JACOPO DA VALENZA (VÉNÉTIE, ACTIF ENTRE 1485 ET 1509)

Lot 9
15.06.2023 15:00UTC +01:00
Classic
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€ 189 000
AuctioneerCHRISTIE'S
Event locationFrance, Paris
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ID 975003
Lot 9 | JACOPO DA VALENZA (VÉNÉTIE, ACTIF ENTRE 1485 ET 1509)
Estimate value
€ 100 000 – 150 000
JACOPO DA VALENZA (VÉNÉTIE, ACTIF ENTRE 1485 ET 1509)

Portrait d'un jeune homme

huile sur panneau

34,6 x 26,5 cm. (13 1/3 x 10 1/4 in.)





Provenance

Collection d'Alessandro Castellani (1823-1883), Rome ; sa vente, hôtel Drouot, Paris, (Me Chevallier), 12-16 mai 1884, lot 463 (comme 'école italienne du XVe siècle) ; d'où acquis par Symond pour 4,500 francs.

Mathieu dit Édouard Aynard (1837-1913) ; sa vente, galerie Georges Petit, Paris, (Me Lair-Dubreuil), 1er décembre 1913, lot 49 (comme 'école vénitienne XVe siècle').

Galerie Gismondi, Paris, vers 1986 ; d'où acquis par une collection particulière en 1987.

Vente anonyme, Sotheby's, New York, 29 janvier 2015, lot 9.

Collection particulière, Paris.



Post lot text

JACOPO DA VALENZA, PORTRAIT OF A YOUNG MAN, OIL ON PANEL

The art historian Federico Zeri (1921-1998), a specialist in the Italian Renaissance, was the first to link the present painting with the work of Jacopo da Valenza, an artist active in the Veneto between 1485 and 1509, dating it to the first phase of the painter's career, around 1480-1485 (see typewritten note dated 28 July 1989, inv. no. 25295).

An excellent example of Venetian portraiture at the end of the 15th century, this painting is reminiscent of the work of Alviso Vivarini (1446-1502), with whom Jacopo da Valenza probably trained in Venice. His influence can be seen in the linear, precise drawing of the model's facial features – especially the eyes and lips – which give the portrait its distinctive dynamism. The influence of Antonello da Messina (1430-1479), who was very popular in Venice at the time, can also be seen in our portrait: the sitter is positioned in a three-quarter view against a black background, with all the light of the painting focused on his face.

The life and work of Jacopo da Valenza is not well documented: he was active in the Veneto region in places such as Serraballe, Belluno and Feltre, and the first firmly attributable work by his hand is a Madonna and Child signed and dated 1485, formerly in the collection of Marino Pagani (1764-1815) in Belluno (G. B. Cavalcaselle, J. A. Crowe, A History of Painting in North Italy (...), London, 1871, I, p.73). A year earlier, the Bishop of Ceneda, Nicolò Trevisan (d. 1498), had commissioned an altarpiece for the local cathedral, in which Jacopo da Valenza executed a Madonna and Child with St. Sebastian, St. Anthony and Trevisan himself, heralding Marino Pagani's Virgin and Child (G. Tagliaferro, 'Jacopo da Valenza', in Treccani Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani, 2004, 62, online edition).

The model's hairstyle, with long, slightly wavy hair down to the shoulders and a neat fringe, allows us to date this painting to circa 1490. This hair trend follows the a zazzera style, which was very fashionable a decade earlier and can be seen in the Portrait of a Young Man by Jacometto Veneziano (active circa 1472-1498) in the Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York, inv. no. 49.7.3). The model's red cap and blue cloak provide us with a further clue as to the model's age: not having yet adopted the toga and bareta, attributes of the Venetian nobility at the turn of the century, this young man was probably not yet 25.
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