Giambono and Di Fredi: Two Boxed-Up Late Gothic Artists

Published on 30 April 2021, by Carole Blumenfeld

Auction on 22 May 2021 - 13:30 (CEST) - 22, boulevard du Grand-Cerf - 86000 Poitiers

No sign of any Cimabues hiding in any kitchens in 2021—though the year is still young—but instead, two little Late Gothic works never yet seen at auction, attributed to Bartoldo di Fredi and Michele Giambono, in boxes from the beginning of the last century.

Michele Giambono (documented in Venice between 1420 and 1462), The Man of Sorrows,... Giambono and Di Fredi: Two Boxed-Up Late Gothic Artists

Michele Giambono (documented in Venice between 1420 and 1462), The Man of Sorrows, fragment of a devotional panel, tempera and gold ground on coniferous wood panel, vertical thread, 18 x 13 cm/7 x 5.1 in (detail).
Estimate: €30,000/40,000

The two Late Gothic panels from Poitiers will never reveal their full stories, which remain well-kept secrets. A receipt indicates that the works were bought from "E. Vinot" in 1936. On the back of Saint Anthony the Abbot , the inscription followed by the date 1881 and the unidentifiable red wax seal might one day yield more information, but as with the Cimabue – sold in a public auction in France at 24 M€ – we are reduced to mere theorizing. In which minor chapel, warehouse or attic did they languish for an age before being cut up for more appealing presentation by suppliers eager to meet the craze for these Gothic works? Were they acquired in situ as souvenirs of the Grand Tour, or brought back by dealers from one of their trips around Italy? And when precisely? Not all Late Gothic works…

This article is for subscribers only

You still have 85% left to read.

To discover more, Subscribe