Tommaso Manzuoli, called Maso da San Friano (1531... Lot 290

Tommaso Manzuoli, called Maso da San Friano (1531 - 1571) Saint Sebastian Oil on panel 98.4 x 73.5 cm Other inscriptions: on verso, in black ink "9," followed further down by "GIOV. ANT. BAZZI DETTO IL SODOMA FECE ANNO 1527 SIENA". Distinguishing elements: traces of a wax seal and ink stamp with scudded archiepiscopal coat of arms; one label with inscription "92" in pen; three modern labels with typewritten number "256376"; one modern label with "CALABRESE" in pen. Provenance: Cambi, Genoa, 6/15/2022, l. 315 ("Italian school of the 16th century, Saint Sebastian," €15,100) Bonds: Certificate of Free Export (2022), "Italian School of the 16th century, Saint Sebastian... "Conservation status. Support: 90%. Conservation status. Surface: 80% (scattered color falls and repainting, possibly additional to those visible in UV) The work was returned, with certainty, to the Florentine Mannerist Tommaso Manzuoli, known as Maso da San Friano, by Carlo Falciani (communication dated September 18, 2023). In the past, as can be seen by observing the ancient inscription on the back, the panel had been erroneously attributed to Giovanni Antonio Bazzi known as Sodoma (1477-1549), only to pass recently at auction with a more generic indication ("Italian School of the 16th century"). Maso da San Friano, was a lively interpreter of late Mannerism in Florence in the second half of the 16th century. According to Vasari's words, he was a pupil of Pier Francesco Foschi; an excellent copyist of the great masters such as Pontormo and Andrea del Sarto, and especially Michelangelo, he knew how to evolve into autonomous and original outcomes. Although his existence was short-he died on the threshold of forty-we see him active in the artistic decoration of the city's most prestigious churches, including San Pier Maggiore, Santa Felicita and Ognissanti, also participating, in 1571, in the decoration of the famous Studiolo di Francesco I in Palazzo Pitti. The subject is Saint Sebastian, a young Roman soldier who lived in the second half of the 3rd century, as illustrated by the iconographic attributes of the arrow held in his left hand and the palm of martyrdom brandished by his right, immortalizing his eternal glory. We thank Professor Carlo Falciani for support in cataloging the work.