Count Teodoro Lechi, Milan and Brescia, before 1814 and until after 1837;
Dr. Lotmar, Berne;
Theodor Fischer, Luzern;
William G. Mather, Cleveland, 1928;
By whom given to The Cleveland Museum of Art in 1951🃏 [acc.𝐆 no. 51.329].

Indice e descrizione dei quadri del sig. Generale conte Teodoro Lechi di Brescia esistenti nella sua casa in Milano, Milan 1814, p. 15, no.40, (as by Moretto);
Elenco della Quadreria del Conte Teodoro Lechi, Brescia 1824, p. 23, no. 43, (as by Moretto);
Descrizione, 1837, p. 21, no. 54, (as by Moretto)  (for all three Lechi inventories, please see F. Lechi [ed.], I quadri  della collezione Lechi in Brescia. Storia e documenti, Florence 1968);
B. Berenson, Italian Pictures of the Renaissance.  Central and North Italian Schools, London 1968, vol. I, p. 277, (as by Moretto);
B. Fredericken and F. Zeri, Census of Pre-Nineteenth Century Italian paintings in North American Public Collections, Cambridge 1972, pp. 144, 336, 574;
Cleveland Museum of Art, Catalogue of Paintings:  Part Three.  European Paintings of the 16th, 17th, and 18th Centuries, Cleveland 1982, pp. 376-377, no. 166, reproduced (as School of  Alessandro Moretto);
P. V. Begni Redoni, Alessandro Bonvicino. Il Moretto da Brescia, exh. cat., Banca Sao Paolo di Bescia 1988, pp. 552-553, reproduced (as a derivation of the Poldi-Pezzoli picture);
A. Chong, European & American Painting in The Cleveland Museum of Art:  A Summary Catalogue, Cleveland 1993, p. 314 (as Follower of Moretto).

This work has been relined. Cusping is evident along the upper right framing edge. The paint surface is thinned and pressed, with evident cracking and a few old, repaired losses. There appears to be an old repaired tear that runs from the right of John the Baptist's face through the Christ Child's wrist. Under UV there are very few evident retouches. There are a few old fills -- to the Christ Child's elbow and the Madonna's cheek -- that are also evident to the naked eye. There are also a few scattered retouches to the face of John the Baptist. The background appears to have been largely untouched. In a carved and gilt wood frame.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

In an early description of the collection of the Italian soldier and (eventual) patriot Teodoro Lechi,  there is listed a painting of "La divina Madre sta assisa e tiene stretto al suo seno il santo Pargoletto, che accetta l'offerta d'un pomo da S. Giovanni, stendendo gentilmente una manina al frutto, e l'atra di lui spalla in segno d'aggradimento.  Stanza, e da un'apertura, a destra, monti."¹  Subsequent catalogues of the Lechi collection, after it was moved from Milan -- then the capital of the Kingdom of Italy -- to Lechi's native city of Brescia also describe the picture (see Literature).  Despite the mistake by the cataloguer of the original listing of the collection—who inadvertently moved the window and mountain view of the picture from left to right—there can be little doubt that the "divina Madre" mentioned in the Indice is the present picture.  The sizes and all of the othe🌞r particulars of the paintings match closely, and there are no other known versions of this composition that include a landscape ꧑element at all.

The composition of the painting derives from one of Moretto's most celebrated works, the Holy Family with the Infant Baptist in the collection of the Museo Poldi Pezzoli, Milan (inv. 3494; see M. Carminati et al., Pittura in Lombardia: il Medioevo e il Rinascimento, Milan 1998, p. XX), on which a number of versions and copies are based (see Begni Redoni op.cit., pp. 551-54, cat. nos. 187-192).   Willem Suida (in a document dated June 1928) considered the present painting to be a fully autograph work of Moretto, although he appears to have seen it in uncleaned state, and Berenson retained the picture amongst the autograph works in his lists (see Literature).  Subsequent scholars, however, have disagreed:  Ellis Waterhouse, who saw the painting in 1963, considered it a studio work (verbal communication) and Fredericksen and Zeri concurred.  Begni Redoni (see Literature), however, noted some quality in the picture, particularly in the figure of the Virgin "che conserva ancora in misura apprezzabile la dolcezza e la soavità delle Madonne morettesche." 

1. Trans:"The divine Mother is seated and  holds close to her breast the holy Babe, who acce🦄pts the offering of an apple from Saint John, gently extending a small hand to the fruit, and the other to (Saint John's) shoulder as a signed of his approval. [A] Room, and from an opening, at right, mountains."