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33, Cadogan Square
London, S.W.1.
18th August, 1953

Germain Seligman, Esq.,
Jacques Seligmann & CO., Inc.
5 East 57th Street,
New York 22, N.Y.

Dear Mr. Seligman:

I must apologize very profoundly for the delay in the replying to your questions regarding the cleaning of the "Assumption of the Virgin". I particularly wanted to discuss the new photograph with Professor Wittkower (who, if you remember, had already seen the pre-cleaning photographs with your permission), but we have both been rather busy, and it seemed that whenever he was available I was out of currency and vice versa. I have a number of matters I have wanted to discuss with him for as long as about six months, but we have not yet been able to get down to them! However, when I heard that he was on the point of leaving England, and would come back just when I was expecting to be away again (!), I made a great effort to get hold of him before his departure in order to discuss at any rate this one problem of yours. This we did a few days ago.

We are both agreed that the removal of the unsatisfactory retouching on the passage of which you sent me the photograph has given this part of the picture a much more impressive appearance, which of course outweighs, the damages which were the cause of it in the first place. The Question which you put to me is whether I am sufficiently convinced, on the photographic evidence, of the possibility of Ludovico Carracci's authorship to advise you to proceed (no doubt at considerable expense) with the cleaning of the rest of the picture. Neither Professor Wittkower nor I feel absolutely comfortable about the picture in so far as we can judge it from the photographs alone, and I do feel that I would be justified in undertaking the major responsibility of [[underline]] positively [[/underline]] urging you to proceed with the stripping. We both have an elusive impression that this is a distinct (that is to say independent) personality in a way that the Bologna picture (a coarse but "faithful" copy) is not. It may be that the color would throw more light on this point and particularly whether it fits in best with Ludivico or with a more 'painterly' generation at Bologna, somewhat later in the seventeenth century.

There is, however, one suggestion which we think might be worth considering. This is to show the picture to Professor Walter Friedlaender of the Institute of Fine Arts, New York University, who has studied Ludivico in the past, and whose opinion on the actual canvas, as opposed to the photographs, would certainly be instructive. As you did not mention his name, I have not of course communicated with him about it, and I assume that he has not seen the picture yet. 

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signed: Denis Mahon