(Bologna active 1389 – ante 1443 Venice)
A polyptych: the Madonna and Child, with Saints Francis of Assisi, John the Baptist, James (?) and Anthony of Padua,
oil on gold ground panel, central panel, painted surface: 89 x 35 cm; side panels, painted surface: 82 x 21 cm; overall dimensions: 127.5 x 146.5 cm, with an applied Gothic frame

Provenance:
B. Canto, Milan;
Michele Bagnarelli, Milan, 1963;
with Luigi Galli, Carate Brianza, 1964;
sale, Venice, Semenzato, 30 September 1984, lot 72 (as Venetian School, early 15th Century);
Private European collection;
sale, Sotheby’s, London, 6 December 2018, lot 111 (as Venetian School, 15th Century);
where acquired by the present owner

This polyptych depicts the Madonna in the central panel shown seated on a marble ledge, as she brings her hands together in prayer and she looks at the Christ Child in her lap, who in turn looks back at her, while in his right hand he holds a cartouche. The panel to the left represents Saint John the Baptist dressed in his typical animal skin tunic, he also holds a cartouche, this alludes to the Agnus Dei, that is Christ, whom he signals with his right index finger. The panel on the outer right shows Saint Francis of Assisi who is identifiable by his habit and the marks of the stigmata on his side, hands and feet. The two right hand panels represent respectively a saint holding a staff terminating in a cross, who may be identifiable as Saint James the Greater, and Saint Anthony of Padua holding his typical attribute: a lily.

This polyptych is an example of Venetian sacred art from the first half of the fifteenth century, when new late gothic and proto-renaissance stylistic tendencies were developing in the city. The present painting may have been made by an artist who was influenced by Zanino di Pietro, one of the leading Venetian painters of the era. Zanino di Pietro was an artist of French origin who is also known by the name Giovanni di Pietro Charlier; initially thought to be two separate artistic personalities, it was only in the 1990s that these two names were recognised as referring to a single painter. Zanino was first documented in 1389 in Bologna where he lived for twenty years and became associated with the Giottesque painters, and especially Jacopo di Paolo. From 1406 he established himself permanently in Venice where he was influenced by Gentile da Fabriano who was then working in the city. Zanino asserted himself on the Venetian art scene with his flourishing studio which not only worked for patrons in the city, but also supplied works throughout eastern Italy to towns along the Adriatic coast.