Charles Fairfax Murray (1849-1919), Florence;
From whom acquired in 1890 in Florence by Prince Johann II of Liechtenstein (1840-1929), as 'Gaddo di Bartolo' for £370;
Thence by descent in the family;
By whom sold, ("Property from the Liechtenstein Princely Collections"), London, Sotheby's, 7 July 2011, lot 186;
There acquired by the present collector.

Lucerne, Kunstmuseum, 1948, Meisterwerke aus den Sammlungen des Fürsten von Lichtenstein, cat. no. 39;
Vaduz, Italienische Kunst des XIV bis XVI Jahrhunderts aus den Sammlungen des Fürsten von Liechtenstein, 1972, cat. no. 26, reproduced plate XXVII.

W. Suida, Oestereichisches Kunstchatze, Vienna 1911, vol. I, plate X (as Ambrogio Lorenzetti);
R. Van Marle, The Development of the Italian School of Painting, The Hague 1924, vol. II, p. 426, note 1 (as Ambrogio Lorenzetti);
A. Kronfeld, Führer durch die Fürstlich Liechtenseinische Gemäldegalerie in Wien, Vienna 1931, p. 173, cat. no. 869 (as Taddeo Bartoli);
B. Berenson, Italian Pictures of the Reniassance, Oxford 1932, p. 552;
G. Sinibaldi, I Lorenzetti. Siena 1933, p. 2320 (as Ambrogio Lorenzetti);
R. Van Marle, The Development of the Italian School of Painting, The Hague 1934, vol. II, p. 623, note 1 (here and below as Taddeo di Bartolo);
S. Symeonides, Taddeo di Bartolo, Siena 1965, reproduced plate LII;
B. Berenson, Italian Pictures of the Renaissance, Central Italian Schools, London 1968, vol. I, p. 423;
G. Wilhelm, in the exhibition catalogue, Italienische Kunst des XIV. bis XVI. Jahrhunderts. Aus den Sammlungen des Fürsten von Liechtenstein, Vaduz 1972, p. 18, cat. no. 26, reproduced figure XXVII;
G.E. Solberg, Taddeo di Bartolo: His life and work, unpublished Ph.D. diss., New York University 1991, pp. 463-65, reproduced fig. 268.
J. Kräftner, A. Hanzl and K. Klopf-Weiss, in the exhibition catalogue, Auf Goldenem Grund. Italienische Malerei zwischen Gotischer Tradition und dem Aufbruch zur Renaissance, Vienna 2008, pp. 46 and 98, cat. no. 19.

The following condition report has been provided by Karen Thomas of Thomas Art Conservation LLC., 336 West 37th Street, Suite 830, New York, NY 10018, 212-564-4024, info@thomasartconservation.com, an independent restorer who is not an employee of Sotheby's. This painting, which has been slightly expanded in size presumably to create a more finished rectangular shape, is well preserved particularly in light of its having once been part of a larger altarpiece. Small touches of restoration have mostly been applied to compensate for age-related fading in the red lake pigments. Retouching in the face and hands is limited to scattered small strokes, compensation for two minor scratches, and strengthening in the shadows surrounding the bridge of the nose. A moderately-sized loss, restored, is found in the shoulder on the right. Some of the retouching is recognizable under normal light due to a color shift that has caused the retouching to take on a slightly brownish hue. New gilding, including punchwork, was added to extend the gold ground onto additions to the perimeter of the wood panel. A cluster of scratches are located in the gold ground to the left of the figure. A small loss revealing the white ground is visible in the upper right corner. The panel is planar and appears stable. On the back, old insect damage and a crack are visible, but no structural issues are apparent from the front. Although off-color retouching could be adjusted or removed and redone, the painting is presentable in its current state and has no urgent need for conservation treatment.
"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."

Taddeo di Bartolo is first recorded in Siena as a polychromist of statuettes for the cathedral's new choir stalls in 1386 and as an independent painter in 1389, the year of his first known dated work. Somewhat peripatetic, he is known to have worked in Pisa and Genoa and Vasari records that he went as far afield as Padua, though no works from this period survive. On his return to Siena he quickly established himself as Siena's leading painter and remained so until his death.

As is typical for Taddeo's figures, Saint Agnes, shown here with her attribute of a lamb, is presented with a powerful monumentality which fills the pictorial space. We are most grateful to Dr Gaudenz Freuler for suggeting that judging from the panel's size, it once formed part of a lateral pilaster. Solberg (see Literature) links the present work to a group of four panels formerly in the Loew-Beer Collection, Frankfurt (op. cit., fig. 267). The comparable physiognomies, format and decorative details, particularly in the working of the haloes, suggests a similar date of execution circa 1415-20.

A note on the provenance:
Charles Fairfax Murray, the renowned Pre-Raphaelite artist, was an avid collector and connoisseur of early Italian art, which was an important influence on his own work.  He was a respected expert in this field and acted as a consultant for several museums including the Fitzwilliam, the Fogg Art Museum at Harvard University, the Boston Museum of Fine Arts  and the National Gallery who acquired works by Matteo di Giovanni, Nicolò di Buonaccorso, Andrea del Castagno, Giovanni Bellini, and Barna da Siena on his advice.  From 1875 he lived in Tuscany with his Italian wife, firstly in Siena and later in Florence.
The present work was acquired from Murray by Prince Johann II of Liechtenstein in 1890. The prince was an enthusiastic collector whose love of early Italian paintings from the 14^th and 15^th centuries greatly enhanced that area of the Liechtenstein collections.  An art historian in h⛦is own right, he was advise🏅d by the great German scholar Wilhelm von Bode.