Lorenzo Costa d. Ä., um 1460 Ferrara – 1535 Mantua ADORATION... Lot 215

Lorenzo Costa d. Ä., um 1460 Ferrara – 1535 Mantua ADORATION OF THE CHILD WITH SAN NICOLA DA TOLENTINO, circa 1491/93 Oil on softwood, mounting rails on verso. 50 x 41.5 cm. Verso old label "Auktion Lempertz Nov. 1961, Kat. 466, Nr. 161" (there still listed as Piedmont Master). In aedicular frame. Expertise of Dr. Alessandro Delpriori, University of Florence. Here further details and comparisons of works. The panel, probably commissioned for a house chapel because of its dimensions, depicts the birth of Christ in the stable of Bethlehem. Mary and the child lying on a mat on the ground are placed in the centre of the picture, to the right is Joseph, barefoot, leaning on a stick. The background is formed by the wooden stable with a boarded canopy, below it the main figures, behind them donkey and ox. On left a hilly landscape from which St. Nicholas of Tolentino, depicted here, is shown in monk's habit and kneeling posture. The monk and preacher (c. 1245-1305) was canonized in 1446. The Augustinian saint holds a cross here and is identified by his attribute - a star, which according to legend accompanied him during his sermons. The painting is accompanied by a detailed expert description. According to this, the work is classified in the early phase of the painter, thus probably before the encounter with the Bolognese Francesco Francia (1447-1517) and his pronounced fine painting. Thus a certain austerity still prevails here, which shows closer affinity with his teachers Francesco del Cossa (1435-1495) or Cosmé Tura (c. 1430-1495). In contrast, the Bolognese influence becomes noticeable after Costa - fleeing from the plague - moved there to work at the court of Giovanni Bentivoglio. In 1483 a "Costa" is documented as a painter in connection with the Palazzo Bentivoglio. From public collections the "Crucifixion with Founder" in the Lindenau-Museum Altenburg is mentioned, painted in Ferrara around 1480. Although Costa's work does not show the dynamic movement of his contemporary Ercole de' Roberti, it should be remembered that the present picture has similarities with the latter's "Adoration of the Child" (National Gallery London), with a similar construction of the stable building in Bethlehem. A.R. Provenance: Private collection. Literature: Rolf Toman, Barbara Borngässer, Alexander Rauch, Uwe Geese, Malerei, in: Renaissance. Art and Architecture of 15th and 16th Century Europe, Bath et al. 2011. Emilio Negro, Nicosetta Roio, Lorenzo Costa (1460-1535), Modena 2001. Philip Hendy, The National Gallery London, Gütersloh 1978. (12903118) (11) Lorenzo Costa the Elder, ca. 1460 Ferrara - 1535 Mantua THE ADORATION OF THE CHRIST CHILD WITH SAN NICOLA DA TOLENTINO, CA. 1491/93Oil on softwood, with parquetting slats on the reverse. 50 x 41.5 cm. Old label from Lempertz auction on the reverse, Nov. 1961, cat. 466, no. 161 (listed as Piedmontese master). Expert's report by Dr Alessandro Delpriori, Florence University enclosed. More details and work examples of comparison are given in the report. As a work held in a public collection, the "Crucifixion with Donor" at Lindenau Museum Altenburg, which originated in Ferrara in ca. 1480, should be mentioned here. Even though Costa's work does not show the dynamic emotion of his contemporary Ercole de'Roberti, we should nevertheless recall the similarities between the present painting and his "Adoration of the Christ Child" (National Gallery London), which shows a similar structure of the stable building in Bethlehem. Provenance: Private collection. Literature: Rolf Toman, Barbara Borngässer, Alexander Rauch, Uwe Geese, Malerei, in: Renaissance. Art and Architecture of the 15th and 16th Century in Europe, Bath et al. 2011. Emilio Negro, Nicosetta Roio, Lorenzo Costa (1460-1535), Modena 2001. Philip Hendy, The National Gallery London, Gütersloh 1978.