(Anchiano 1452–1519 Amboise)
The young Salvator Mundi,
inscribed on the reverse: no. 66 DEL MORA,
oil on panel, 25.1 x 20.2 cm, unframed

Provenance:
Lucrezia d’Este collection, Ferrara (1535-1598);
Cardinal Pietro Aldobrandini, Rome (1571-1621);
thence by descent to his nephew Cardinal Ippolito Aldobrandini, Rome (1592-1638);
thence to his mother Olimpia Aldobrandini Pamphilj, Rome (1623-1681); 
thence by descent to her son Giovanni Battista Pamphilij, Rome (1648-1709);
Private collection, France;
art market, France;
where acquired by the present owner

Documented:
Inventory of Lucrezia d’Este, 1592, no. 109: ‘uno di N. S. Quando era puttino cornisato di noce di mano del Moro. N1’ (see P. Della Pergola, L’inventario del 1592 di Lucrezia d’Este, in: Arte antica e moderna, 1959, p. 347);
Inventory of Cardinal Pietro Aldobrandini, 1603, no. 66 (see C. D’Onofrio, Inventario dei dipinti del cardinale Pietro Aldobrandini compilato da G. B. Agucchi nel 1603, in: Palatino, 1964);
Post-mortem inventory of Cardinal Ippolito Aldobrandini, 9 September 1638, no. 1386: ‘Una testa di Christo giovane come si dice di mano del Morra in tavola alto palmi uno, quarto uno’ (see The Getty Provenance Index © databases, Inventory I-1009, item 0140);
Inventory of Olimpia Aldobrandini Pamphilij, before 1665, no. 66: ‘Un quadro in tavola con una testa di Nostro Signore giovane alto p. uno, et un quarto di mano del Moro’ (see The Getty Provenance Index © databases, Inventory I-296, Page 158, item 0064);

This small painting of great quality and refinement of execution is an important record of Northern Italian Renaissance painting which appears to be previously unpublished. The work shows the influence of Leonardo combined with characteristics from Ferrara and the Venetian territories.

The youthful Christ portrayed in the painting, captures the viewer with the intensity of his gaze; he is portrayed bust length with long curling hair, directly inspired by the famous Salvator Mundi. The sweet, almost feminine, lines of his features clearly evoke the language of Leonardo, while the work is also distinctive for its skilled use of colour and the precision of its drawing. The hair, illuminated by white highlighting, the curls and each strand of hair executed with the tip of the brush and described with immense precision, is magnificent. The figure of Christ emerges from a dark ground in which there is no spatial definition, while the youth’s head is encircled by a most refined halo, emblematic of illumination and Divine Grace.

This rare iconography of Christ the Redeemer relates directly to a letter written by the Marchesa Isabella d’Este, wife of Francesco II Gonzaga, in 1504, in which she describes and commissions a ‘figure of Christ as a youth of about twelve, that is, of that age when he disputed in the temple, and is to be made with that sweet gentleness of airs that is of particular excellence in your art’ [‘figura di un Cristo giovinetto de anni circa duo deci che seria di quell’età che l’haveva quando disputò nel tempio, et facto cum quella dolceza et suavità de aiere che aveti per arte peculiare in excellentia’].

Isabella’s words clearly clarify her aspirations: to obtain an example of Leonardo’s mastery ‘in that sweet and gentle style’ [‘in quello stile dolce e soave’] for which the Tuscan genius was universally known and she specifically wanted to own a painting of the single figure of Christ as a youth rather than the more traditional representation of Christ Disputing in the Temple. It is not known if Leonardo actually executed this commission, or even if he made preparatory studies for the painting which has regrettably have not come down to us. What is certain though, is that this was a very rare subject in Renaissance painting of the early sixteenth century. Echoes of Leonardo’s thoughts for this work can be seen in some paintings from early sixteenth century Mantua, as well as in others by his closest followers. Among these are the Christ as a youth attributed to Giovanni Antonio Boltraffio or Marco d’Oggiono (fig. 1, Museo Lázaro Galdiano, Madrid, inv. no. 2680); that of Francesco Bonsignori in the John J. Johnson collection, Philadelphia Museum of Art (inv. no. 172) and above all, the motif assigned to the early years of Correggio, circa 1510, in the National Gallery of Art, Washington (fig. 2, Kress Collection inv. no. 1961.9.68). Indeed, it is possible, as has been suggested, that Correggio took inspiration from the lost model by Leonardo and that it might even have been Isabella d’Este who requested the painting of the young Correggio while he was in Mantua in substitution of Leonardo.

Vilmos Tátrai has suggested an attribution to Francesco Marmitta (circa 1462/1466–1505) for the present painting, and considers it to be a late work, created under the influence of Leonardo. He compares the present image of The young Christ to to another work by Marmitta, the Pala di San Quintino in the Louvre (Louvre, Paris, inv. no. 116). The similarity between Christ’s features in the present painting and the features of San Quintino (clad in armour and positioned to the right) in the altarpiece, is startling. Both have the same oval shaped face, the same chin, the same luminous and penetrating eyes. The similarity is so strong as to suggest that the artist used the same model for both paintings. Not much is yet known about Francesco Marmitta: he was certainly one of the most important miniature painters of the Renaissance and authored such sublime works as the Libro d’Ore Durazzo (Biblioteca Berio, Genoa) and he was a celebrated goldsmith. The only painting assigned to him with certainty is the above-mentioned altarpiece in the Louvre, which is a product of his maturity.

Technical analysis by Gianluca Poldi:

The painting is on a panel (about 1 cm thick), and the back is painted with an imitation of red porphyry, with an old inventory ‘n. 66 DEL MORA’, painted in white.

UV induced fluorescence of the verso shows two inscriptions made with a brush, but only the upper larger one can be read as a ‘.ISS.’ or “‘.155.’.

No evident significant underdrawing can be seen by IR reflectography, only a few thin outline traces of drawing: under the lips, the nose, the neck, and under the red mantle, where the folds on the right were varied during painting.

The work is in good condition and the quality value of the painting technique is of note, as seen in the refined golden halo and in the ability in rendering the thin, dishevelled hair that spreads out in the background, contrasting and completing the compact curls that fall over the shoulders with their precise highlights.
Vermillion was employed in the red cloak, with glazes of madder lake darkened with black particles in the shadows. Madder-type lake, easy to be detected by vis-RS, was also used in the lips, and it can be found in Venice and sometimes also in Lombard painting especially after the early the fifteenth century.
A mixture of vermillion, ochre and light yellow in a lead white matrix, all very finely grinded, make up the flesh tones, with some additions of larger grains of black to create shadows.