Lot 9

J. W. Reeve, 77 Cleveland Street, London
Christie's, 18 January 1879, probably lot 40, as Early Italian (£1.4.0 to Ellington) or 45, as Early Italian (£2.5.0 to Lane) or lot 50, as 'Botticelli' (6gns. to Martin Colnaghi)
By 1920 in the possession of the family who then sold,
Christie's, London, Important Old Master Pictures, 8 December 1989, lot 98
where presumably purchased by Robert Compton Jones (accompanied by a copy of the auction catalogue)

The son of painter Benvenuto di Giovanni, the artist trained under his father's supervision in the traditional Sienese style of painting. He worked on several frescoes and altarpieces undertaken by his father's studio, however, his first independent work, The Assumption of the Virgin 1498, (Museo Civico, Montalcino) showed several distinct differences to his father's style such as elongated figures and more pronounced expressions.

The present lot depicts the birth of Christ with the infant at the centre, flanked by Joseph to the left, identifiable by his staff and elderly appearance, and Mary on the right, shown in prayerful posture with a halo. In the middle ground a rustic thatched roof stable houses an ox and donkey while above God the Father appears in a cloudburst surrounded by cherubs, symbolising divine blessing.