Madonna and Child with the Infant Saint John the Baptist,
oil on panel, 75.5 x 61 cm, framed

Provenance:
Governor William W. Scranton and First Lady Mary L. Scranton,
Pennsylvania;
thence by descent in the family;
sale, Sotheby’s, New York, 2 February 2018, lot 198

The present painting has been given to Giuliano Bugardini (1475–1554), however it can also be stylistically compared to the works of Mariotto Albertinelli (1474–1515). Albertinelli  trained under Cosimo Rosselli alongside Fra Bartolommeo, with whom he formed a workshop in the 1490s. Albertinelli and Fra Bartolommeo subsequently collaborated on commissions which can sometimes make it difficult to differentiate their work. They appear to have operated under an equal partnership, dividing proceeds from their commissions in half.

In Albertinelli’s independent works he appears to have favoured more subtle chromatic shifts, such as those evidenced in the present painting. In this composition the soft contours of the flesh are formed with an almost sfumato effect, in a manner different from the stronger chiaroscuro preferred by Fra Bartolommeo. The transitions of colour in the drapery, with diffused highlights, are also reminiscent of Albertinelli.