With Frederick Mont, New York, by 1964;
Private collection, Switzerland;
Alfred Brod, 1970.

New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1972, temporary loan;
New Orleans 1997, no. 63.

G. Ewald, "Studien zur Florentiner Barockmalerei," in Pantheon, vol. 23, no. 5, September/October 1965, pp. 307-8, reproduced in color p. 310;
M. Gregori, 70 Pitture e Sculture del '600 e '700 Fiorentino, exhibition catalogue, Florence 1965, p. 46;
C. Thiem, Florentiner Zeichner des Frühbarock, Munich 1977, p. 371, under no. 155;
G. Cantelli, Reportorio della pittura fiorentina del Seicento, Florence 1983, p. 58, reproduced fig. 230;
S. Bellesi, Cesare Dandini, Turin 1996, p. 150, no. 94, reproduced;
New Orleans 1997, pp. 161-163, cat. no. 63, reproduced p. 162;
S. Bellesi, Catalogo dei Pittori Fiorentini del '600 e '700, Florence 2009, p. 122;
G. Cantelli, Reportorio della Pittura Fiorentina del Seicento, Pisa 2009, p. 71;

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 work has a mid-20th century glue lining. The paint layer is very fresh and mostly un abraded. However, although retouching is not clearly visible under ultraviolet light, two or perhaps three areas of old and complex damages are visible to the naked eye. There is one in the upper right background, where a series of restorations has been applied to the left of the cross and in the shoulder of the Madonna. There is another in the forehead of St. John, which extends into his hair, into the brown robe of the Madonna and above into the cross. There is a third area in the shoulder and bicep of St. John where fairly extensive restorations have occurred. The right side of the picture seems to have received the bulk of these structural damages, and the center and left side show very few and isolated restorations. If the work were cleaned and properly retouched, the difference would be notable.
"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."

Although attributed to Cristofano Allori in the distant past, this graceful and captivating painting was restored to the catalogue of Cesari Dandini by Gerhard Ewald in 1965.  Dandini's refined and elegant skill as a painter are exemplified within this work.  He uses a rich palette and a harmonious composition to create an intimate scene of the Virgin and Child linked in a tender embrace near an adoring John the Baptist.  The illumination of the three figures against a dark background draws attention to their classical faces, their soft red lips, and their delicate expressions—all of which have been completed with remarkable execution.  Dandini explores the same poetic embrace and elegant subject in a red chalk sheet study located in the British Museum, London (fig. 1).

The Weldon Dandini not only has roots in Raphael's paintings of the Virgin and Child but also relates thematically and compositionally to other works by the artist’s hand.  Dandini's depictions of female figures embracing a child share thematic similarities with his famed Allegory of Charity compositions, an example of which is in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (inv. no. 69.283).  The tender composition of the present work must have touched his clientele, for Dandini returned to it on a number of occasions, and such scenes are among the the most remarkable and poignant paintings of the artist's career.¹    

1. For variations on the present composition, see Bellesi under literature, pp. 148-150, cat. nos. 92 and 93, p. 177, cat. no. 119. Also see S. Bellesi, Cesare Dandini: Addenda al catalogo dei dipinti, Florence 2007, p💖p. 46-48, ca🍎t. nos. 43 and 44.