(Arezzo 1511–1574 Florence)
An Allegory of Winter,
oil on panel, 80.5 x 79.5 cm, framed

Provenance:
Collection of Hans von Pernull (1868–1949), London;
his heirs;
their sale, Christie’s, London, 27 November 1970, lot 38;
Collection of Anna Moffo Sarnoff (1932–2006), New York;
her sale, Sotheby Parke-Bernet, New York, 22 January 1976, lot 78;
where acquired by Alexandre Villiers;
Private collection;
where acquired by the present owner

Literature:
C. Davis, in: L. Corti/C. Davis/M. Daly Davis/J. Kliemann (eds.), Giorgio Vasari: principi, letterati e artisti nelle carte di Giorgio Vasari. Pittura vasariana dal 1532 al 1554, exhibition catalogue, Arezzo 1981, p. 45 (as Workshop of Vasari);
L. Corti, Vasari. Catalogo completo, Florence 1989, p. 87, no. 66, illustrated (as Vasari, with measurments 90.2 x 78.7 cm);
F. Härb, The Drawings of Giorgio Vasari, 1510-1574, Rome 2015, p. 364, figs. 214.1 and 214.2 (as Vasari)
C. Falciani, in: C. Falciani, P. Curie (eds.), La collection Alana. Chefs-d’oeuvre de la peinture italienne, exhibition catalogue, Bruxelles 2019, p. 172 (as Vasari)

The present painting is registered in the Fototeca Zeri under no. 16874 (as Giorgio Vasari, Putti con radici, with measurements 90.2 x 78.7 cm).

Technical analysis by Gianluca Poldi:

The painting technique is coherent with Vasari’s practice. A striking under-drawing can be seen by IR images, more evident in the 1-1.7 microns band (IR scanning device). This drawing is usually very fluent, rarely rigid, made with a black dry medium, probably black chalk, it cannot be excluded that a cartoon was used in places, with a carbon-paper transfer. A sure handed line defines the contours of the figures and their anatomy. A few lines are a little retraced, in the faces and in some of the feet. In the Allegory of Winter, the vegetables were schematically drawn, while the yellow ribbon was probably added during the painting process, with a lighter drawing.

If we compare the subject of the painting to the Study for a Ceiling Decoration conserved in the Art Institute Chicago (inv. no. 1922.42), some general similarities with the putti in the corners can be noted, but the postures are not identical. In addition, in the Chicago drawing, the putti do not present evident symbols or objects, therefore they may not be allegorical subjects, while the putti in the present painting hold different vegetables, probably being an allegorical representation of one of the four seasons. The painter may have inverted the putto at the front with the one at rear, in respect to those in the upper right corner in the drawing, in this case, placing the putto with his back turned behind the other and also modifying the poses, however, the intertwining is similar in both depictions. Whether the Chicago design refers to this painting or not, it could have been a similar ceiling, or another version of the same ceiling.

As Reflectance spectroscopy analysis revealed, the sky contains small blue pigment, partially discoloured. This pigment was frequently used by Vasari, as research confirms (see G. Poldi, Pigmenti, colore, sporco, alterazioni. Le analisi in riflettanza vis-NIR sulla ‘Pala Albergotti’, in: L’ingegno e la mano. Restaurare il mai restaurato. Il restauro della Pala Albergotti di Giorgio Vasari nella Badia delle Sante Flora e Lucilla di Arezzo, conference proceedings [Arezzo, Sala dei Grandi della Provincia, 28-30 March 2008], ed. by I. Droandi, Florence 2009, pp. 63-74), sometimes the discolouration process profoundly changed the colour from bright blue to brown. In the present painting the hue is now bluish-grey, but it would have been more blue originally. The palette employed also includes lead white, lead-based yellow, vermillion, a good quality carmine-type red lake, yellow ochre and earths.