Fra Bartolommeo, a Friend of Raphael

[Pierre Tavlitzki]

A large oil on panel, 149 x 122 cm, estimated £ 2 million, could be the event in upcoming auctions in London. Submitted by Christie's on July 7, it is signed by Fra Bartolommeo and dated 1516.

One year before his death, the Florentine master was familiar with the work of Raphael and Michelangelo. Much better! He had without doubt a great influence on Raphael, a little younger than himself, by the exceptional quality of his drapery and his expressive power of color.

Becoming a Dominican friar after having supported Savonarola, he only accepted orders for religious subjects. Here we see the Virgin and St. Elizabeth encouraging an enthusiastic friendship between the two putti Jesus and John. The scene is placed under a tree before an imaginary landscape.

The colors are nice and neat, the drawing is clean without being too present, the draperies are elegant, the balance of the composition is amazing.

This painting coming from a collection well known since the nineteenth century is a true rarity on the art market at auction. The estimate above is much conservative. For comparison, a double-sided 27 x 19 cm drawing of Fra Bartolommeo, showing studies of heads, had reached $ 1.9 million charge included at Sotheby's on 23 January 2008. I like to believe that Christie's is already preparing a triumphant press release.

[Pierre Tavlitzki]

I continue to believe that this lot was better than its estimate, which it hardly reached. At £ 2.15 million including premium, we assume that the buyer is happy!