Giovanni Antonio Bazzi, called Sodoma
(Vercelli 1477–1549 Siena)
The Holy Family with The Infant Saint John the Baptist in a Landscape
c. 1505–8
tempera and oil on panel
diameter 76.2 cm (30 in.)
‘In 1592 Rudolf granted Arcimboldo the title of count palatine (of the Lateran) – a singular honour that could be conveyed only by the emperor, and which in the sixteenth century was granted to only three artists: Sodoma, Titian, and Arcimboldo. It has been suggested that this form of ennoblement may cast light on the intellectual capacities of court artists who were so honoured […] and on their role in inter-court relations.’
Thomas DaCosta Kaufmann, Arcimboldo: Visual Jokes, Natural History, and Still-Life Painting, Chicago and London 2009, p. 49
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Artwork details
This tondo, which depicts the Holy Family with the infant Saint John the Baptist gazing up at the Christ Child, is a tender example of Giovanni Antonio Bazzi’s early Sienese style. His unique synthesis of the visual language of the Florentine High Renaissance and the traditions of painting in Siena secured him the patronage of some of the city’s most illustrious religious and private patrons.
Sodoma’s artistic training in Lombardy was marked by Leonardo’s influence, evident here in the Virgin’s graceful pose, the elegant curve of her exposed neck and the naturalistic features of the attentive figure of Saint Joseph. A river landscape painted in serene tones of blue and green extends into the background, lending the painting a sense of calm and tranquillity. Its hilly terrain is punctuated by sparsely foliated trees and bisected by a river, where tiny figures – including a horseman riding at full gallop – go about their business.
Prince Golinicheff Koutousoff (Prince Arseny Arkadyevich Golenishchev-Kutuzov, 1848–1913), Saint Petersburg, probably by 1903, from whom acquired by
Nicholas Riabouchinsky (1877–1951), Moscow;
His sale, American Art Galleries, New York, 26 April 1916, lot 22, for $8,500, to Kleinberger;
With Kleinberger Galleries, New York, until 12 June 1916, when acquired for $16,000 by
Mr Cyrus (1890–1970) and Mrs Hall McCormick (1888–1979), Chicago;
By whose estate sold, Christie’s, New York, 10 January 1980, lot 89, to a New York-based art dealer;
Anonymous sale, Sotheby’s, London, 11 December 1985, lot 4, to A. Deveraux;
With Galleria Luzzetti, Florence, by 1987;
From whom acquired by a Canadian private collector;
By whom anonymously sold (‘Property of a Private Collector’), Sotheby’s, New York, 27 January 2011, lot 130, to a private collector;
Private collection, New York;
The Klesch Collection.
Chicago, Art Institute of Chicago, Loan Exhibition from Private Collections, June–October 1919;
Florence, Mostra mercato internazionale dell’antiquariato di Palazzo Strozzi, 19 September – 11 October 1987;
London, Grosvenor House, The Grosvenor House Antiques Fair, 14–23 June 1990;
Florence, Casa Luzzetti, Collezione Gianfranco Luzzetti: Dipinti, sculture, disegni, XIV–XVIII secolo, 18 September – 6 October 1991, no. 19.
‘Past Exhibitions’, Bulletin of the Art Institute of Chicago, 13, no. 6, September 1919, pp. 89–90, 94, repr. p. 89;
F. Frangi, ‘Il Sodoma: un compianto giovanile e qualche indicazione sulle fonti figurative’, Paragone, Arte, XL, no. 473, July 1989, pp. 66–67 and 75 n. 25, pl. 69 (as datable to 1505–8);
A. Tartuferi in Collezione Gianfranco Luzzetti: Dipinti, sculture, disegni, XIV–XVIII secolo, A. Tartuferi (ed.), exh. cat., Florence 1991, pp. 94–95, no. 19, repr. p. 93;
D. Radini Tedeschi, Giovan Antonio Bazzi, detto il Sodoma: La vita, le opere e gli allievi di uno dei massimi artisti del Rinascimento, Subiaco 2010, p. 130, no. 16 (as datable to 1504).
If you would like to use this image for educational purposes, please contact us.
Hover to zoom to maximum level or click to enlarge
Giovanni Antonio Bazzi, called Sodoma
(Vercelli 1477–1549 Siena)
The Holy Family with The Infant Saint John the Baptist in a Landscape
c. 1505–8
tempera and oil on panel
diameter 76.2 cm (30 in.)
‘In 1592 Rudolf granted Arcimboldo the title of count palatine (of the Lateran) – a singular honour that could be conveyed only by the emperor, and which in the sixteenth century was granted to only three artists: Sodoma, Titian, and Arcimboldo. It has been suggested that this form of ennoblement may cast light on the intellectual capacities of court artists who were so honoured […] and on their role in inter-court relations.’
Thomas DaCosta Kaufmann, Arcimboldo: Visual Jokes, Natural History, and Still-Life Painting, Chicago and London 2009, p. 49
Artwork details
Giovanni Antonio Bazzi, called Sodoma, was born in 1477 in Vercelli, Piedmont, as the son of a shoemaker. In the last decade of the 15th century, Sodoma was an apprentice to Giovanni Martino Spanzotti (1455–1528), and during his artistic training in Lombardy, Sodoma was strongly influenced by the works of Leonardo Da Vinci (1452–1519).1 This affinity is particularly marked in the present work, in the naturalistic features of Saint Joseph, reminiscent of Leonardo’s physiognomies.
In 1501 Sodoma went to Siena, where he combined the High Renaissance style of the early 16th century with the local, more provincial Sienese artistic style, thus ensuring his popularity with the most important religious and private patrons.2 Sodoma painted the present tondo early in his career, before he left Siena for Rome in 1508 when he was invited by Pope Julius II (1443–1513) to work at the Vatican. There, he worked on the Stanza della Segnatura alongside Raphael (1483–1520) whose influence can be seen in Sodoma’s mature style. He returned to Siena in 1510, where he was to spend most of his time until his death in 1549.
Sodoma gained great recognition during his own life and was rewarded by Pope Leo X (1475–1521) with the title of Cavaliere, and by Charles V (1500–1558), who granted Sodoma the title of Count Palatine of the Lateran, an honour bestowed on only two other artists during the 16th century: Titian and Arcimboldo.3
Notes
1. ‘Il Sodoma’, Encyclopaedia Britannica, accessed 19 June 2020, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Il-Sodoma.
2. A. Tartuferi (ed.), Collezione Gianfranco Luzetti: Dipinti, sculture, disegni, XIV-XVIII secolo, exh. cat., Florence, 1991, p. 92.
3. T. DaCosta Kaufmann, Arcimboldo: Visual Jokes, Natural History, and Still-Life Painting, Chicago & London, 2009, p. 49.
Prince Golinicheff Koutousoff (Prince Arseny Arkadyevich Golenishchev-Kutuzov, 1848–1913), Saint Petersburg, probably by 1903, from whom acquired by
Nicholas Riabouchinsky (1877–1951), Moscow;
His sale, American Art Galleries, New York, 26 April 1916, lot 22, for $8,500, to Kleinberger;
With Kleinberger Galleries, New York, until 12 June 1916, when acquired for $16,000 by
Mr Cyrus (1890–1970) and Mrs Hall McCormick (1888–1979), Chicago;
By whose estate sold, Christie’s, New York, 10 January 1980, lot 89, to a New York-based art dealer;
Anonymous sale, Sotheby’s, London, 11 December 1985, lot 4, to A. Deveraux;
With Galleria Luzzetti, Florence, by 1987;
From whom acquired by a Canadian private collector;
By whom anonymously sold (‘Property of a Private Collector’), Sotheby’s, New York, 27 January 2011, lot 130, to a private collector;
Private collection, New York;
The Klesch Collection.
Chicago, Art Institute of Chicago, Loan Exhibition from Private Collections, June–October 1919;
Florence, Mostra mercato internazionale dell’antiquariato di Palazzo Strozzi, 19 September – 11 October 1987;
London, Grosvenor House, The Grosvenor House Antiques Fair, 14–23 June 1990;
Florence, Casa Luzzetti, Collezione Gianfranco Luzzetti: Dipinti, sculture, disegni, XIV–XVIII secolo, 18 September – 6 October 1991, no. 19.
‘Past Exhibitions’, Bulletin of the Art Institute of Chicago, 13, no. 6, September 1919, pp. 89–90, 94, repr. p. 89;
F. Frangi, ‘Il Sodoma: un compianto giovanile e qualche indicazione sulle fonti figurative’, Paragone, Arte, XL, no. 473, July 1989, pp. 66–67 and 75 n. 25, pl. 69 (as datable to 1505–8);
A. Tartuferi in Collezione Gianfranco Luzzetti: Dipinti, sculture, disegni, XIV–XVIII secolo, A. Tartuferi (ed.), exh. cat., Florence 1991, pp. 94–95, no. 19, repr. p. 93;
D. Radini Tedeschi, Giovan Antonio Bazzi, detto il Sodoma: La vita, le opere e gli allievi di uno dei massimi artisti del Rinascimento, Subiaco 2010, p. 130, no. 16 (as datable to 1504).
If you would like to use this image for educational purposes, please contact us.