The Prophet Isaiah

Details

Bernardino Jacobi Butinone Treviglio c. 1450-1510
The Prophet Isaiah
inscribed 'IYAIA PROFETA' (on the scroll)
tempera, lacquer and gold on panel, in an engaged frame
5¾ in. 14.5 cm. diameter

Provenance

Aldo Noseda, Milan.
with Jacques Goudstikker, Amsterdam, by 1931.
Looted by the Nazi authorities, July 1940.
Recovered by the Dutch authorities, 1948.
in the custody of the Dutch Government. Restituted in February 2006 to the heir of Jacques Goudstikker.

Literature

M. van Dantzig, 'Schildertechnieken en de Italiaansche tentoonstelling in the Stedelijk Museum', Maandblad voor Beeldende Kunsten, II, 1934, p. 293, no. 10, fig. 3.
R. van Marle, 'La pittura all'esposizione d'arte antica italiana di Amsterdam', Bolletino d'Arte, 28, 1934-5, p. 453.
C. Wright, Paintings in Dutch Museums, Amsterdam, 1980, p. 68.
Old Master Paintings: An illustrated summary catalogue, The Hague, Rijksdienst Beeldende Kunst (The Netherlandish Office for the Fine Arts), 1992, p. 61, no. 376, illustrated (as 'Bernardino Jacobi Butinone').
C.E. de Jong-Janssen in D.H. van Wengen, Catalogue of the Italian Paintings in the Bonnefantenmuseum, Maastricht, 1995, pp. 28-9, no. 8, illustrated (as 'Bernardino Butinone, c. 1480').

Exhibited

Amsterdam, Stedelijk Museum, Italiaansche kunst in Nederlandsch bezit, July-October 1934, no. 61.
Maastricht, Bonnefantenmuseum, on loan.

Lot Essay

Butinone was born in Treviglio, near Bergamo, on the border of Lombardy and the Veneto. Little is known of his early training, but he seems to have been in an ideal position to pick up the artistic trends emanating from Padua to the east, Pavia in the west and Ferrara from the south. His refined and expressive style is derived from a close study of the likes of Andrea Mantegna, Cosimo Tura, Francesco del Cossa, and Vincenzo Foppa. He is documented in Milan by 1484, and it was here that he settled, at the head of a thriving studio. From 1485 he collaborated with Bernardo Zenale, producing altarpieces as well as fresco cycles in Milan for such churches as Santa Maria delle Grazie and for the Sala della Balla in the Castello Sforzesco (the latter now destroyed).

The present roundel, with its integral frame, depicting the Prophet Isaiah, half-length looking straight ahead and holding his identifying scroll, appears to be part of an as yet unidentified polyptych.

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