Venezianisch

Venetian - Madonna with child. Oil on canvas, partly with doubling to the edges. (late 17th to 1st quarter 18th century). 123.3 x 94.6 cm. Framed. The painter of this graceful nocturnal scene has not yet been identified, but he is likely to have belonged to the Venetian Tenebrosi during the transition from High to Late Baroque due to the dark-toned coloration, the elegant figural style and the soft sfumato. A closeness to Francesco Pittoni, the uncle of the more famous Giambattista Pittoni, is noticeable (cf. his altarpiece of the "Templar of Mary" in the church of San Lorenzo in Vicenza), but the latter rarely achieves the quality of the present work. The painting was once owned by Mary Heilmann-Stuck, the daughter of Franz von Stuck, and her husband, Albert Heilmann. In June 1944, together with other works and paintings by Franz von Stuck, it was removed from the Villa Stuck to the Höglwörth salvage depot and returned to the Heilmann-Stuck family in 1948. We would like to thank Dr. Roberto Contini, Berlin, for his kind assistance in cataloguing the work. Provenance: Collection Mary Heilmann-Stuck (1896-1961) and Consul General Albert Heilmann (1886-1949), Villa Stuck, Munich, with the collection label on the reverse of the canvas; removed from the Villa Stuck via the Bavarian State Painting Collections to the Höglwörth salvage depot in June 1944 (no. 69 on the list as "Italienisch Früh"); Central Collecting Point, Munich, registered there on 24.4.1946 (as "old - Italian" 18th cent.) with the no. "25637"; on 17.11.1948 returned to Consul Albert Heilmann, Äußere Prinzregentenstr. 4, Munich; by inheritance to Otto Heilmann (1919-1971), Munich; thereafter private property, Southern Germany. Taxation: differential taxation (VAT: Margin Scheme)