Francesco de' Rossi, called Francesco Salviati Italy, 1510-1563
Further images
Another significant recent discovery by the gallery.
This exquisite panel is a key piece in the reconstruction of Francesco Salviati's early career, during his first stay in Rome, which began in 1531 and was marked by his fascination with the art of Perino del Vaga.
The authorship of the work is confirmed by Carlo Falciani (expert report - January 2026); in his study, Falciani dates the panel to between 1532 and 1534.
Archival research has revealed a complex and prestigious provenance history for the work, perhaps due in part to the fact that it was long believed to be by Bronzino.
With remarkable clarity, its history can be traced back through the collections of Maria Letizia Bonaparte, mother of the Emperor Napoleon, and her third son Lucien, then to the Roman princely Colonna family and finally to the Florentine Salviati family.
This circumstance, together with the dating proposed by Carlo Falciani, gives rise to the hypothesis that our panel may be the one which, according to Giorgio Vasari, the painter executed upon his arrival in Rome for his patron, Cardinal Giovanni Salviati.
Provenance
Cardinale Giovanni Salviati (1488 - 1553), commissioned by the end of August 1531;
by inheritance, to his younger brother, Cardinale Bernardo Salviati (1492 - 1568);
by inheritance, to his nephew Jacopo Salviati (1537-1586);
in the lineage of the Salviati family up to 1704;
by inheritance to Caterina Zeferina Salviati (1701-1756), married in 1717 to Fabrizio Colonna, Prince of Paliano (1700 - 1755);
in the lineage of the Colonna family of Paliano, leading up to Filippo III Giuseppe (1760-1818);
circa 1805, purchased from the above by Lucien Bonaparte (1775-1840);
before 1812, purchased/donated by the latter from/to his mother Laetitia Ramolino Bonaparte (1750-1836);
acquired from the above in 1829 by John Talbot (1791-1852) - 16th Earl of Shrewsbury and 16th Earl of Waterford;
by inheritance to his second cousin Bertram Talbot (1832-1856) - 17th Earl of
Shrewsbury and 17th Earl of Waterford (1832-1856);
his sale, Alton Towers, Christie & Manson, 6 July 1857, lot n. 262 (always as by Bronzino - see catalogue reproduction);
bought by James Landon Esquire;
his sale, London, Christie's, 1 June 1861, lot n. 46 (as by Bronzino);
bought by George Burdon, Esquire of Heddon House - Northumberland (deceased 1884);
bought by Maximiano Errazuriz Valdivieso (1833-1890) - Santiago and Panquehue (Chile);
inherited by his son, Guillermo Errazuriz Urmeneta ( 1856 - 1895 ) - Santiago and Panquehue (Chile);
to the wife, Blanca Vergara de Errazuriz (née Alvarez, 1866-1956) - Panquehue and Viña Del Mar (Chile);
by inheritance, to different branches of the family;
bought during the 60's by Maria Baburizza Raic (1923-2018) and Carlos Jorge Raby Rodewald (1919-2015 ) in Santiago (Chile);
by inheritance into the family Rodewald Raic - Santiago (Chile);
purchased by the gallery in 2024.
Literature
Unpublished
We are grateful to Carlo Falciani for confirming the authorship of the present work to Francesco Salviati, having examined it in person.