Copy after Sarto's Pieta

Artistafter Andrea del Sarto (Italian, 1486 - 1530)

Dateearly 1600s

CultureItalian

MediumOil on canvas

ClassificationPaintings

ProvenanceHugh Andrew Johnstone Munro of Novar (1797–1864), London and Novar House, Ross, Scotland; by inheritance to his sister, Isabella Margaret Butler-Johnstone (d. 1873), London and Novar House, Ross, Scotland; by inheritance to her son, Henry Alexander Munro-Butler-Johnstone (1837–1902), London and Novar House, Ross, Scotland; (sold Novar sale, Christie’s, London, 1 June 1878, lot 102, for £1,785, to Rutter). William Ward (1817–1885), 1st Earl of Dudley, London; by inheritance to his son, William Humble Ward (1867–1932), 2nd Earl of Dudley, London; (sold Dudley sale, Christie’s, London, 25 June 1892, lot 87, for £945, to Agnew). Joseph Ruston (1835–1897), Monk’s Manor, Lincoln; (sold Ruston sale, Christie’s, London, 21 May 1898, lot 97, for £630); Sir William James Farrer (1845–1906), Sandhurst Lodge, Berkshire, and London; (sold Farrer sale, Christie’s, London, 23 March 1912, lot 62, for £500, to Clements). George Nathaniel Curzon (1859–1925), 1st Viscount Scarsdale, and Earl, Baron, and Marquess Curzon of Kedleston, Kedleston Hall, Derbyshire; by inheritance to his nephew, Richard Nathaniel Curzon (1898–1977), 2nd Viscount Scarsdale and Earl, Baron, and Marquess Curzon of Kedleston, Kedleston Hall, Derbyshire; (sold Curzon sale, Christie’s, London, 18 July 1930, lot 113, for £399, to Arthur U. Newton, New York); John Ringling (1866–1936), Sarasota, Florida; bequest in 1936 to the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, Sarasota, Florida.

Credit LineBequest of John Ringling, 1936

Object numberSN522

Andrea del Sarto was the leading painter in Florence in the early 16th century, having studied with Piero di Cosimo (whose work can be seen in Gallery 4). This Pietà, a later copy of a painting Andrea made about 1515-1520, shows the complex poses, studied rendering of light, and unexpected juxtapositions of color that are typical of his style. The figure of the Virgin is deliberately enlarged, balancing out the strong horizontal of Christ’s lifeless, outstretched body.

On View

On view

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