Baptism of Christ

Provenance

Sir Joshua Reynolds [1723-1792], London, England, before 1792 [1]; (Richard?) Stainforth [1759-1824], sale, Christie’s, London, March 14, 1795, lot 57, £25 4s [2]. Sir Francis Baring, 1st Baronet [1740-1810], Stratton Park, Hampshire, after 1795 [3]; Sir Thomas Baring, 2nd Baronet [1772-1848], Stratton Park, Hampshire, 1810, bequeathed [4]; Mr. Thomas Baring [1799-1873], Stratton Park, Hampshire, 1848, purchased at valuation [5]; Thomas Baring, 1st Earl of Northbrook [1826-1904], Pursers Hall, Bramdean, Hampshire, 1873, bequeathed [6]; Francis Baring, 2nd Earl of Northbrook [1850-1929], Pursers Hall, Bramdean, Hampshire, 1904, bequeathed [7]; (Charles Walter?) Dowdeswell [1858-1929], sale, Earl of Northbrook Collection, Christie’s, London, December 12, 1919, lot 141, £94 10s [8]. Count Alessandro Contini, Rome, by 1926 [9]; Albert C. Barnes [1872-1951], December 10, 1926 [10].

Notes:
[1] “A Catalogue of The Capital, Genuine, and Valuable Collection of Pictures, Late the Property of that eminently distinguished artist Sir Joshua Reynolds, Late President of the Royal Academy, dec’d. Comprising the Undoubted Works of the Greatest Masters of the Roman, Florentine, Bolognese, Venetian, French, Flemish, and Dutch Schools, in the most perfect State of Preservation,” sale, Christie’s, London, March 14, 1795 in Graves, Algernon and William Vine Cronin. A History of the Works of Sir Joshua Reynolds, P.R.A, Vol. IV. London: Published by subscription for the proprietors by H. Graves and Co., 1899-1901: 1629, lot 57, £25 4s.
[2] Ibid. The buyer is listed as Stainforth and could be Richard Stainforth, son-in-law to Sir Francis Baring, the future owner of the painting; it is unclear how the ownership of the painting was transferred but according to Weale and Richter 1889, it was owned by Sir Francis Baring and he was a known art collector and patron.
[3] Weale, W.H. James and Jean Paul Richter. A Descriptive Catalogue of the Collection of Pictures Belonging to the Earl of Northbrook. London: Griffith, Farran, Okeden, & Welsh, 1889: ix, 169.
[4] Ibid, ix. Sir Francis Baring died in 1810 and bequeathed his collection to his son, Sir Thomas Baring. The painting was exhibited in 1840, lent by Sir Thomas Baring, establishing the transfer of ownership (Catalogue of Pictures by Italian, Spanish, Flemish, Dutch, French and English Masters with which the Proprietors have Favoured the Institution, June 1840 in British Institution for Promoting the Fine Arts in the United Kingdom. London: William Nicol, 1840: no. 55).
[5] Mr. Thomas Baring, second son of Sir Thomas Baring, bought the Italian, Spanish, and French paintings at a valuation in 1848 at the death of Sir Thomas Baring; the Dutch, Flemish, French, and English paintings were sold at Christie’s, London on June 2-3, 1848, Weale and Richter 1889, x.
[6] Mr. Thomas Baring bequeathed his collection to his nephew, Thomas Baring, 1st Earl of Northbrook, Weale and Richter 1889, ix. The full history of the collection and its ownership is discussed in Weale and Richter’s introduction.
[7] Offered at Christie’s sale by the Right Honorable Earl of Northbrook, Francis Baring in 1919.
[8] Sale, Earl of Northbrook Collection, Christie's, London, December 12, 1919, lot 141, £94 10s; Dowdeswell may be Charles Walter Dowdeswell, an art dealer who worked with his father, Charles William (1832 – 1915) in a partnership, Dowdeswell & Dowdeswells, London until around 1912 when Walter had begun working for Duveen Brothers, London and presumably William continued to operate the gallery. This purchase could have been for Duveen Brothers with Walter as agent. For more information on Dowdeswell’s, see Pamela Fletcher and David Israel, London Gallery Project, 2007; Revised September 2012. http://learn.bowdoin.edu/fletcher/london-gallery/.
[9] It is unclear when Alessandro Contini purchased the painting but it entered into the collection on December 10, 1926. Transcription of letter, Count Alessandro Contini to Dr. Freiherr von Hadeln, November 7, 1926, Albert C. Barnes Correspondence, Barnes Foundation Archives (AR.ABC.1926.185); Collection information, Copies of certificates of authenticity for paintings in the Barnes Foundation collection, 1914-1926 (AR.COL.2), Barnes Foundation Archives.
[10] Letter, Barnes to Contini, December 8, 1926 and December 11, 1926, Albert C. Barnes Correspondence, Barnes Foundation Archives. Contini brings the painting to the Barnes Foundation for Barnes to examine before purchasing the painting.