Putti with a Wine Press
Mariotto Albertinelli·c. 1500
Historical Context
Mariotto Albertinelli's Putti with a Wine Press, painted around 1500, belongs to the decorative production of a painter who collaborated closely with Fra Bartolommeo in their shared workshop. Albertinelli specialized in rounded tondos and decorative panels featuring putti—the chubby cherubs derived from ancient sarcophagi and Renaissance grisaille traditions—which were popular as domestic ornaments for Florentine palaces. The wine press subject evokes both vintage celebrations and the Eucharistic symbolism of Christ's sacrifice, a theological overlay common in Renaissance decorative painting. Albertinelli's confident draughtsmanship and warm palette, characteristic of his training in Cosimo Rosselli's workshop alongside Fra Bartolommeo, give these festive figures a sculptural weight that elevates the decorative subject.
Technical Analysis
The oil on panel shows Albertinelli's smooth, polished technique with rounded, sculptural forms characteristic of the Florentine High Renaissance. The lively poses and plump anatomy of the putti demonstrate his skill in rendering the human figure with both naturalism and charm.
Provenance
Prof. Pietro Toesca; sold c. 1933 to (Count Alessandro Contini Bonacossi, Florence and Rome);[1] sold 1948 to the Samuel H. Kress Foundation, New York;[2] gift 1952 to NGA. [1] According to Kress records in NGA curatorial files. [2] The Kress Foundation made an offer to Contini Bonacossi on 7 June 1948 for a group of twenty-eight paintings, including _The Vintage - Invention of Wine_ by Raphael; the offer was accepted on 11 July 1948 (see copies of correspondence in NGA curatorial files, see also The Kress Collection Digital Archive, https://kress.nga.gov/Detail/objects/1746).
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