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). The dating of the Modena painting, most probably in the d'Este collection by 1624, 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 Giorgione1.

There are notable differences between the Modena work and the present composition: in the distant landscape and the tree behind the figure, in the position of the cartiglio and of the sheep's head. 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.


Notes
1 P. Humfrey and M. Lucco, Dosso Dossi. Court Painter in Renaissance Ferrara, New York, 1998, exh. cat., p.88