Art Institute of ChicagoPublic domain

Mary Magdalene

Moretto da Brescia · 1540–50

Analyst brief

What the record supports

"Mary Magdalene," an oil on canvas by Moretto da Brescia, is dated 1540–50. Its dimensions are 166 × 47 cm (65 3/8 × 18 1/2 in.). The artwork was a gift of Mr. and Mrs. William Goodman and is classified as "oil on canvas" within the Painting and Sculpture of Europe department, representing Italian culture.

The painting's provenance traces back to the Avogadro family in Brescia by 1760, then passing through the Fenaroli family until it was sold in an auction in 1882. It subsequently passed through various dealers and collectors, including P. Scalvini Antiquario, Thomas Humphry Ward, Sir William James Farrer, Charles Fairfax Murray, F. Mason Perkins, and T. J. Blakeslee. Vose Galleries sold it to William Owen Goodman in 1917, who later gifted it to the Art Institute in 1935 after being on loan since 1928.

"Mary Magdalene" was exhibited at the Art Institute of Chicago for "A Century of Progress" from June 1 to November 1, 1933. No auction prices are explicitly stated in the provided catalogue data, only that it was sold for 100 gns in 1904 and 200 gns in 1912, but these are noted as being "according to annotated sale catalogues" not directly in the primary record itself.

Generated from the catalogue fields shown on this page. Nartmad does not assert attributions, valuations or prices that no cited source supports.

Provenance

Ownership history

Avogadro family, Brescia, by 1760, inventory after 1760, no. 82 [according to Chizzola and Carboni 1760, p. 179; and MS inventory, L.II.6 m.3, in the Biblioteca Queriniana, Brescia]; by descent to the Fenaroli family, Brescia, Palazzo Fenaroli-Avogadro, by 1820, [see catalogue of Fenaroli collection, 1820]; for relationship between the Avogadro and Fenaroli families, see Lechi, Fedrigolli, and Lechi 2010]; Bartolomeo Fenaroli (died 1869), Brescia, Palazzo Fenaroli-Avogadro, by 1869 [according to Lechi, Fedrigolli, and Lechi 2010, who cite the 1870 inventory of paintings owned by Bartolomeo made upon his death in 1869, l’Archivio Bettoni Cazzago, Brescia]; by descent to his son Gerolamo Fenaroli (died 1880), Brescia, Palazzo Fenaroli-Avogadro, from 1869 [according to Lechi, Fedrigolli, and Lechi 2010, who cite an inventory of paintings owned by Gerolamo made upon his death in 1880]; sold by his heirs in the auction of the Fenaroli collection, Brescia, April 16–19, 1882, either no. 3657 or no. 3661 [the auction catalogue is reproduced in Lechi, Fedrigolli, and Lechi 2010, pp. 66–71]. P. Scalvini Antiquario, Brescia, by 1898 [see da Ponte, 1898]. Thomas Humphry Ward, London [seller’s name given in an annotated copy of the 1904 sale catalogue at Christie’s, London referenced below]; sold Christie’s, London, May 14, 1904, no. 54, to Farrer for 100 gns [according to the annotated sale catalogued referenced above]; Sir William James Farrer (died 1911), Sandhurst Lodge, Wokingham, from 1904; sold Christie’s, London, March 23, 1912, no. 33, to Agnew for 200 gns [according to annotated copies of the sale catalogue at Christie’s, London]; sold by Agnew, London, to Charles Fairfax Murray, 1912 [information recorded in the ledger of Thomas Agnew and Sons, Ltd.]. F. Mason Perkins, Florence, by 1912 [according to a letter from F. Mason Perkins to T. J. Blakeslee dated December 5, 1912, in curatorial file]; sold by Perkins to T. J. Blakeslee (died 1914), New York, by February 23, 1914 [see letter cited above and Gombosi 1943, p. 111.]; sold to Vose Galleries, Boston, February 23, 1914 [according to Vose Galleries ledger, inventory no. 3611, Boston]; sold by Vose Galleries to William Owen Goodman, Chicago, February 5, 1917 [see letter from Robert C. Vose, Jr., to Margherita Andreotti dated May 12, 1988, in curatorial file; also Vose Galleries ledger cited above]; on loan to the Art Institute from 1928; given to the Art Institute, 1935.

Recorded by Art Institute of Chicago.

Exhibitions

Exhibition history

Art Institute of Chicago, A Century of Progress, June 1–November 1, 1933, no. 130.

Literature

Published references

[L. Chizzola and G. B. Carboni], Le pitture e sculture di Brescia che sono esposte al pubblico con un’appendice di alcune private gallerie (Brescia, 1760), p. 179.
Filippo Baldinucci, Notizie de’ professori del disegno, vol. 6 (Turin, 1820), p. 135.
Galleria di quadri esistenti in casa Fenaroli in Brescia (Brescia, 1820), p. 13, no. 162.
Federico Odorici, Guida di Brescia (Brescia, 1853), p. 192.
J. A. Crowe and G. B. Cavalcaselle, A History of Painting in North Italy (London, 1871), p. 401; 2d ed., ed. by Tancred Borenius, vol. 3 (London, 1912), p. 291.
S. Fenaroli, Alessandro Bonvicino soprannominato: il Moretto, pittore bresciano (Brescia, 1875), p. 48.
Paolo da Ponte, L’opera del Moretto (Brescia, 1898), p. 50.
F. Mason Perkins, “Miscellanea,” Rassegna d’arte 15 (1915), p. 123, ill.
Giorgio Nicodemi, Gerolamo Romanino (Brescia, 1925), pp. 130, 132, ill.
Roberto Longhi, “Recensioni: Di un libro sul Romanino,” L’arte 29 (1926), p. 146; reprinted in Opere complete di Roberto Longhi, vol. 2 (Florence, 1967), p. 104.
Adolfo Venturi, Storia dell’arte italiana, vol. 9, pt. 4 (Milan, 1929), p. 203.
Georg Gronau, “Moretto, Alessandro,” in Thieme-Becker, Allgemeines Lexikon der bildenden Künstler von der Antike bis zur Gegenwart, vol. 25 (Leipzig, 1931), p. 141.

Comparables