The ‘Madonna delle Grazie’ by Andrea del Sarto and Giovanni Antonio Sogliani: A multi-analytical study

The recent restoration of the painting “Enthroned Virgin Mary with Child, St. John the Baptist, St. Francis, St. Bartholomew and St. Jerome” (also known as “Madonna delle Grazie”- Oil on wood, 235 × 194 cm) carried out by the restorers of the Opera del Duomo in Pisa (2020–2021) provided the occasion for a multi-analytical study of this sixteenth-century masterpiece. We learn from Vasari's Lives of the Artists that the panel was commissioned to Andrea del Sarto (Andrea d'Agnolo, Florence 1486 – Florence 1530) by the friars of the Monastery of St. Francis in Pisa. The painting was left unfinished by Andrea del Sarto due to his sudden death during the plague in Florence in 1530 and was completed eight years later by Giovanni Antonio Sogliani (Florence, 1492 – Florence, 1544). The division of work between Andrea del Sarto and Sogliani in the painting remains a subject of debate. Art historians have largely agreed on the hypothesis that almost the entire painted surface, should be attributed to Sogliani. However, the attribution of the composition is still controversial; it is unclear whether the design is entirely by Andrea del Sarto, or if certain parts were reinterpreted by Giovanni Antonio Sogliani.

To contribute analytical data to this debate, a novel multispectral approach incorporating the Interesting Feature Finding (IFF) method was utilized to examine the painting. Additionally, energy-dispersive X-ray fluorescence (ED-XRF) and micro-Raman analyses were conducted to characterise the pigments used by the artist(s) in different parts of the masterpiece. The multispectral analysis revealed significant differences between the underdrawings - potentially attributable to Andrea del Sarto - and the painted surface. The ED-XRF and micro-Raman results do not exclude the possibility that parts of the painting were executed by del Sarto. The IFF method also uncovered several “pentimenti”, including a small (human?) figure, which opened intriguing comparisons with other works by Andrea del Sarto.