Bicci di LORENZO (Florence, circa 1368 - 1452) Triptych: Virgin and Child surrounded by Saint Dominic and Saint James the Greater, the side panels decorated with the figures of Saint Julian, Saint Anthony Abbot, Saint Leonard and Saint Francis of Assisi, with the Annunciation at the top Tempera and gold on panel Dimensions when closed: 52 x 27.5 cm Dimensions open : 52 x 47 cm (Restorations) Triptych: Virgin and Child surrounded by saints, tempera and gold on panel, by B. di Lorenzo 20.47 x 18.50 in. Provenance: Collection of Alfred François Ramé (1826-1886), Rennes ; Private collection, Normandy; Private collection, Switzerland; Anonymous sale; Vienna, Dorotheum, 17 October 2017, no. 4 ; Acquired at this sale by the current owner Bicci di Lorenzo was the son, pupil and then collaborator of Lorenzo di Bicci, and later the father of Neri di Bicci, who himself ran a major workshop. Vasari tells us that he was a complete artist, not only a painter but also a sculptor and architect. His earliest known work is the Annunciation with Saints, painted in 1414 for the Church of San Lorenzo in Porciano and now housed in the Church of Stia. This was followed by an important series of triptychs, as seen in the Archivio dell'Opera dell'Duomo in Florence and the Pinacoteca in Siena. Our triptych illustrates the achievements of the second half of his career. Although he was initially influenced by his father and Spinello Aretino, he became increasingly interested in the international Gothic style from the 1420s onwards. In terms of its organisation, the distribution of subjects (particularly the Annunciation in the upper part of the two panels) and the very expression of the figures of the saints, our triptych is similar to the one formerly held in the Rothschild collections at Royaumont Abbey1. Our painting was part of the prestigious collection of Alfred Ramé (1826-1886), a Breton magistrate and scholar in the image of his era, a period of great wealth for national archaeology and the rise of learned societies. As a corresponding archaeologist on the Commission de Topographie des Gaules and an archival historian, he was passionate about the Middle Ages. His collection includes the recumbent statue of Blanche de Champagne (d. 1283), now in the Louvre (OA 2082; RF 2605), as well as important panels by the Sienese painter Pietro Lorenzetti (c. 1280 - 1348), which were recently sold and acquired by the Louvre2. The provenance of this panel in Alfred Ramé's collection has been confirmed since it was sold at Dorotheum in 2017 (according to the catalogue notice). 1 - Sale of the contents of Royaumont Abbey; Paris, Christie's, 26 June 2008, lot 3 (sold for €45,000) 2 - Anonymous sale; Paris, Tajan, 13 December 2023, no. 17 and 18, sold for €4,692,400. Bicci di LORENZO (Florence, circa 1368 - 1452) Bicci di Lorenzo was the son, pupil and then collaborator of Lorenzo di Bicci, and later the father of Neri di Bicci, who himself ran a major workshop. Vasari tells us that he was a complete artist, not only a painter but also a sculptor and architect. His earliest known work is the Annunciation with Saints, painted in 1414 for the Church of San Lorenzo in Porciano and now housed in the Church of Stia. Then came an important series of triptychs, as seen in the Archivio dell'Opera dell'Duomo in Florence and the Pinacoteca in Siena. Our triptych illustrates the achievements of the second half of his career. Although he was initially influenced by his father and Spinello Aretino, he became increasingly interested in the international Gothic style from the 1420s onwards. In terms of its organisation, the distribution of subjects (particularly the Annunciation in the upper part of the two panels) and the very expression of the figures of the saints, our triptych is similar to the one formerly held in the Rothschild collections at Royaumont Abbey1. Our painting was part of the prestigious collection of Alfred Ramé (1826-1886), a Breton magistrate and scholar in the image of his era, a period of great wealth for national archaeology and the rise of learned societies. As a corresponding archaeologist on the Commission de Topographie des Gaules and an archival historian, he was passionate about the Middle Ages. His collection includes the recumbent statue of Blanche de Champagne (d. 1283), now in the Louvre (OA 2082; RF 2605), as well as important panels by the Sienese painter Pietro Lorenzetti (c. 1280 - 1348), which were recently sold and acquired by the Louvre2. The provenance of this panel in Alfred Ramé's collection has been confirmed since it was sold at Dorotheum in 2017 (according to the catalogue notice). 1 - Sale of the contents of Royaumont Abbey; Paris, Christie's, 26 June 2008, lot 3 (sold for €45,000) 2 - Anonymous sale; Paris, Tajan, 13 December 2023, n° 17 and 18, sold for € 4,692,400.