The Misfortunes of Silenus

Artists

Dimensions

80.1 x 129.3 cm (31 9/16 x 50 7/8 in.) frame: 97.2 x 147.3 x 8.9 cm (38 1/4 x 58 x 3 1/2 in.)

Provenance

Possibly commissioned from the artist to Guidantonio di Giovanni Vespucci, Florence, c. 1500, gift; to Giovanni di Guidantonio Vespucci and Namiciana di Benedetto Nerli on the occasion of their wedding, Florence, 1500, acquired; by Piero Salviati (1), Florence, 1533, bequeathed; to his wife, Ginevra Bartolini Salimbeni, Florence, 1564, bequeathed; to her daughter Maddalena Salviati, by descent; to Giovanni de’ Bardi di Vernio and his wife, Lucrezia Salviati (daughter of Piero Salviati), by descent; to Cosimo Ridolfi (son of Piero Ridolfi and Maddalena Salviati) sold; to the Baglioni family, acquired; by [Monte Comune (public bank)] to Lodovico Incontri (1676). [Giovanni Freppa, Florence, by 1851]. Sir Thomas Sebright, Beechwood, England, by 1857, by descent?; to Sir Giles Sebright Beechwood, England, until 1935, sold; to Mrs. (Jean) R. Langton Douglas, London and Waycross, Georgia, and Vitale Bloch, London, each as 50% owners, by 1937, sold; to Fogg Art Museum, 1940. (2) Notes: (1) Vasari records seeing the painting, along with its companion “The Discovery of Honey” in the Worcester Art Museum (1937.76) in the Palazzo Salviati c. 1550. (2)The paintings in the Worcester and Harvard Art Museums shared a common provenance until the “Discovery of Honey” was sold in 1937 to the Worcester Art Museum and the “Misfortunes of Silenus” was sold in 1940 to the Fogg Art Museum. The Fogg Art Museum purchased the painting directly from Mrs. Douglas.