This fall marked the 70th Anniversary of Bob Jones Unversity’s Museum & Gallery — one of the most important and unique collections of old master paintings in America. I had the opportunity to serve as curator there for twenty years and, in celebration of the museum’s milestone I’d like to share a memorable discovery in the collection.
In 2007 we organized an exhibit called “Artspeak Demystified” that displayed both the front and back sides of the paintings and frames. In an “Antiques Roadshow” format, guests were invited to analyze clues to the painting’s ownership history (or provenance) that remain on the object. One work was a beautiful High Renaissance scene of the Madonna and child with John the Baptist called “Madonna del Lago.” Marco d’Oggiono, one of Leonardo da Vinci’s best students, painted it in the early 1500s as an extremely rare faithful contemporary copy of one of his famous teacher’s lost masterpieces.
The earliest ownership known for the painting was an early 20th-century art dealer in Paris, known by a wax seal on the back stamped “Galerie Brunner Paris.” Another clue was an old piece of paper with a handwritten note saying, “Cesare da Sesto; Countess of Harri…” The remaining letters on the note are obscured and the rest is torn off, leaving it unclear which Countess the note is referring to. Cesare da Sesto was a student of Leonardo da Vinci, just like Marco d’Oggiono. This means that the painting was attributed to da Sesto (rather than d’Oggiono) when it was owned by the Countess.
To help resolve this, I sent a photo of the notation to a colleague at Sotheby’s who is more familiar with the nobility of England. He believed that the partial note referred to the Countess of Harrington, who has documents showing she owned a painting by Cesare da Sesto in the 19th century. Excited about this new lead, I next researched to find the sale of the Harrington’s possessions at auction to see if the “Madonna del Lago” was listed. A 1917 Christie’s auction of the Earl of Harrington’s possessions was discovered which listed a painting by Cesare da Sesto exactly matching M&G’s painting.
Fortunately, the auction entry provided an additional crucial clue to its earlier ownership — a notation stating, “Formerly in the Collection at Malmaison.” The Malmaison châteaux was a country retreat for a very significant world leader — Napoleon Bonaparte and his wife, Josephine. It was their favorite residence and one in which Josephine loved to fill with art, some of which were spoils from Napoleon’s conquest of Europe. After the couple divorced in 1809 (she could not supply him an heir to the throne), Josephine continued to live in Malmaison until her death in 1814. Much to my delight, I found an inventory of her possessions made in 1814 listing a “Madonna and Child with St. John the Baptist” by Cesare da Sesto with dimensions corresponding to M&G’s painting.
Greenville has had this remarkable painting since 1956, but it wasn’t until 2006 that it became known it once belonged to one of the most recognizable historical figures the world has ever known. Hopefully, this painting and many more of the masterworks can soon be on display in downtown Greenville with the museum’s planned new location.
John M. Nolan is owner of Greenville History Tours (greenvillehistorytours.com) and author of “A Guide to Historic Greenville, SC” and “Lost Restaurants of Greenville, SC.”
