Beautiful painting on paper by Gaudenzio Ferrari

Loeckx, from Belgium, sold on 29 May 2018 a "Gaudenzio Ferrari, Italy, 16th century" "drawing" of "The way of the cross", estimated at 3,000 to 5,000 Euro. (The link now gives an error, it can also be seen at Invaluable).

The work is signed and dated 1501, and is a painting on paper measuring 57 by 24 cm. And it is beautiful.

Crucifixion, 1513 fresco

Gaudenzio Ferrari (1471 or 1475-1547) was a Milanese painter, contemporary to Bernardo Luini. His most famous pupil was Andrea Solario. He was a prolific artist, and many works by him are known, though most are from the last decades of his life. This work would be one of the earliest known works.

Although the auction house mentions some condition issues (a tear and small holes), overall it is very well preserved, with vibrant colours. The work is probably a final study for a large painting or fresco, but can be considered a completed work of art on its own (and is as such signed and dated).

Researching the painting, at first I encountered a work by Ercole de Roberti (1451-1496) with largely the same composition (work for sale shown below it for easy comparison); this would mean that the work for sale was a later copy, or that the signature and date were not original. But when I tried to find out where the painting was now (as I originally ofund it on one of those annoying "we sell copies of paintings" websites without any further information), I found out that that work is now in the collection of the San Diego Museum of Art and is now attributed to Gandolfino da Roreto (1475-1530) and dated "ca. 1500", which exactly matches our date and leaves open all debate about who copied who, or whether they are by the same author or both based on an older third work. The San Diego version is slightly larger (70 by 29 instead of 57 by 24), but the version for sale looks more complete (at the top) and has more action to the left side. And the colouring is quite different, which often points to a common origin in an engraving, or one of them being based on a black-and-white drawing.

Further details from the work at Loeckx show the quality of the drawing and painting in this work. The faces could do with some improvement (but one has to remember the scale of the work), but if one considers this a youth work of Ferrari, I have no difficulty accepting it as genuine.

I have not posted this work before the auction because I have contacted the San Diego Museum instead, to give them a chance to acquire this as a perfect addition to the work they already have. They haven't responded to my post though (a common failure in many institutions it seems, they don't have to agree with me at all but a simple acknowledgement that they have read a mail isn't too much to ask surely?).

UPDATE: sold for 5,500 Euro, seems still cheap. Perhaps people were put off by the"drwing" description, when this is really more of a painting on paper surely?