raphael. Since then, the names of Giulio Romano, Ridolfo del Ghirlandaio, and Francesco Granacci have all been attached to the work at some point. Another version of the painting, given to Granacci in full is located in the Szépmüvészeti Múzeum, Budapest (inv. no. 67).² Everett Fahy was 🌟the first to recognize this picture as an autograph work by the Master of the Scandicci L𒁏amentation (see Literature).

1.  Another work from the collection by Bartolomeo Schedoni was recently sold, New York, Sotheby's, 3 June 2010, lot 57.
2.  See Literature.