Workshop of Giovanni di Niccolò de Luteri, called Dosso Dossi (San Giovanni del Dosso circa 1486-1542 Ferrara)A Buffoon holding a lamb with a man holding an owl, an extensive landscape beyond
oil on canvas
104 x 153.5cm (40 15/16 x 60 7/16in).注脚Provenance
Bought by the present owner's grandfather in Rome circa 1912

The figure of the Buffoon in the present painting is taken from the work by Dosso Dossi in the Galleria Estense, Modena (inv. no. 169) which was in all likelihood in the Este collection by 1624 when 'a head of a buffoon on canvas in a black, partly gilded frame' (Una testa in tela d'un buffone con cornice nera tocca d'oro) was recorded in the property of Cardinal Alessandro d'Este1. The dating of the Modena painting has been much discussed but it is broadly considered to have been executed at the outset of his career, most probably when the young Dossi was in Venice, at a moment when he was still very much influenced by Giorgione2.

Notable differences between the Modena work and the present composition can be found in the alterations made to both the distant landscape and the tree behind the figure, to the position of the cartiglio and of the sheep's head. Whilst it is impossible to read the whole inscription on the cartiglio of the Modena painting, an early copy, previously in the Frezzati Collection, Venice, has 'Sic Girinus' inscribed on it. The Este buffoon appears to have been cut down although it is not clear as to how much, suggesting that the present picture may provide a possible original state for the work. Technical analysis of the present painting shows that the pigments used are consistent with a 16th century work and the dark grey preparation was used by Dossi and his studio.

Given that the original painting was most likely executed in Venice before 1520, it is an unusual choice of subject matter. In his entry for the painting, Peter Humfrey suggests this choice may help to confirm that Dossi's period of study in Venice was sponsored either by the marchese Francesco Gonzaga or his wife, Isabella d'Este3. Whilst not an obvious subject for a work of possible Venetian origins, it does follow on from Jean Fouquet's now famous depiction of the Ferrarese jester, Gonnella (Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna, inv. no. 1840), the favourite of Niccolò III d'Este (fig.1).

Notes
1 G. Campori ed., Raccolta di cataloghi ed inventarii inediti di quadri, statue, disegni, bronzi, dorerie, smalti, medaglie, avorii ecc. dal secolo XV al secolo XIX, Modena, 1870, p. 62
2 P. Humfrey and M. Lucco, Dosso Dossi. Court Painter in Renaissance Ferrara, New York, 1998, exh. cat., p.88
3 ibid p. 88