Magia del disegno. Italian drawings from the XVIth century to XIXth century.

La Magia

del Disegno Italian drawings from the 16th century to the 19th century

La Magia del Disegno

Italian drawings from the 16th century to the 19th century

Galerie Maurizio Nobile 45, rue de Penthièvre, 75008 PARIS Catalogue edited by Laura Marchesini, Maurizio Nobile, Davide Trevisani Texts by Laura Marchesini (descriptions 11, 14, 18, 19, 27), Davide Trevisani Translation from Italian by A. M. Synge for Link-up Centro Traduzioni snc Graphic design: Leonardo Nassini No parts of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical or of another kind, without the written permission of the copyright holders. © Maurizio Nobile We wish to thank: Jonathan Bober, Piero Boccardo, Giulio Bora, Maria Teresa Caracciolo, Valeria Di Giuseppe Di Paolo, Roberto Franchi, Rachel George, Fabrizio Malachin, Nancy Ward Neilson, Anna Orlando, Francesco Petrucci, Julien Stock, Nicholas Turner Cover: JACOPO GUARANA (Verona, 1720 - Venice, 1808), Heads of women, black chalk and traces of white chalk on tinted paper (light pink), 260x447 mm

45, rue de Penthièvre, 75008 PARIS (France) tél. +33 01 45 63 07 75 paris@maurizionobile.com

via Santo Stefano 19/a, 40125 BOLOGNA (Italy) tel. +39 051 23 83 63 bologna@maurizionobile.com www. maurizionobile.com

Perchè il disegno, padre delle tre arti nostre, architettura, scultura e pittura, procedendo dall’intelletto, cava di molte cose un giudizio universale, simile a una forma o vero idea di tutte le cose della natura [...]. E perchè da questa cognizione nasce un certo concetto o giudizio che si forma nella mente quella tal cosa, che poi espressa con le mani si chiama disegno, si può conchiudere che esso disegno altro non sia che un apparente espressione e dichiarazione del concetto che si ha nell’animo, e di quello che altri si è nella mente immaginato e fabricato nell’idea.

G. Vasari, Le vite…

La Magia del Disegno Italian drawings from the 16th century to the 19th century

1 After MICHELANGELO, possibly by GIROLAMO MARCHESI DA COTIGNOLA (Caprese, 1475 – Rome, 1564) (Cotignola, 1490 ? – Bologna, 1559 ?)

Pietà Pen and brown ink and brown wash, heightened with white, over black chalk; squared in black chalk; 455x305 mm

Provenance: Cesare Frigerio

The composition repeats, with some variations, that of Giulio Bonasone’s engraving after Michelangelo’s Pietà in St Peter’s, Rome, which is here set before the Cross, a scourge hanging from each lateral arm (Repr. I; Bartsch, XV, p. 123, no. 53). While Michelangelo’s marble sculpture is datable 1498-1500, Bonasone’s undated print was made around the middle of the 16th century.

Although the central motif of the drawing’s is taken from Michelangelo, the style of the drawing itself follows closely that of his rival, Raphael, and specifically that of a group of painters active in Bologna in the second quarter of the 16th century, sometimes called “the Bolognese Raphaelizers,” including such figures as Jacopo Francia (c. 1486-1557), Innocenzo da Imola (c.

1490-c. 1545), and others.

Girolamo Marchesi da Cotignola, to whom the present drawing is attributed, came from Romagna, arriving in Bologna during the second decade of the 16th century. It is based not so much on the resemblance to the handful

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of drawings now given to Cotignola, but on the striking resemblance of the figures to a number of those found in his paintings. Especially close, in this regard, is the kneeling Virgin, in the Nativity, in the Pinacoteca Nazionale, Bologna (Repr. II; V. Fortunati Pietrantonio, Pittura Bolognese del ‘500, Bologna, 1986, vol. 1, p. 98 and fig. on p. 111). The position of head and her facial features and expression suggest those of the mourning Virgin here and both figures have the same, large spatulate hands awkwardly articulated at the wrist, and claw like fingers.

The drawing, which is beautifully refined in execution, may have been made as a design for a painting, since it is squared for transfer. Among the many variations from the composition of Bonasone’s engraving are the two flying putti in the upper centre, one to each side, who between them hold open the veil of St Veronica in one hand, the putto on the left clutching nails in his other hand while the one on the right holds two scourges.

2 After MICHELANGELO, probably by GIOVANNI FRANCESCO BARBIERI, called GUERCINO (Caprese, 1475 – Rome, 1564) (Cento, 1591 – Bologna, 1666)

Nude Child Pulling a Drapery over his Shoulder Black and white chalk on blue grey paper; 258x141 mm

The figure’s pose is based, with variations, on that of the Infant Christ standing to one side of the seated Madonna in Michelangelo’s Bruges Madonna, his marble statue, executed in 1500-1505, in Notre Dame, Bruges (Repr. I).

The child’s blatant nudity, the right arm placed across the body and the fall of light on the plump infant flesh evoke Michelangelo’s figure, though the draughtsman has here elaborated on the figure’s action to show him pulling a large piece of drapery over his head, one side of which he holds in his left hand. Vestiges of what may have been another study for the same boy appear on the extreme right of the sheet.

Apart from a fascination for the work of Michelangelo, which the draughtsman may well have known from casts rather than from the original marble, the drawing’s style shows two dominant influences—Raphael and

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Parmigianino—the latter especially in the lilting, serpentine pose of the body, the turn of his right arm and the downward look to his head. All three influences, however, are seen through the filter of the Carracci, especially Ludovico, as revealed in the intimacy and naturalism of the style of drawing.

The delicate touch, the softness of the shading, with its sense of reflected light, and the sparing use of white heightening, suggest the hand of the young Guercino, whose drawing style towards the end of the second decade of the century shares these qualities. Many nude babies, with prominent tummy buttons, may be found in Guercino’s paintings of the period, perhaps the closest being the standing Christ Child in the Mystic Marriage of St Catherine, in the Gemäldegarie, Berlin, painted in 1620 (Repr. II; L. Salerno, I dipinti del Guercino, Roma, 1988, pp. 146-7, no. 68).

3 CIRCLE OF RAPHAEL (Urbino, 1483 – Rome, 1520)

Design for the Decoration of an Altar-wall Pen and brown ink and brown wash; 312x231 mm

Inscribed on the reverse, below, in pen: di Pierino del Vaga; and above, also in pen: n. 16, 21.

Provenance: Cesare Frigerio.

The wall decoration is strongly Roman in taste, with both the carefully balanced architectural forms and the figurative details showing the inspiration of Raphael and his School. The empty frame above the altar was clearly intended to contain an altarpiece, the appearance of which was perhaps not known when the drawing was made. The lunette at the top shows God the Father, flanked to each side by a winged angel, with a sibyl in a spandrel in the two corners. In the niches to either side of the central frame are two standing saints: St Paul (?) and St Catherine of Alexandria.

The drawing has so far defied attribution and even a date seems uncertain, although the style points to the second quarter of the sixteenth century, perhaps a little later. The old attribution on the back to Perino del Vaga

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(1501-1547) is not convincing and the pen-work seems too sparsely drawn to be by an artist from his orbit. On the other hand, there is a hint of the late style of Polidoro da Caravaggio (c. 1499-c. 1543), when he was active in Messina, especially in the majestic figure of God the Father and in the dark areas of wash accompanied by delicate pen-work, e.g. in the three putti heads beneath the feet of God the Father.

Innocenzo da Imola (1485-1548), who was active mainly in Bologna, is perhaps another direction to pursue. He was not taught by Raphael but was greatly influenced by his work, and some reminiscences of his work appear in the purity of the architectural design, the monumental figure types and the strong chiaroscuro.

4 GIROLAMO GIOVENONE (Vercelli, c. 1490 - 1555)

Saint Sebastian chalk, watercolour, white colouring on brown paper; 512x347 mm, laid down

Inscribed on support, recto (pen): 44; Sadeler; C. Dolci – verso illegible (chalk).

Gerolamo Giovenone was born to a family of woodworkers of Vercelli in about 1490. He may have received his training away from his hometown, alongside the painter from Casale Monferrato (a town in the Piedmont region in Italy), Giovanni Martino Spanzotti (c. 1455 - ante 1528), and the latter’s disciple, Defendente Ferrari (1480/85 – c. 1540), as we may note in the various stylistic parallels and collaborative works of the artist’s early career (for an updated critical compendium on the work of this artist, see S. Baiocco - E. Villata, Gaudenzio Ferrari, Gerolamo Giovenone: un avvio e un percorso, Torino, 2004). This hypothesis is confirmed by the absence of the name, Gerolamo, from the contract, dated 1508, which indicates as master woodworkers Gerolamo’s father and elder brother, Giovanni Pietro, in the commission awarded to Gaudenzio Ferrari (1475/80-1546) for a polyptych for the Confraternity of Sant’Anna in Vercelli.

A document dated 2 August 1524, which the artist’s father, Amedeo Giovenone, added to his will, tells us that Gerolamo had already worked for many years independently, and that he had his own home and independent studio. The altarpiece representing the Virgin and Child with Saints Rocco and Sebastiano, now at the collegiate church of San Lorenzo at Mortara, most likely dates back roughly to this period. Inclusion of the two saints, as protectors from the plague, enables us to date the painting to about 1524 (the year in which Vercelli was severely struck by the plague). Many

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citizens fled their homes to escape the plague, among whom Gerolamo Giovenone, who moved to the small hamlet of Casalino.

The drawing is a fine study for the figure of San Sebastiano placed to the right on the Mortara altarpiece (G. Romano, Bernardino Lanino e il Cinquecento a Vercelli, Torino, 1986, p. 32). As opposed to the panel, with the rendering of the saint to the extreme right with his left arm outside the panel itself, San Sebastiano is portrayed here as a full figure in a fine landscape setting, the details of which are enriched with white relief effects and a transparently veiled watercolour-ink rendering of the background with its misty, shady, delicate atmosferismo, or atmospheric perspective (already, in a certain sense, pointing to a central Italian influence, also clearly evident, for example, in the saint’s posture).

We note other small differences between the altarpiece and the drawing, In the drawing, the figure’s right arm is raised, the face is turned slightly more upward and backward, and there are none of the arrows that characterise the iconography associated with this martyr, allowing a rendering of the figure which is more free than on the altarpiece, in which the figure is somewhat cramped in its position between, on the one hand, the group of the Virgin and Child – derived from a model of Gaudenzio Ferrari, and repeatedly rendered by Giovenone – and, on the other, the splendid wooden frame.

5 POLIDORO DA CARAVAGGIO, POLIDORO CALDARA, called, Circle of (Caravaggio, Lombardy, 1490/1500 – Messina, 1543?)

Adoration of the Magi Pen and brown ink and brown wash, heightened with white, over black chalk, on blue-grey paper; 288x237 mm

This drawing by a member of Polidoro’s circle closely reflects the master’s late style as a draughtsman and may record a lost study for an Adoration of the Magi, painted in his Messina period, from 1528 until the end of his life. In the seclusion of Sicily, his work gained an increasingly strong imaginative and spiritual flavour, far away from the hub of Rome, where, until the spoliation of the city by Imperial troops in 1527, Polidoro had enjoyed spectacular success. This mystical, other-worldly tendency is reflected here in this drawing, for example, in the sculptural formality of the regal figures of different types and in the exaggerated cast of their features, with the heavily bearded, kneeling magus contrasting with the supple young turbaned king standing elegantly to the left.

The drawing’s vertical format and the equal height of the figures to that of the spatial setting above them, making two horizontal layers of equal

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thickness, recalls the spatial arrangement of Polidoro’s altarpiece of the Adoration of the Shepherds, commissioned in 1533, formerly S. Maria di Altobasso, Messina, and now in the Museo Regionale of that city, which he painted in collaboration with Stefano Giordano (Repr. I; P. Leone de Castris, Polidoro da Caravaggio: l’opera completa, Napoli, 2001, repr. p.

319). The hunched shoulders of the youth to the right of Messina picture find a close parallel to that of Joseph in the drawing.

Polidoro was arguably the most talented of Raphael’s pupils and a draughtsman of great originality and talent. He assisted his master with the execution of the frescoes of the Stanza dell’Incendio, in the Vatican, and with the tapestry cartoons of the Acts of the Apostles (London, Victoria and Albert Museum). Following the Sack of Rome, he stopped briefly in Naples before settling in Messina.

6 GIROLAMO DA TREVISO (Treviso, c. 1497 – Boulogne, 1544)

The Holy Family, with the Infant St John the Baptist, Accompanied by Three Holy Women, one of whom Introduces a Child to the Infant Christ, and with Two Donors Pen and brown ink and brown wash, heightened with white, over black chalk; 270x373 mm

The present drawing was probably a modello for a painting, perhaps commissioned by an orphanage. Within the pyramid formed by the adult figures, with the head of St Joseph at its apex, is a smaller, squatter pyramid formed by the three children, with the Christ Child at the top, the Infant St John the Baptist, to the right, and a small boy, to the left, ushered into the group by a guardian. The Christ Child rests his hand on the head of this boy, giving him precedence over the Infant Baptist, who rushes forwards in second place.

This previously unknown drawing by Girolamo da Treviso is an important addition to his oeuvre. Its style suggests a date of c. 1525, a few years after his arrival in Bologna from the Veneto. Evidence of Girolamo’s training in the Veneto is found in the figures which show the influence, of among others, Giulio Romano, Pordenone and Titian. However, Girolamo’s distinctive stylistic personality manifests itself in the grouping of the figures within one mass and in much the same plane. Similar frieze-like compositions are to be found in his eight monochrome frescoes of the Stories from the Life of St Anthony of Padua, in the Saraceni Chapel, in S. Petronio, Bologna, begun in 1525, his first public commission on arrival in the city and in which the influence of Raphael and his school is already strong (V. Fortunati Pietrantonio, Pittura Bolognese del ‘500, Bologna, 1986, vol. 1, p. 148 and figs. on pp. 156-63).

Among the stylistic and morphological analogies between the present drawing and the S. Petronio frescoes are the slightly flattened heads of the figures and a tendency to make their noses too small, with the tip sometimes lacking, as in some of the heads in this drawing. The folds that animate the draperies are also similar: compare the costumes of the male donor, and the female guardian to the right of him, to the left of the drawing, and the habit of St Anthony in the St 16

Anthony Re-attaches a Young Man’s Foot in the S. Petronio cycle (Repr I.; V. Fortunati Pietrantonio, Bologna, 1986, vol. 1, p. 160).

Many further parallels in the pose of the figures in the drawing and those S. Petronio frescoes may be cited. For example, in the drawing, the downward gesture of the arms of the guardian as she urges on her charge into the presence of the Infant Christ may be compared with those of the kneeling mother who with both hands gestures at the crib in which lies her sick infant in St Anthony Reviving a Sick Child, one of the S. Petronio frescoes (Repr II.; V. Fortunati Pietrantonio, Bologna, 1986, vol. 1, p. 159). The figure of the mother in St Anthony Reviving a Sick Child is borrowed, in reverse, from that of the deceitful mother in Raphael’s Judgement of Solomon, one of the panels in the ceiling of the Stanza della Segnatura, in the Vatican, who gestures towards the corpse of the infant lying on the ground at the feet of the executioner.

Finally, to the left of the St Anthony Reviving a Sick Child is a child at his nurse’s side, who marvels at the miracle, his chubby thighs and tiny hands echoing those of the Infant St John and the boy blessed by the Infant Christ in the drawing. The child gazing in wonderment in the fresco even wears the same thigh-length tunic, with dimpled folds, as the boy accepted so gladly by the Christ Child in the drawing.

The technique of pen-and-wash technique, with the highlights indicated by touches of white heightening, is also characteristic of Girolamo da Treviso’s drawing style, with broad passages of wash that bring great monumentality to the forms, the pen lines being kept to a minimum. Girolamo often used such a combination of media in his drawings from his early Bolognese period, such as the St Jerome and St Catherine of Alexandria standing in a Landscape, in

a private collection, New York, in which St Jerome’s look of dignified authority is akin to that of St Joseph in this drawing (Repr. III; Drawn to Excellence, Renaissance to Romantic Drawings from a Private Collection, J. Nicoll ed, exh. cat. Northampton, MA, 2012-13, pp. 18-21, no. 9). Girolamo seems to have favoured drawing in brush and wash, with little or no pen-work, apply-

ing the medium freely and spontaneously, as here in the clouds supporting the music-making putti. The use of white heightening, which conveys the opposite effect of sculptural solidity, was a device that Girolamo would have found in frequent use at that time in Bologna, in the work of such artists as Amico Aspertini, Biagio Pupini, and others.

7 MASTER OF THE VICTORIA AND ALBERT DIABLERIES (Anonymous artist active in Italy in the 16th century)

Mythological Scene Pen and brown ink; 257x357mm

The significance of the erotic subject is unclear. A woman stands to the right with a burning torch in each hand (the torch, signifying the fire of love, is the attribute of both Venus and Cupid), while to the left a young man wearing a Phrygian cap and holding a staff runs away from her. Two nude women lie on a raised mattress in the background, to the right of centre.

Two drawings of “diableries,” or magical or monstrous subjects, in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, one of them illustrated here, have

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led to the distinctive name of the anonymous Italian artist working in Italy in the 16th century, probably in the North, responsible for this drawing and a small group of others (Repr. I; P. Ward-Jackson, Italian Drawings, Volume One, 14th-16th century, London, 1979, nos. 519-20). It has been suggested that the master’s work may represent an early phase of the work of Lattanzio Gambara, the Brescian painter long active in Cremona (G. Bora, “Maniera ‘idea’ e natura nel disegno cremonese: novità e precisazioni”, Paragone. Arte, 39.1988, 459/463, pp. 25 and 37, n. 29).

8 GIROLAMO DA CARPI, GIROLAMO SELLARI, called (Ferrara, c. 1501 – Ferrara, 1556)

Seated Female Figure after the Antique Pen and brown ink; 235x193mm

Trained in Ferrara in the studio of Benvenuto Tisi, called Garofalo (1481?-1559), Girolamo da Carpi travelled to Rome in the early 1520s.

By 1525 he was in Bologna, where he worked on the decoration of the sacristy of S. Michele in Bosco, alongside Biagio Pupini (fl. 15111551). Throughout his career, influences of Ferrarese Raphaelism, Parmigianino (1503-1540) and the Antique were the principal ingredients of Girolamo’s style as a draughtsman. This activity he devoted mainly to making copies after ancient statuary. This example is especially characteristic of such copies and shows admirably his fine pen-work, combining curving rhythms of line to delineate forms with delicate par-

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allel hatching to signify shadow. Pen drawings of this type, in which the shading of the mid and dark tones was drawn simply with the pen, rather than the more quickly applied brush and wash, were pioneered

by Raphael and his followers.

This drawing appears to be a copy after an ancient sculpture of the Muse Erato, one of a group of seated Muses once, according to Pirro Ligorio, in Hadrian’s Villa, Tivoli (P. Bober and R. Rubinstein, Renaissance Artists and Antique Sculpture, London, 1986, p. 80, no. 40, reproduced fig. 40a). The statue was missing its head, hands, feet and lyre, so Girolamo re-created the missing head and left foot from his own invention.

9 PELLEGRINO TIBALDI after POLIDORO DA CARAVAGGIO (Puria di Valsolda, Lombardy, 1527 – Milan, 1596) (Caravaggio, nr Bergamo, c. 1499 – Messina, c. 1543)

Vulcan Standing in a Niche Pen and brown ink and brown wash, over black chalk; 400x267 mm

Vulcan, the Roman god of fire and blacksmith to the gods, stands in a niche, stripped down to the waist, with his hammer in one hand and his bellows in the other. This fragmentary copy by Pellegrino Tibaldi after one of the eight full-length divinities standing in niches in Polidoro’s lost façade decoration “in Monte Quirinali”, a Roman palace once opposite S. Silvestro in Quirinale, is apparently the earliest and most detailed record of the corresponding figure (L. Ravelli, Polidoro Caldara da Caravaggio, Milano, 1978, pp. 297300, nos. 480-90; P. Leone de Castris, Polidoro da Caravaggio, Napoli, 2001, p. 131). The appearance of Polidoro’s series of figures of divinities is preserved in a series of engravings by Hendrick Goltzius (1558-1617), after drawings he had made during his Roman stay in 1590-91, six of which, including one of Vulcan, are in the Teylers Museum, Haarlem (E. K. J. Reznicek, Hendrick Goltzius Zeichnungen, 2 vols, Utrecht, 1961, vol. I, pp. 3434, no. 242). The present drawing not only shows several differences from Goltzius’s copy, it is also much richer in detail.

Tibaldi’s Vulcan, after Polidoro, was probably made shortly before 1550, some forty years before Goltzius’s copies. Tibaldi had first trained in Bologna, in the milieu of Raphaelesque painters, such as Bagnacavallo and Innocenzo da Imola, and it is from their drawing style that his stalwart draughtsmanship originates, with its forceful under-drawing in black chalk (a preparation that artists often erased on the completion of their work), creating a lively dialectic with the golden-brown pen-work and light washes of the later and more meticulously drawn passages.

Tibaldi transferred to Rome shortly before 1547, where he became an assistant to Perino del Vaga, who died in that year. The present copy was almost certainly made 22

a year or two before that date. An essential part of a young painter’s education at that time was the study Polidoro’s painted palace façade decorations, which were among the great triumphs of Roman painting in the period Raphael’s death, in 1520, and the Sack of Rome, in 1527. The figures in Tibaldi’s drawing of Two Standing Prophets, a pen-and-wash drawing in the Ambrosiana, Milan, this time apparently copied from a prototype by Perino, not only have the same compelling monumentality as Vulcan, the same soulful look to the face, but the figures’ structure is animated by contrasts between the same smooth, simple surfaces, such as the flesh and draperies, and intensely rugged passages such as the hair and beard (Cod. F. 265 Inf. no.

4; Washington and elsewhere, Renaissance Drawings from the Ambrosiana, exh. cat. ed. by R. Coleman, 1984-85, pp. 94-95, no. 39).

During his short stay in Rome, Tibaldi’s pictorial imagination was also fuelled by the painted work of Michelangelo. Tibaldi’s Michelangelism is seen even here in this drawing after a figure invented by one of Raphael’s pupils, in the emphasis on the articulation of Vulcan’s burly physique, which Tibaldi may well have chosen to magnify. Michelangelo’s tendency to exaggerate the forms of human anatomy was adopted wholeheartedly by Tibaldi in his painted work from that moment on. The figures in his St Ambrose Receives the Consular Insignia, also in the Ambrosiana, a finished compositional study of the late 1560s for the decoration of the choir stalls of the Capitolo Maggiore, Milan Cathedral, shows that he had fully developed this Michelangelesque language of figurative form (inv. Cod. F. 271 Inf. No. 88; Washington and elsewhere, 1984-85, pp. 9899, no. 41). The robust physique and the sculptural feel to the draperies in Tibaldi’s much earlier Vulcan after Polidoro already offers many parallels in type and in style to the figures in the Milan drawing.

10 BARTOLOMEO PASSEROTTI (Bologna, 1529 – Bologna, 1592)

Head of Christ in a “Baptism of Christ” Black chalk on blue-grey paper; 190x162 mm

The stylistic roots of this impressive drawing are complex. The head’s strong physical presence, the forms softened by the rhythms of the hair and beard, suggest the influence of the black chalk studies, likewise on blue-grey paper, by the Roman Mannerist painter Taddeo Zuccaro (1529-1566). At the same time the study has a decidedly Emilian flavour, with curls in the hair and beard recalling the drawings of Correggio and his school, while the boldness of touch of the black chalk on tinted paper seems to anticipate the work of Annibale Carracci. There are few Bolognese artists active in the middle of the sixteenth century in whom these influences might coincide, but one is Bartolomeo Passerotti, who in the middle of the century trained with Taddeo Zuccaro in Rome.

The head corresponds, with variations in both form and lighting, with that of the standing figure of Christ in Passerotti’s Baptism of Christ, in S. Giovanni Battista, Palata Pepoli (Bologna), which is datable c. 1575 (A. Ghirardi, Bartolomeo Passerotti: pittore (1529-1592). Catalogo generale, Rimini, 1990, pp. 194-95, no. 37). While the figure in the painting looks down almost bashfully at the stream in which he is stands, he looks upwards at St John the Baptist in the drawing.

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Further stylistic parallels may be made with Passerotti’s magnificent finished pen drawing of The Head of Christ, of a type for which the draughtsman is well known, in the Uffizi, Florence (inv. no. 12290 F; A. Ghirardi, 1990, p. 196, no. 38a). This is connected with the figure of Christ in his a painting of Noli me tangere, in S. Maria della Mascarella, Bologna, which is also datable to the same time as the Baptism of Christ. In the present drawing, the lighting of Christ’s head is from the left, much as it is in the Uffizi sheet. Also, the eyes look upwards and the sinews of the neck are stiff from the turn of the head. Nevertheless, our drawing cannot be for the figure of the Christ in the Noli me tangere, who, following his Resurrection, has a proud regal expression. The humble, almost submissive expression on the face of the man here could only be appropriate for a Baptism. On the other hand, the artist may have had it at his side when he made the Uffizi drawing.

Passerotti is best known for his pen drawings in a confident, an engraver-like style, in the style of similar drawings by Flemish Mannerist painters.

Nevertheless, he made drawings in both red and black chalk, especially when making working drawings for his paintings.

11 LATTANZIO GAMBARA (Brescia, 1530 - 1573)

Three male figures pen, brown ink, watercolour, white pigment, squared in black chalk; 295x391 mm; laid down

On old support; inscribed (chalk) on support XV 295/390.

Inscribed, lower right: Britti (?); Camillo Procaccino n. 11; Provenance: Giorgio Dalla Bella (Lugt, 3774)

The composition considered here presents three male figures in a triangular space formed by the pendentive between the horizontal wall and dome of a sacred edifice. Since it is squared in black chalk, this is most probably a preparatory drawing. However, we are still unable to identify the corresponding finished work. The iconography represents, in all likelihood, three apostles witnessing the Ascension of Christ or the Assumption of the Virgin. Two look upward, their arms spread out, indicating a highly emotional reaction and utter amazement. The other figure (St Peter?), with his left hand pointing downward, looks downward, while with his right hand he points upward, clearly indicating to the faithful the transcendental nature of the event and, accordingly, the spirit in which the scene should be perceived and interpreted.

While the drawing features an old (but not contemporaneous) portion of script with the attribution to Camillo Procaccini (c. 1560-1629), certain aspects of this work point to the drawings of Lattanzio Gambara (specifically, the preparatory drawings for the counter-facade of the cathedral in Parma (Repr. I; London, British Museum, n. T,13.41, published in P. Luigi Begni Redona, G. Vezzoli, Lattanzio Gambara, Brescia, p. 247). A common feature of the figures in all these works, including the sheet examined here, is the marked expressive intensity of the postures, which are fixed, and cloaked in finely executed drapery weighing down the sturdy limbs and conferring bulkiness upon these figures. The arms and hands have been elongated, and are slightly out of proportion with the lower part of the body, thus bringing out the “di sotto in su” technique of representation of these figures. The empty eye sockets of the effeminate figure to the left (St John?) are also noted in the Apostles of the drawing at the Louvre (Repr. II; Paris, Musée du Louvre, n. 5011 published in M. Tanzi, Lattanzio Gambara nel Duomo di Parma, Torino, figs. 17, 19, p. 45). In regard to the technique, on comparison with the drawings executed for Parma (cf. U. Ruggeri, “Disegni lombardi del Cinquecento”, Critica d’arte, 21, 1974, 135), we note that, while the manner 26

in which, in each work, the use of the pen reflects a sure, firm hand, the rendering of the volumes diverges. In the “Parmesan drawings” we find not only the use of ink watercolour, pictorially modulated, but also considerable use of hatching (pen), which is absent from this work. However, we may note the use of white pigment in all these works, bringing out the light effects. The white pigment was applied abundantly in long parallel lines in the preparatory drawings for Parma cathedral. Here, there is greater moderation. The use of pigment is more evident in the central figure than in the others (perhaps because the divine light falls on this figure?).

The eloquence and expressiveness of the postures of the three apostles during this moment of ecstasy seems to reflect a will to conform to the rules drawn up within the ambit of the Counter-Reformation, according to which artists were to simplify their compositions so that their works might be more intelligible. As Bora has already observed, from the 1570’s on, in Gambara’s drawings this conforming approach led to a specific change in style, entailing “new forms of monumental naturalism […] ‘regularized’ planning flanked by a series of partial studies drawn from models or from life”, precisely in the manner of Gambara during the planning of the Parma counter-facade (G. Bora, Nota sui fondamenti del disegno cremonese e la sua eredità: Bernardino Campi e Lattanzio Gambara, in Studi di storia dell’arte in onore di Mina Gregori, Cinisello Balsamo 1994, a p. 119) – and, we may add, in the manner adopted for this fine sheet with its preparatory work for a pendentive.

For Lattanzio Gambara, a painter from Brescia, born in 1530, this prestigious commission for decoration of the cathedral in Parma (1567 and 1573) arrived during the final phase of a successful career which commenced in Cremona during the 1540’s under Camillo Boccaccino (c. 15601629) and, above all, un-

der Giulio Campi (1502-1572). Gambara’s work over the following decades, in the area of Brescia, conducted in collaboration with il Romanino, was dedicated to the production of many mythological decorative works for the facades and other parts of local palazzos and villas. In the 1560’s, Gambara executed major religious works, including the Nativity Scene in the church of Santi Faustino e Giovita in Brescia, and the Deposition of san Pietro al

Po in Cremona, and the apse of the collegiate Church of Santo Stefano in Vimercate. After a stay in Parma, in 1573 his career came to a sudden, tragic end when he fell from the scaffolding erected for his last work – the frescoes of the cupola in the church of San Lorenzo in Brescia (G. Bora, Lattanzio Gambara, in I segni dell’arte. Il Cinquecento da Praga a Cremona, exh. cat.

Cremona, 1997-98, by G. Bora e M. Zlatohlávek, Martellago (Ve), p. 261).

12 GIOVANNI BATTISTA NALDINI (Florence, c. 1537—Florence, 1591)

A Seated Potentate Receiving a Kneeling Petitioner at a Ceremony in a Town Square Pen and different shades of brown ink, with grey wash, over black chalk; 220x344 mm

Inscribed, in the lower centre of the sheet, in brown ink: 51; on the reverse are illegible inscriptions.

Provenance: Dr. Barry Delany (Lugt, 350).

The subject remains unidentified as, too, does the drawing’s purpose. The scene apparently shows a peace settlement rather than an investiture, since the two dogs in the centre foreground, embrace each other with their front paws, somewhat incongruously, and are likely to be mimicking the human event behind them. In 1565, Naldini was one of a team of artists working under Vasari that provided paintings to decorate the temporary structures erected to celebrate the marriage of Francesco I de’ Medici to Joanna of Austria, daughter of Ferdinand I, the Holy Roman Emperor. These decorations illustrated both grandeur of the Tuscan state and its prestigious Imperial allegiance. It is possible that the present drawing came into being as an idea for a design in such an official project.

As with many late 16th-century Florentine compositions, the central action is removed to the background where, to the left, are the two protagonists on a dais —one enthroned and the other kneeling in homage. Their hands are extended to each other, with the suppliant perhaps ceding to the ruler the title deeds to conquered territories or the keys to a defeated city.

Accompanying the enthroned potentate are his courtiers, many of them ecclesiastics to judge from their headgear. Also typical of late 16th-century compositions are the two groups of foreground figures, framing an open, central space: to the left, two civilian dignitaries discussing together the goings-on and, to the right, a knot of soldiers one of whom is removing his footwear, perhaps a further indication of the arrival of peace. The monumental forms of the buildings in the background suggest they are Tuscan, including such typical features as the squat 28

tower attached to the corner of the palace on one side of the street and the overhanging first-floor balcony on the other.

Naldini’s robust, early drawing style shows the influence of the work of his master, Pontormo (1494-1557), and of Andrea del Sarto (1486-1530). By the mid-1560s, his drawing style became lighter and more delicate, in keeping with the courtly fashion of the times, driven by the powerful personality of Vasari, his older contemporary, under whose direction he worked on a number of projects. It is interesting to note, however, the vigorous black chalk under-drawing, especially in the two foreground figures to the left and in the steps leading up to the dais, which seems to be a throwback to Naldini’s earlier manner of drawing. Vasari’s compositional studies in pen-and-wash are, on the other hand, elegant in handling, with a notably decorative flair.

The mannered short-hand of the construction of the heads—those in the background are given pin-point eyes—are found in the figures towards the rear in Naldini’s compositional study of the Dance of Salome, in the Prado, Madrid (Repr. I; inv. D-1840 [FD 12]; Dibujos italianos del siglo XVI, exh. cat. by N. Turner, Museo del Prado, Madrid, 2004-5, pp. 128-29, no. 37). As for the beautifully toned musculature of the foreground soldiers in the present drawing, a good parallel may be found in the figure standing to the left, with her back turned, in two compositional studies by Naldini for his painting of Apollo and the Muses, in the Museo Borgogna, Vercelli: one in the Graphische Sammlung, Munich (inv. 2287; P. Barocchi, “Itinerario di Giovan Battista Naldini,” Arte Antica e Moderna, 29, 1965, p. 265, fig. 109a) and the other in the Prado (Repr. II; inv. D-1751 [FD 451]; A. E. Pérez Sánchez, I grandi disegni italiani nelle collezioni di Madrid, Milan, 1978, no. 10, this same sheet wrongly given to Balducci by Turner in Madrid, 2004-5, pp. 180-81, no.

61).

13 GIOVANNI BATTISTA NALDINI, Attributed to (Florence, c. 1537 – Florence, 1591)

Religious Celebration, with a Kneeling Soldier Receiving a Necklace and Sword of Honour, Watched by his Fellows in Arms verso: Studies of figures after the Antique Pen and brown ink over black chalk and touches of red chalk on grey-tinted paper; verso black chalk; 137x99 mm

Provenance: John Du Pan (Lugt, 1440).

So intensively worked is the drawing, in two, sometimes three different media, with many changes made to the positions of the figures, that it is hard to identify the principal action in this crowded scene within a church interior. What is lost in clarity is gained in the dynamism of the overall effect, which indeed suggests of the haphazard movements of a throng. In the middle is a young man kneeling on a step, who is about to receive what appears to be a necklace or collar, which hangs down from the wrist of what must be the officiating priest standing to his side. (At first sight he seems to hold a habit or cowl, but on closer scrutiny such an interpretation is a misreading of the priest’s sleeve and vestment). Confirmation that the kneeling youth is not about to become a monk is to be found in the gesture of the soldier to the priest’s left, who simultaneously leans forwards to hand the kneeling youth a large sword.

The drawing is here attributed to Giovanni Battista Naldini, who in his early work often drew forcefully and untidily, with little or no regard for the final appearance of the sheet. It was previously attributed to Domenico Passignano (1559-1638), another Florentine painter, but of a younger generation, whose drawing style seems more fluid than this and his figures more lively and elongated. The stylistic features of the present sheet surely point to an earlier

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period, to the work of Florentine artists from the first half of the 16th century, such as Andrea del Sarto (1486-1530), Baccio Bandinelli (1493-1560) and Pontormo (1494-1557), of whom Naldini was a pupil.

Besides the handling, another clue to Naldini’s authorship is the organization of the overall design, in which the central focus—the kneeling young man—is set halfway up the composition and a little back in space, with the foreground figures placed formally and equitably to each side, subtly counterbalancing each others’ poses. Of the several comparisons that may be made with drawings unquestionably by Naldini, suffice it to mention just one: The Purification of the Virgin, a compositional study for his altarpiece in S. Maria Novella, Florence, formerly in the collection of Michel Gaud (Repr. I; Dessins italiens du XIVe au XVIIe siècle, Collection Michel Gaud, Sotheby’s sale catalogue, Monaco, 20th June, 1987, lot 23). The ex-Gaud drawing has the same general untidiness, the same spatial intervals between the figures—although their individual proportions are more elongated than here— and the same gap of empty space at the top of the composition.

If the present sheet is indeed by Naldini it is likely to date c. 1550-70, well before the previous drawing, which is done in his late “Vasarian” style.

14 ALESSANDRO CASOLANI (Mensano di Casole d’Elsa, 1552 - Siena, 1607)

Study of figures Black and red chalk; verso: Studies of figures, pen and brown ink and chalk, on light blue paper; 210x183 mm

Inscribed (pen) right: 36.

This sheet with its studies of figures is by the prolific draughtsman, Alessandro Casolani.

Within the artistic milieu of 16th-century Siena, Casolani (who was born in 1552/1553 in Siena, where he died in 1607) is one of the most interesting masters.

His training commenced, in all likelihood, under Cristoforo Roncalli (c.

1552-1626), a painter from Pomarance, with whom he worked on various artistic commissions. Like Roncalli and Prospero Antichi, he was a member of the academy which was gathered around Ippolito Agostini, who was a master for this generation of young Sienese artists, who were decisively influenced by the example of Beccafumi (L’arte a Siena sotto i Medici, 1555-1609, exh. cat. by F. Sricchia Santoro, Siena 1980, Rome 1980, pp.

67, 259; R. Bartalini, “Su Alessandro Casolani e ancora sull’accademia di Ippolito Agostini”, in Prospettiva, n. 87/88, 1997). Casolani’s trip to Rome, where he could examine the works of Federico Zuccari (c. 1540-1609), Raffaellino da Motta (c. 1550-1578), Giovanni de’ Vecchi (1536-1615) and Girolamo da Muziano (1528-1592), was of particular significance. On his return from Rome, Casolani took on major commissions for the churches of Siena, including the Adoration of the Shepherds for Santa Maria dei Servi and the Nativity of the Virgin for San Domenico. These works reflect the emphasis placed by the local Confraternity upon piety and religious fervour. This approach is directly reflected in a painting style of considerable charm (M. Ciampolini, Casolani Alessandro La Pittura in Italia. Il Cinquecento, Milano 1988, p. 671).

In his many drawings (which are to be found in great numbers in museums worldwide), Casolani displays greater spontaneity and immediacy. Alongside the finished or preparatory compositions we also discover sketches and life studies. Here we find perhaps his most interesting drawings. He displays, also from the point of view of composition, a youthfully inventive approach to, and passionate involvement with, a medium that

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he handled with ease – as we see in this fine drawing on sky-blue paper, in which Casolani closely studies the posture of a child sitting on a cloud, with one leg resting on the other and holding what is probably the long shaft of a cross. This figure, which displays no specific attributes, may be a putto or an infant John the Baptist (without the hermit’s garb that generally accompanies this figure). The nude provides the artist with an opportunity to study the various anatomic details. The sanguine lines are doubled here and there, in an attempt to find the desired form. Considerable attention is paid to the result in volumetric terms, through study of the shadows (broad strokes and abundant sanguine). At present, scholars are unable to associate this figure with any single figure in Casolani’s paintings. However, comparisons may be made with many putti to be found in his compositions.

We note the common manner of representation of the rounded cheeks, and curly head and tripartite arrangement of the hair (a hallmark of this painter).

The position of the head, at a 45° angle, looking downward, is very typical of this artist.

On examination of the verso, we find further indications that this sheet is indeed a study work. Here, we find two other figures, one male (chalk) and one female (pen). The drawing was executed hastily and in a fragmented manner. There is practically no luminist work at all, except in the rapid hatching in the female figure which is typical of the Sienese approach to drawing. The decision to abide by the late Mannerist canon of elongation of the silhouettes, as seen in the two figures on the verso of the sheet, too, is also a derivation from the local tradition. A further typical aspect of Casolani’s drawing style is his combined use of red and black chalk and pen, on the same sheet. This reflects the experience of his formative period in Rome when he copied the drawings of great masters and experimented with the use of various drawing techniques (A. Bagnoli, I disegni, in Il piacere del colorire:percorso artistico di Alessandro Casolani (1552/53-1607): guida alla mostra, Firenze, 2002, p. 37).

15 LUDOVICO CARDI, called CIGOLI (San Miniato, 1559 - Rome, 1613)

Head of a Boy Looking Down to the Right Oil on paper mounted on panel; 283x23 mm.

This charming portrait presents parallels with a series of faces of monks which critics have recently attributed to the later years of Lodovico Cardi also known as il Cigoli (F. Moro, Viaggio nel Seicento toscano : dipinti e disegni inediti, Paris, 2006, pp. 43-45, figs. 29-31). In the case of this sheet, the attribution is confirmed by the inscription, “Cigoli”, on the back, in an attractive nineteenth century script. As in the case of the aforementioned series, in this sheet, too, we note the markedly naturalistic manner in which a sense of distance and absence is conveyed in this portrayal of a young boy reading.

This work is much more than a sketch. Thanks to his ability to penetrate his models, portrayed in real life situations, and convey their ‘impulses’ or ‘stirrings of the heart’ – as though they are away from all company and unaware of the artist’s presence – il Cigoli manages to make of these portraits ‘expression study heads’. The background and certain parts of the body and clothing have been sketched in only roughly – deliberately so, in order to emphasise the intensity of the work of psychological enquiry that Lodovico dedicates to his figure, through spontaneous, rapid execution of the work.

While the materials are, at times, applied in a blithely offhand manner, the suddenly changing tone values – as in the stunningly beautiful sequence of pinks of the boy’s cheek under the sharp beam of warm light striking the

34

figure – also create an impression of marked vitality and fidelity. This naturalistic approach to painting, here technically brought to its extreme height of expressiveness in the immediacy of a rendering from life, may have been adopted quite simply as an exercise or as practice. It may well also be ascribed to contact with the teachings of the Carraccis. Annibale Carracci and his entourage were particularly influential during il Cigoli’s time in Rome. As in the series of heads of monks, this marvellous work, too, indicates that il Cigoli wholeheartedly embraced this new realist trend, this modern return to life, which, under the banner of the Bolognese school of the Carraccis, dominated Rome when il Cigoli arrived there in 1604. This work may be slightly earlier than 1610, the year generally given for the series of the monks’ heads. The dating is based on the stylistic analogies which link this work and the Penitent Magdalene of the Cassa di Risparmio di San Miniato bank (F. Faranda, Ludovico Cardi detto il Cigoli, Roma, 1986, pp. 168-169, n. 82). These life studies were to be fundamental for a new generation of painters. A painting such as the Double study of faces of Franciscan monks (oil on canvas, 72x148 cm, London, private collection), by one of Lodovico’s most talented disciples, Domenico Fetti (1588/891623), provides us with truly masterful testimony in regard to the worth of this legacy.

16 ANNIBALE CARRACCI (Bologna, 1560 – Rome, 1609)

Male Nude, Three-quarter-length, Seen from Behind, Leaning against a Ledge Red chalk, with stumping; 391x310 mm

This magnificent, previously unknown drawing by Annibale Carracci of a young studio model seen from behind is datable from its style c. 1585— that is from the painter’s early Bolognese period—and seems to have been made as an exercise in life drawing in its own right rather than in preparation for a specific figure in a painting, though adaptations of the same slender youth appear in the person of Jason in the fresco cycle by the Carracci in the Palazzo Fava, Bologna, completed in 1584. Annibale, together with his brother Agostino and their cousin Ludovico, were pioneers in the reform of painting of their day, championing, among other changes, a revival of regular drawing from the nude model, which they believed would lead to greater naturalism in painting.

The drawing is without doubt one of the most accomplished and ambitious of Annibale’s studies from the nude from the mid-1580s, which he mostly drew in red chalk. The diligent rendering of the youth’s musculature is achieved by the beautifully controlled shading that suggests the soft play of light over flesh. The youth’s taut limbs show nervous tension, as if he were about to dart away with impatience, his haste expressed in the fidgeting fingers of both hands and in the slight movement of his head recorded in the pentiment for the profile of the face.

The same athletic youth with dark curly hair makes his appearance from time to time as Jason in some of Annibale’s frescoes in the cycle of the Story of Jason.

The most striking parallel between the youth in the drawing and Annibale’s figures of Jason is found in the right-hand half of The Building of the Argo, where Jason, back-to-back with another manifestation of himself, is seen with his left arm crooked behind his back, holding

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a large club, but with his head looking down to the left rather than upwards to the right (Repr. I; D. Posner, Annibale Carracci, London, 1971, II, p. 8 and fig. 15d).

The same sense of physical tension and the pronounced leftwards lean of the body is again encountered in one of Annibale’s representations of Jason, where the ancient hero overcomes a lion in The Argo Transported across the Libyan Desert and the Battle with Harpies and Wild Beasts (Posner, 1971, II, p. 8 and fig. 15e).

Numerous parallels in handling with other of Annibale’s red chalk drawings of the period may be found. The same unkempt hair sketched in almost randomly in a soft dark patch of accented red chalk is found in An Angel Playing the Violin, in the British Museum, London, a study for one of the musical angels in The Baptism of Christ, in S. Gregorio, Bologna (Repr: II; Posner, 1971, II, fig. 21c). Here, too, is the same soft shading in the limbs, some of it smudged or stumped.

Annibale’s draughtsmanship throughout his career may be characterized by the unusual confidence of his line-work. In Male Nude, Three-quarter-length, Seen from Behind, he has drawn firmly and without hesitation the sinewy contours of the youth’s body, reiterating them at times to give the necessary emphasis to the outline as they adjoin areas of shadow. Similarly firm contours journeying smoothly over the peaks and crevasses of a kneeling figure may be found in another study for The Baptism of Christ, in the Louvre (Repr. III; Posner, 1971, II, fig. 21d). Young Man Removing his Shirt is identical in handling to the present drawing, most significantly in the youth’s naked thighs and in the simplification of a complicated figurative pose through the firm rhythmical flow of the outlines that contain it.

17 CLAUDIO RIDOLFI, Attribute to (Verona, 1570 – Corinaldo, Ancona, 1644)

Entry of Jesus into Jerusalem Brush, brown ink and white colouring on tinted paper (beige); 272x370 mm

Seventeenth-eighteenth century inscribed (pen): Claudio Ridolfi or Rodolfi

The stylistic lineage, or roots, that we may detect in this drawing rather complicate the task of attribution. The draughtsman who produced this fine sheet was certainly a capable and admirable practitioner of his art.

In any case, we note the influence of the Venice of the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries, at a halfway stage between Tintoretto (1518 1594) and Veronese (1528 - 1588), also taking in Jacopo Palma the Younger (1544 - 1628).

By way of confirmation, we may note, structurally, how the module with the figures has been lengthened, without this prejudicing structural cohesiveness of the figures. We may, in this regard, also note the figures and the daring solution provided for the point of view, conferring to the scene a theatrically intense impression of lively agitation without recourse to the aid of foreshortened “architectonic crutches”. Recourse has been made to a decidedly more virtuous device: namely, a shrinking of the proportions of the figures along the diagonal axis upon which the entire composition rests. Other aspects more specifically relating to pictorial technique confirm the lineage, as described: the use of brown ink applied by brush was still fairly rare in Italy at the dawn of the seventeenth century, the exceptions consisting solely in precedents generally to be found in Venetia, namely the Tintoretto-Veronese-Palma the Younger triad in Venice, and Paolo Farinati and Felice Brusasorci in Verona.

Indeed, on further inspection, the latter lineage emerges (indicating Farinati in particular) if we consider the physical type and monumental proportions of the woman opening the ‘enfilade’ of the figures, and the beautiful, naturalistically represented element of the resplendent Christ on his donkey as he enters Jerusalem. This latter detail provides us with yet another geographic coordinate in our search for greater precision in regard to identification of the stylistic inspiration behind the drawing. We note the prevailing influence of the Venetia of the later sixteenth century in the chromatic solution and treatment of light, well exemplified in the startling cangiantismo of the drapery, while the white glow of light around the head of Christ leads directly toward Tintoretto and Veronese. A further, specifically Venetian, aspect consists in the daring approach of the artist whereby descriptive details are sacrificed in order to concentrate solely on the tone relations between light and shade.

Having established these stylistic concordances, we may now ask who the artist was who could blend these features. Considering the small number 38

of sheets (no more than twenty!) attributed to him by the most competent critics, we are considerably aided by the seventeenth-century script on the lower right of the sheet, where we find the name of the painter, Claudio Ridolfi, born in Verona and active in the Marche.

Claudio was the natural son of the nobleman, Fabrizio. It was also with his father’s help that Claudio managed to receive the basic training required for a painter born probably in about 1560 (and not 1570, as most sources still claim; see G. Calegari, Claudio Ridolfi tra Veneto e Marche, in Claudio Ridolfi: un pittore Veneto nelle Marche del ‘600, exh. cat. by C. Costanzi-M. Massa, Pergola, 2 jul.-2 oct. 1994, Ancona, 1994, pp. 20-29). While we still do not have a clear picture of the period of his training in Verona, it can be said that he was trained both there and in Venice, at the important studio of Paolo Caliari. Claudio then embarked on a journey to Rome, for study purposes, where he had a chance to view the works left by Federico Barocci. As a result of exposure to Barocci’s manner, Claudio decided to change his itinerary and leave for Urbino in order to study this great master at close range. He soon became one of Barocci’s most talented of disciples, and thus settled in Urbino, in the Marche.

No one knows for how long he received training from Veronese. The period of study under Veronese probably came to an end when the master died in 1588. Ridolfi was thus forced to return home. We know with greater certainty that Claudio started up his activities on an ongoing basis in Urbino in 1601-1602. However, he never broke off completely from Verona. It is known that he returned to Verona twice. He remained in Verona between 1617 and1619, and returned for a briefer stay in circa 1639.

We have some information which is certainly of interest regarding the first stay in Verona. In a letter of 1617, the decorative craftsman, Francesco Ligozzi, told his cousin Jacopo (the painter, Jacopo Ligozzi) not only that Ridolfi was in Verona but also, more importantly, that Ridolfi had rented accommodation at the home of Paolo Farinati. This indicates a closeness that may date back to the presence of the young Ridolfi at the master’s studio many years before. This circumstance is also confirmed by this sheet.

The studies gathered together in the catalogue for the exhibition dedicated to the painter organised in the Marche provide in-depth study of the stylistic hallmarks of Ridolfi, vis-à-vis the paintings, in the drawings, in which elements associated with the Venetia school prevail over the influence of

Barrocci (also in the sheets which date back to the full maturity of the artist).

Most of the sheets currently attributed to Ridolfi can be readily identified as of the Venetia school, while relatively few can be directly associated with the milieu of Barocci. In any case, despite the fact that the various studios frequented by Ridolfi were all very prolific, we note that Ridolfi was, oddly, not a keen experimenter in the medium of the drawing – as confirmed by the very small number of sheets currently attributed to him.

Anna Forlani Tempesti (Risultanze sui disegni di Claudio Ridolfi, in Claudio Ridolfi: un pittore Veneto nelle Marche del ‘600, exh. cat. by C. Costanzi-M. Massa, Pergola, 2 jul.-2 oct. 1994, Ancona, 1994, p. 159) correctly notes that the significance of the presence on one sheet of a seventeenth- or eighteenth-century attribution to Ridolfi should not be underestimated, since Ridolfi was not a keen draughtsman. Indeed, Ridolfi is not one of the artists most sought-after by collectors of graphic works, and his preparatory drawings are practically unknown outside Verona and the province of Urbino. It is therefore likely that the sheets with this attribution come from the two areas in which the painter had set up a studio and where his works were conserved and much appreciated. Given these circumstances,

this sheet represents a remarkable finding, and, qualitatively speaking, a truly remarkable addition to the number of Ridolfi’s works of preparatory draughtsmanship, which are in such short supply.

While we are fully aware of the dangers and risks involved in dating this sheet (given the constant interplay between the Venetia school and Barocci – the two sources of inspiration to be found in the painter’s repertoire, depending on the medium selected), we are greatly tempted to establish links between this sheet and works which critics tend to date back to the 1620’s (circa). We note marked affinities with a number of Ridolfi’s paintings produced during his first return visit to Verona after he had finally settled in Urbino.

The stylistic parallels between this sheet and Christ among the Doctors at the Museo Civico in Bassano (see L. Magagnato, Cinquant’anni di pittura veronese : 1580 – 1630, exh. cat. by L. Magnato, Verona, 3 aug.- 4 nov. 1974, p.

191, fig. 197), the Adoration of the Shepherds at the Museo di Castelvecchio (Verona) (ibid.) and, lastly, the Flagellation of Jesus in Sant’Anastasia in Verona (ibid., p. 188, fig. 214) – dated by Bartolomeo dal Pozzo to 1619 (Le Vite de’ pittori, degli scultori et architetti veronesi, Verona, 1718, pp. 162, 217) – indicate quite clearly that these works are all roughly contemporaneous.

18 GIOVANNI MAURO DELLA ROVERE also known as IL FIAMMINGHINO (Milan, 1575 - 1640)

Allegory Pen, white pigment and watercolour; 287x227 mm

On back (red chalk): GY88; black ink (pen) 9

The early training of the painter, Giovanni Mauro della Rovere (born in Milan in 1575), took place at the studio of his elder brother, Giovanni Battista, also known as il Fiammenghino (he and Giovanni Mauro shared this name). The two brothers worked together throughout their lives on various commissions, among the most important of which were chapels at the ‘sacred mount’ or Sacro Monte of Varallo (1588-1590) (E. Rame, “Giovan Mauro Della Rovere disegnatore: quattro schede varallesi”, De Valle sicida, 19.2010, 1), the canvases representing the Life of san Carlo Borromeo for the cathedral in Milan (1602-1603), work at San Gaudenzio in Novara (1611), decoration of the abbey of Chiaravalle (1613-1616), frescoes at the Sacro Monte d’Orta (1615-1619) and canvases for the collegiate church of Chiari (1616-1633) (Il gran teatro barocco: i Fiamminghini e i Trionfi dei santi Faustino e Giovita, ed. by G. Fusari, Roccafranca (Brescia), 2010).

Giovanni Mauro worked mainly in Lombardy. We may note his work in the Como area (decoration of the presbytery of the church of Ss. Gusmeo e Matteo in Gravedona and the frescoes of the presbytery of the church of Ss. Vittore e Eusebio, in Peglio), in the Brescia area, at Chiari, with the Mysteries of the Rosary (1621), and in Val Camonica, where he worked on various churches (1633). He also received major commissions in Novara (e.g the church of San Pietro martire) and, once more, in Milan (the chapel of S. Caterina, in the cathedral, and the church of S. Eustorgio).

Dating back to the latter years of il Fiammenghino’s career, we find architectonic works in two sanctuaries dedicated to the Virgin, at Santa Maria del Monte above Varese and in the presbytery of the Madonna dei Miracoli sanctuary in Cantù. His last work is to be found at S. Antonio in Groppello d’Adda (Milan), with the large-scale representations of the miracles of St Anthony of Padua (1638). He died in Milan two years later.

Giovanni Mauro’s approach to painting, derived from his early Lombard experiences and the lessons of Gaudenzio Ferrari (1475/80-1546), led to development of a highly fluid, inventive language characterised by a sure

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hand in regard to composition, and a lively sense of narrative flow, derived from the Roman Mannerists of the early 17th century, and derived, later, from Procaccini and Morazzone from the 1620’s on. Thanks to the marked sense of immediacy of these works, and his extremely bright palette, Giovanni Mauro received an ever-increasing number of commissions (S. Zuffi, Della Rovere Giovanni Mauro in La pittura in Italia. Il Seicento, II Milano 1988, pp. 719-721).

The structural solidity of his works (cf. N. Ward Neilson, “Five figure drawings by Giovanni Mauro della Rovere, called Il Fiamminghino” Master drawings, 36.1998, 2) is fully reflected in his drawings, among which we find practically no sketches or rapid composition studies.

The drawings by il Fiammenghino reflect the artist’s desire to create - even in works which are not preparatory for paintings - articulated, definitive compositions.

The sheet probably presents an allegory of uncertain identity (Eloquence? cf. C. Ripa, Iconologia, Roma 1603 ed. by S. Maffei, Torino 2012, ad vocem) with a young, crowned woman holding an open book in her left hand and, in her right hand, a laurel wreath. This figure, trampling the books on the ground under her feet, is surrounded by poultry.

At the bottom left, we note a vessel out of which water pours into a recipient filled with objects. The elongated face and monumental proportions of the woman – owing in part to the woman’s physical attributes and in part to the skilful rendering of the drapery and use of white pigment to create light effects – point to the stylemes generally adopted by il Fiammenghino. As a proponent of the Counter-Reformation, il Fiammenghino executed very few allegorical or profane works. This fact alone testifies to the remarkable nature of this find, which, in terms of layout and thematic affinity, presents parallels of interest with a fine drawing of Lust which appeared on the antique market (Sotheby’s New York 2003).

We thank Nancy Neilson for her confirmation of the attribution.

19 GIOVANNI BATTISTA DELLA ROVERE also known as il Fiammenghino (Milan, toward 1561 - 1627)

or GIOVANNI MAURO DELLA ROVERE also known as il Fiammenghino (Milan, 1575 - 1640)

Scenes from the lives of the saints Faustinus and Jovita Brown ink (pen), brown and blue watercolour, white gouache on light blue paper, mounted; 550x320 mm

Inscribed(pen), not entirely legible: […] faustino e Giovita […]di Brescia […] santi sono appresentati […] imperatore

This stunning work bears an incomplete inscribed identifying the figures as the saints Faustinus and Jovita, arraigned before the Emperor. The two brothers, the elder Giovanni Battista della Rovere and the younger Giovanni Mauro della Rovere, dedicated an important cycle of canvases to the two saints, revered in the area of Brescia, for the presbytery of the Church in Chiari. Execution took place at various stages between 1616 and 1633.

The project was planned to be made up of 14 canvases (only 7 remain to this day), representing episodes from the lives of the two saints. While the works were commissioned from both brothers, critics agree that the work of the younger of the two brothers prevails (G.Fusari, Il Duomo di Chiari: 1481-2000 il febbrile cantiere, Roccafranca 2000, p. 42-48; S. Coppa, Pittura della realtà e pittura di illustrazione nel Seicento lombardo: il caso dei Fiammenghini, in Il gran teatro barocco: i Fiamminghini e i Trionfi dei santi Faustino e Giovita, ed. G. Fusari, Roccafranca (Brescia), 2010 pp.

19-21). This drawing represents three episodes derived from the hagiographic legacy of Faustinus and Jovita: baptism of the two martyrs by Bishop Apollonius, rejection of idolatry, and, in the foreground, their arraignment before the Emperor (in oddly oriental garb).

Unfortunately, the cycle has, in part, been lost, and there is no direct correspondence between this drawing and any known painting. We are therefore unable to ascertain whether, during initial compositional work, the Fiammenghini brothers made changes to the composition, or even whether they actually painted a work based on this drawing at all. Since the painting based on this drawing (if ever executed) is, in any case, unavailable, this

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work actually gains in value, in that it provides a (partial) record of one of the most interesting projects for a painting by these two Milanese artists.

Indeed, not counting this sheet, current research reveals the existence of only two preparatory drawings for this cycle: The Arrest of Saints Faustinus and Jovita at the Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris, press and photography department (inv. B 3 rés; G. Bora, notice 94, en Gênes triomphante et la Lombardie des Borromée. Dèssin des XVIIe et XVIIIe siècles, exh. cat. Ajaccio 2006, Montreuille 2006, pp. 216-217), and the The Trial with Molten Lead at the Staatliche Graphische Sammlung in Munich (inv. n 2840).

The sizes of the works vary, but all were executed on green/sky-blue paper with pen and watercolour, heightened in white. The two artists were devoted to this technique which they fully exploited in order to convey painterly effects to the medium of the drawing, so that they might have as clear an idea as possible of the appearance of the finished work, also for the purposes of explaining the project to their patrons.

The vertical approach to composition is largely unsuited to the task of representation of episodes occurring at different moments in time. However, given their considerable experience, acquired over the years, the two brothers had already perfected their inventiveness and their sense of narrative flow in the teleri (large canvases) representing episodes of the life of San Carlo Borromeo, and, above all, in the decorative work for the Sacri Monti (works for which the artists gained renown throughout Northern Italy) (Il gran teatro barocco: i Fiamminghini e i Trionfi dei santi Faustino e Giovita, ed. G. Fusari, Roccafranca (Brescia), 2010, pp. 38-40).

20 GUIDO RENI (Bologna, 1575 – Bologna, 1642)

Madonna of the Rosary Pen and brown and wash over red chalk, heightened with white (mostly oxidized); 244x185 mm

Inscribed on the reverse, in chalk, in what appears to be an early twentieth-century hand: 34; Italienisch um 1580 [1620 cancelled] 1580; Guido Reni (barrato); illegible word replacing cancelled attribution to Reni; 117 Guido Reni 1575 – 1642 [cancelled]; 1205/11.

Provenance: Sir Thomas Lawrence (Lugt, 2445).

The traditional attribution of this fine finished study to Guido Reni goes back to at least as far as the time of the great early 19th -century English collector, Sir Thomas Lawrence (1769-1830). Inexplicably, however, Reni’s authorship was doubted by a twentieth-century German owner, who inscribed the reverse with the attribution, anonymous Italian, around 1580.

The iconography of the subject is based on that of the votive statue in the Cappella del Rosario, S. Domenico Bologna and the drawing’s style suggests Reni’s work of the mid-1620s. The attention paid to the differentiation of the tonal values, especially in the Madonna’s copious drapery, suggests it was made for a print. In his mature period, following his definitive return to Bologna, Reni supplemented his income by making and designing prints.

He was not only a skilful etcher himself, but passed on his inventions to other printmakers for reproduction as engravings and chiaroscuro woodcuts—enterprises that were evidently commercially profitable.

In this drawing the Madonna is about to be crowned by the two putti flying above her head; assisting her are two half-length putti, one to each side of her, one scattering flowers and the other helping her hand down the rosary.

In another compositional study by Reni, with Nebehay, Berlin in 1928, present whereabouts unknown, drawn in the same pen and red chalk technique, but with the addition of white heightening, the Madonna looks downwards instead of straight ahead and there is more room between her head and the two putti about to crown her (Repr.

I; mount in Witt Library, London).

According to the

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caption to the illustration, the ex-Nebehay drawing was formerly in the collections of Pierre Crozat and Ploos van Amstel, and is inscribed: Guido Reni f.e 1625.

Both drawings by Reni—the present sheet and that formerly with Nebehay— may be related to an anonymous print after Reni of the Madonna of the Rosary, in which the design is simplified: the Madonna is there seen in an upright oval, only three-quarter length, with the Christ Child on her lap, and the two putti holding the crown above her head are omitted (Repr. II; Bartsch, 1803-21, vol. xviii, p. 316, no 6). The claim that there is a connection between the two drawings and the print is supported by the composition of the two drawings seeming to anticipate the print’s oval frame in the rounded arch made by the two putti holding the crown. A mid-way point between the print and the two drawings is perhaps represented by a second drawing by Reni of the Madonna of the Rosary, also in red chalk, in the Royal Library, Windsor Castle, where it is incorrectly placed as “School of Guido Reni” (Repr. III; O. Kurz, Bolognese Drawings of the XVII and XVIII Centuries at Windsor Castle, London, 1955, no. 417 [inv. no. 3422]).

The beautiful small canvas of the subject in the Musei Civici d’Arte e Storia, Brescia, by Simone Cantarini, Reni’s pupil and then bitter rival, shows how Reni’s touching but majestic interpretation of a popular religious icon resonated with the times (Repr. IV; Simone Cantarini, ditto il Pesarese, exh. cat. ed by A. Emiliani, Pinacoteca Nazionale, Bologna, October, 1997 to January, 1998, no. I.21).

21 Circle of Guido Reni, ANONYMOUS BOLOGNESE (Bologna, 1575 – Bologna, 1642), First half of seventeenth century

St Jerome Pen and brown wash over black chalk; 220x176 mm

Inscribed upper left, in brown ink: Guido Reni; and again, on the verso: Guido Reni

Given Guido Reni’s sophisticated style and strongly idealized figures, the traditional attribution to him of this St Jerome, with its strongly physical presence and slightly rustic air, is a little surprising. The saint’s distracted look, his unkempt, curly hair and beard and his summary attire, are the proof of his contemplation of the spiritual during his sojourn in the wilderness. He shows how his thoughts have been occupied by pointing with one hand at the skull held in the other.

The use of parallel hatching in pen to model the figure and its drapery and the calligraphic treatment of the hair and beard reveal the influence of Guido Reni, in whose pen drawings similar shading may be found, albeit handled with greater delicacy.

St Jerome’s abstracted expression and the turn of his head to the right bear some

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resemblance to the head of Jacob in a half-length painting by Paolo Emilio Besenzi (1606-1656) of Jacob Contemplating Joseph’s Blood-stained Coat, in the Palazzo Grimani a S. Luca, Venice, datable c. 1648-52. Besenzi was trained by Francesco Albani and was subsequently much influenced by the work of Guido Reni, but his work as a draughtsman is apparently unknown.

A less telling comparison may be made between the St Jerome and a print of a half-length figure of St Jerome in the wilderness, holding a crucifix and with a skull at his side, by Oliviero Gatti, a printmaker who was active in Bologna in the first half of the seventeenth century (Bertelà, 1973, no.

636). It remains unclear whether the design was of Gatti’s or that of another Bolognese artist.

On the reverse is a red chalk drawing of the Resurrection.

22 GIULIO BENSO, Attributed to (Pieve di Teco, Imperia, 1592 - 1668)

Battle, with Vision of St. Francis Black chalk, pen, brush and brown ink, squared in black chalk; 316x256 mm

Inscribed (pen) on support, front: 6 Modern inscribed (chalk) on back: Valerio Castelli, b Genova 1625- d 1659; 13x17; H 8516; 26.

Provenance: P.H. collection (Lugt, 2086)

This rapidly executed, freehand drawing is decidedly Baroque. The quality of the drawing certainly commands our attention, but the subject and artist cannot be identified with precision. Indeed, we do not know of the work on canvas that, as the squared in black chalk seems to indicate, probably followed on from this study.

The work consists in a lively battle scene. In the middle, a horse rears up before the viewer. The scenographic effect is obtained by a breaching of compositional planes. This markedly dynamic effect creates what can be described as a centripetal force taking in the rest of the scene. Resolution occurs only in the upper part of the composition, where we see – in a realm of peace and tranquillity, over a bed of clouds – a saint wearing a habit.

The halo is barely hinted at. Since there are no other attributes, we cannot immediately identify this figure.

Examination of the more authoritative biographies of St Francis of Assisi may lead us to interpret this scene as the moment of the conversion of the young man, with his decision to dedicate his life to prayer and works of charity.

It is well known that Francis was the son of a wealthy merchant, and also that, as a young man filled with a spirit of adventure, he was, from the start, a keen member of the war party during the fighting between Assisi and Perugia. He was taken prisoner, and then released after a year (12021203). In 1205 he joined the Papal forces and set out for Apulia to fight the Emperor’s troops. Then, following a strange dream, he decided to return to Assisi and take up his marked vocation for poverty. The conversion episode is fairly rare. It is thought that, rather than a vision, he received a premonition, linked to the strange dream which various sources mention. Francis thus decided to abandon his career as a knight in order to dedicate his life to a truer and more important cause: the battle against poverty.

Having cast some (hypothetical) light upon the iconographic nature of

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this sheet, we shall now consider the cultural matrix behind the work.

The dynamic graphic line and certain details (such as the treatment of the eyes, and the rapid, minute pen strokes) point to the Genoese tradition of Giovanni Battista Paggi (1554-1627), and, above all, to Giulio Benso (c.

1601-1668). Benso’s work is also evoked in the emphasis on foreshortening and the “sottinsù” or ‘bottom up’ viewpoint. Among the more interesting comparisons with the sheets produced by this master, we may note the battle scene with Horatius Cocles at the Musée des Tissus et des Arts Décoratifs in Lyon (P. Boccardo in Gênes triomphante et la Lombardie des Borromée : dessins des XVIIe et XVIIIe siècles, exh. cat. Ajaccio, 28 oct.-23 feb. 2007, Montreuil, 2006, pp. 56-57, n. 19), and, in regard to paintings, we may note the well-known Triumph of Faith over Heresy (private collection) (G. Biavati, in Genova nell’età Barocca, exh. cat. by E. Gavazza-G. Rotondi Terminiello, Genova, 2 may-26 july, Bologna 1992, pp. 96-98, n.

9). Admittedly, we also find certain small stylistic differences, generally speaking, between this work and the sheets definitively identified as belonging to the considerable graphic corpus of Benso and Paggi. Indeed, this work cannot be definitively attributed to either artist. In any case, the shorter, rounder pen stroke, the more dynamic graphic approach, and, lastly, the pointed, sharp forms of the fingers, are elements which indicate more the manner of Benso – hence the general attribution (with some reservations) of this fine sheet to Benso.

In noting that this work was produced fully within the canon of the early Baroque style in Genoa, we may also remark the figure of the rearing horse.

This is a fairly evident, explicit reference to the horse leaping out from Rubens’ canvas, Gio. Carlo Doria (Genova, Galleria Nazionale di Palazzo Spinola, inv. 28405). The horse appears very frequently in local paintings after 1606. Indeed, the figure constitutes an ideal motif which was, in effect, de rigueur for local artists experimenting with the Baroque mode.

23 GIAN GIACOMO BARBELLI (Offanengo, nr Cremona, 1604—Calcinato, nr Brescia, 1656)

St Peter Black chalk on blue-grey paper; 270x302 mm

Provenance: Giorgio Della Bella (Lugt, 3774).

This study of St Peter standing at a ledge, brandishing one of his keys, is by the little-known 17th-century Lombard painter Gian Giacomo Barbelli.

It is evidently a study for the figure of the Apostle in Barbelli’s series of Prophets, Evangelists and Saints, seen standing half-length and slightly foreshortened at a balustrade. The series is merely a part of the painter’s large fresco cycle in S. Maria delle Grazie, Crema, painted in 164143. Here reproduced are some the painted figures from this sequence, and two related drawings, from the collection of the Accademia Tadini, Lovere, BG (Repr. I and II).

Barbelli was the leading painter of the Baroque period in Crema, a city in Lombardy between Cremona and Milan. He was apprenticed to Tomaso

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Pombioli, in his native Crema, but very likely completed his training in Milan. This explains the strong influences in his work of such Milanese painters as Morazzone (1573-1625/6), Daniele Crespi (1597/1600-1630) and Giovanni Mauro della Rovere, il Fiamminghino (c. 1575 - c. 1640), influences that are also readily apparent in his style as a draughtsman.

Barbelli was a prolific painter of large-scale fresco decorations, for both secular and ecclesiastical patrons, and altarpieces by him decorate churches in Crema, Bergamo, Brescia, and Lodi. By remaining throughout his mature activity within the confines of this area of Lombardy, his work retained its strongly provincial character, and he seems to have remained immune to the artistic influences from other centres of the peninsular.

24 ERCOLE PROCACCINI the YOUNGER (Milan, 1605 – Milan, 1680)

Head and Shoulders of a Youth, in Profile to the Right Red chalk; 215x276 mm

Black chalk drapery studies on reverse of sheet.

The attractively proportioned handsome features, the delicate rendering of the complexion and the grace of expression (the typology is vaguely Leonardesque, as seen in the rendering of the lips) all precisely indicate that this fine sheet is a product of early seventeenth century Lombardy.

Specifically, we can attribute the work to an artist of the Procaccini brothers’ studio – one of the most prolific and lively in Milan at the turn of the century.

The touch is not that of the refined style of Giulio Cesare (1574 - 1625), who was the true master of the family and is known for his inventiveness.

Rather, the handling is restrained, and the sfumato is more ostentatiously plastic and less vaporous. This suggests that the work is, instead, by Giulio Cesare’s nephew, Ercole the Younger. Ercole is called the Younger to avoid confusion with his grandfather, the Bolognese painter, Ercole Procaccini (1515/1520 - 1595), who moved to Milan in 1585 and set up a highly successful family studio headed by his sons, Carlo Antonio (c.1555 - c.1630) (the younger Ercole’s father, and a specialist in still lifes and landscapes), Camillo (1546/1550 - 1626/1629), and Giulio Cesare himself.

The small head and shoulders portrayal of a boy drawn to the left of the face provides confirmation that this is the work of Ercole the Younger. The shortened parallel dashes providing the relief effect for the figure is to be found in identical form on a sheet at the Pinacoteca Ambrosiana gallery portraying a putto, generally attributed to Ercole the Younger (F 235 inf. n.

1074; for reproduction, see S. Modena, Disegni di maestri dell’Accademia Ambrosiana, in “Arte lombarda”, 4.1959, p. 114).

Ercole the Younger was a most prolific and successful artist. Given the consolidated prestige of the family’s studio, the major works commissioned by public and private patrons ensured him a great career and considerable renown.

While an important artist, Ercole was, admittedly, one of the less creative and dynamic masters of a studio such as the Procaccini’s, which owed its success precisely to these qualities. The last of the heirs of a family tradition, he was, indeed, a brilliant painter, but he limited his work to re-elaborating upon the manner adopted by his uncles during the earlier decades of the century. As he remarked to Carlo Cesare Malvasia, who paid him a visit 52

at his studio in 1667 (Carlo Cesare Malvasia, Felsina pittrice : vite de’ pittori bolognesi; con aggiunte, correzioni e note inedite del medesimo autore di Giampietro Zanotti e di altri scrittori viventi, 2 voll., Bologna, Guidi all’Ancona, 1841, I, p. 200), his uncles Camillo, and, above all, Giulio Cesare provided him with his major models and sources of inspiration.

This quality may be noted in the painting for which this drawing was probably made – the large canvas representing Cain killing Abel in the Museo Diocesano in Milan (oil on canvas, 189x137 cm). While there is a very slight difference in the foreshortening, this sheet may be considered a detailed study of Cain’s face.

While Ward Neilson (Camillo Procaccini. Paintings and drawings, New York – London, 1979, pp. 108-109) attributed the work, with reservations, to Giulio Cesare, the critics now agree that this is a work of Ercole the Younger – as Bartoli (Notizia delle Pitture, Sculture, ed Architetture, che ornano le Chiese, e gli altri Luoghi Pubblici di tutte le più rinomate città d’Italia…, 2 voll., Venezia, I, 1776, p. 167) had already rightly suggested.

The work dates back to an early stage, when the influence of the uncle, Giulio Cesare, upon young Ercole was particularly marked (S. A. Colombo, in Quadreria dell’Arcivescovado, by M. Bona Castellotti, Milano, 1999, pp.

119-120, n. 110). This attribution is indeed confirmed by the close affinities between the Milanese canvas and the canvas dedicated to this subject at the Accademia Albertina in Turin, bearing the mark of Giulio Cesare and dated 1623.

The postures of the two figures, above all in the case of Cain, seem to allude to the canvas in Turin. However, the view is side on, as though the group painted by Giulio Cesare had been viewed from the left. Having dedicated his efforts to reproducing the elegance of the movements and the draughtsmanship, Ercole the Younger was unable to penetrate the terrifying intensity of pathos that characterises Giulio Cesare’s version.

Marco Rosci (Giulio Cesare Procaccini, Soncino, 1993, pp. 50, 136137), taking up an indication provided by Hugh Brigstocke (Giulio Cesare Procaccini reconsidered, in “Jahrbuch der Berliner Museen”, XVIII, 1976, pp. 120-122), suggests that the verso of the medal struck for Francis I of France by Giambologna in about 1576 may have been a source of inspira-

tion for Cain’s posture in both canvases. The verso represents Hercules and the Centaur Nessus (for a reproduction of the model in wax, see E. Dhanens, Jean Boulogne, Brussel, 1956, pp. 189-198, fig. 149).

Limiting ourselves to the question of the dating of the painting by Ercole the Younger, we may certainly conclude that it was executed between 1623, the

year of the prototype by Giulio Cesare, Ercole’s uncle, and 1638, the year in which, without a precise attribution, it was included in the inventory of items which the Cardinal Cesare Monti (1593-1650) bequeathed to the bishop’s Court (these items formed the initial core of the collection of the Museo Diocesano of Milan).

25 MELCHIORRE GHERARDINI also known as il Ceranino (Milan, 1607 - 1668)

Male figure Black chalk on brown paper; 235x133 mm, laid down.

Provenance: Giorgio Dalla Bella collection (Lugt, 3774).

While there are at least fifteen variations of his surname, Melchiorre Gherardini (born in about 1607 in Milan, where he died on 9 September 1668) is mainly known as il Ceranino.

Melchiorre Gherardini came into contact with il Cerano – whose real name was Giovanni Battista Crespi (1573 - 1632) – at a fairly early point in his career. It is still not known whether the two artists had met before 1621, the year in which Gherardini entered the Accademia Ambrosiana, also frequented by such talents as Ercole Procaccini the Younger (1605-1680) and Carlo Biffi (1605-1675).

After the late 1620’s, in all likelihood following his formal training, Gherardini played an increasingly important role within the studio of the older master, as we note in the contracts of the period which include his name. When il Cerano died in 1632, the younger artist, who had married il Cerano’s daughter, Camilla – also a painter –, inherited both the studio and home.

In his works of the 1630’s, Gherardini reveals himself to be an intelligent disciple of Crespi. While imitating Crespi’s mode, he also developed his own specific artistic language. It was only in 1637, when work started up at Sacro Monte di Varallo, and on coming into close contact with the works left by Morazzone (1573-1626) and Tanzio da Varallo (1575-1633), that il Ceranino embarked upon a new period of experimentation. This led to a definitive turning point in his career, at the stage in which he took part in

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the decorating work in palazzo Durini in Milan, soon after 1648. The cycle included the contributions of co-workers Ercole Procaccini the Younger, Giovanni Stefano Danedi, known as il Montalto (1612-1690), and Johann Christoph Storer (1611-1671). Gherardini was entrusted with the task of executing parts of the Histories of Troy on the piano nobile. It is interesting to see how the character of the work of il Ceranino, collaborating with the most talented artists of the Milan of the times, moved decidedly in the direction of Rubens and the Roman school.

The drawing on display represents a standing male figure – whose posture is typical of il Cerano’s work – bearing in his hands his heavy drapery. This work may be a preparatory study for the figure of a saint or prophet to be placed in a niche, as we might perhaps infer from the vertical lines framing the silhouette. We should remember that il Ceranino had considerable experience as a fresco painter for churches and noble residences in Milan and in provincial Lombardy.

A particularly fascinating feature is the manner in which the lines dart this way and that, indicating that the work was executed speedily, and, in any case, with a sure hand in rendering the noble aspect and steadiness of the figure, directly conveying to the viewer’s eye the relations arising out of the relief tones and chiaroscuro work. While schematic in approach in regard to the details, the artist nevertheless conveys truly impressive intensity to the facial expression.

26 CARLO FRANCESCO NUVOLONE (Milan, 1609 – 1662)

Head and Shoulders of a Sibyl Wearing a Turban, Accompanied by Cupid Red and black chalk; 189x187 mm

Inscribed in red chalk at the top of the sheet: A Coregio; and numbered in pen at the bottom left: 14; and at the bottom right: 50.

After receiving initial artistic training from his father, Panfilo, Carlo Francesco attended the Accademia Ambrosiana under the guidance of Giovan Battista Crespi, il Cerano (1573 -1623). He became a disciple of Crespi and also studied the work of the other great painter of the early seventeenth century in Lombardy, Giulio Cesare Procaccini (1574 - 1625).

On the strength of the spirit of independence which he displayed in his response to the lessons of these masters, Carlo Francesco was able to inject new life into painting in Milan and break free of strict adherence to the local manner. He did so by ‘grafting’ international influences onto the ‘trunk’ of this manner. He had become familiar with these international contributions and had gained knowledge of the Genoese works of Rubens and van Dyck, perhaps through Procaccini. He also learned from the great masters of the Emilian school – Parmigianino and Correggio – and of the Bolognese school – Guercino, and more importantly, Guido Reni. Such influences led him to adopt a style which in character and quality fully fits in with the peculiarities of the international Baroque style at the height of its refinement and splendour. While updating the local tradition with great energy and liveliness, but with no real intention to break with it, he turned toward a more open approach to experimentation as a painter, and displayed a penchant for lyricism. His brushstrokes are nuanced, and the chromatic texturing is delicate and yet lively. His works, both sacred and profane, received considerable praise within both the public and private spheres.

This fine sheet may be dated to between the late 1630’s and early 1640’s.

It is one of the rare examples to reach us of the young Carlo Francesco’s graphic work. Just by comparing this work with Carlo Francesco’s contemporaneous production, the dating is confirmed, and we also find marked affinities with the formal and chromatic refinements of Giulio Cesare Procaccini, typical of this period, as we clearly see in the cupid’s face, in the daring, experimental approach to foreshortening, and in the cangiantismo of the surfaces, rendered by means of an original mixed use of sanguine and black chalk.

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The technical and formal correspondences between this drawing and two sheets by Giulio Cesare, now at the Accademia di Venezia (Repr. I, II; see also A. Petrioli Tofani, Il disegno. Le collezioni pubbliche italiane, by A. Petrioli Tofani, S. Prosperi Valenti Rodinò, G. C. Sciolla, Torino, 3.1, 1993, p. 152 and G. Nepi Sciré, Storia della collezione dei disegni. Gallerie dell’Accademia di Venezia, Milano, Electa, 1982, p. 114, respectively) are, in this regard, perfectly clear.

We note the common ground shared by disciple and master, which extends into the decisions leading up to the composition itself, displaying identical dimensional development, with the figures arranged within a square space.

Similar points of contact tell us that the young Nuvolone had perhaps had an opportunity to closely view the last works of the older master, probably when he attended the Accademia Ambrosiana, founded in 1621 by Cardinal Carlo Borromeo.

Comparison with a number of Carlo Francesco’s works which are generally dated back to the period proposed also for this sheet underscores the lightness of touch and the chromatic wealth that the drawing would have taken on had it been transposed into a painting. We may note, in this regard, the Rest during the Flight to Egypt at the Musée des Beaux-Arts in Dijon, the two versions derived from a single project for a Holy Family (at the Accademia Carrara in Bergamo, and formerly in Milan at the auction house, Finarte), or the Holy Family with Saint Anthony of Padua of the Stanley Moss collection at Riverdale-on-Hudson (see, respectively, F. M. Ferro, Nuvolone : una famiglia di pittori nella Milano del ‘600, Soncino, 2003, n. 21, pp. 171-172, fig.

9, p. 327; ibid. n. 78, p. 188, fig. 24c, p. 342; n. 79, p. 189, fig.24d, p. 342; n. 66, p. 185, fig. 26, p. 344).

The Stanley Moss collection canvas is even closer to Procaccini than the others. The style reflects the most overtly Genoese manner of the master, even to the point of revealing striking affinities with the experiments of the younger Valerio Castello (1624 - 1659). We owe precisely to Genoa, and to the peculiarities of Genoa’s great school of painters, Carlo Francesco’s decision to take up a new direction, enabling him to distance himself from the oppressively overbearing influence of Giulio Cesare.

27 Giovanni Stefano DANEDI also known as MONTALTO (Treviglio, 1612 – Milan, 1690)

Christ bearing Cross Oil on paper laid down on panel; 175x236 mm (dimensions of sheet); 182x249 mm (dimensions of support).

The fascinating grisaille represents the fifth station of the Via Crucis and the moment in which the Cyrenian, Simon, helps Christ raise the Cross (Luke 23, 26) when He fell under its weight.

This composition – realised on a rectangular sheet with the figures positioned diagonally – actually falls within an ellipse. The long shaft of the Cross is prolonged by Simon’s chest toward the right as he helps Christ raise the Sacred Wood. The centripetal line of the jailer tugging the rope tied to Christ’s neck moves forcefully in the opposite direction.

This is one of the subjects most frequently represented during the CounterReformation, which requested that artists produce striking works which would move the faithful and have them identify with the Saviour through His sufferings.

In this small grisaille, the scene’s emotional impact is ensured not only by the description of the sufferings of the Son of God but also by the technique of execution of the work. A sense of tragedy is conveyed by the use of grey, alone, underscoring the gravity of the scene. The figures are cloaked in darkness, anticipating the impending tragedy. The treatment of light reflects the sombre nature of the scene. White, generally used for purposes of highlighting, is replaced here by light, short, pale grey hatchings. Skilful hatching work conveys the sense of depth and the plastic qualities of the practically monochrome figures which would otherwise be vague shadows on the dark background.

The dry, sharpish or bony profiles and the sharp folds of the drapery point to the drawing practices of the Lombard artist, Giovanni Stefano Danedi also known as Montalto (cf. C. Legrand, “A Drawing by Giovanni Stefano Daneda in the Musée du Louvre”, Master Drawings, 29, 3 1991).

Born in Treviglio in 1612, Giovanni Stefano began work with his brother, Giuseppe, with whom he shared the name Montalto. Their careers began at the time of a return to artistic activities in Milan after the plague of 1630 and the disappearance from the scene of the great Milanese painters, Morazzone (1573-1626) and G. C. Procaccini (1570-1625), G. B. Crespi (1573-1632) also known as il Cerano, and Daniele Crespi. After his early work which relied on the formulae of the Lombard manner, young Danedi

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moved on to develop a style influenced by the Emilian school (in particular, Guercino) and the Genoese school. Only after a journey to Rome, which took place in about the mid-17th century, did Danedi turn to more classical solutions and narratives rendered with a bright refined palette.

The early training under the influence of Morazzone, mediated by his familiarity with the work of Francesco Cairo (1607-1665), is reflected in the Dead Christ and the Angels (Verona, Museo di Castelvecchio) and Dead Christ (Dijon, Musée Magnin). Between 1645 and 1670, the two Danedi brothers ran a studio in Milan, but they also took on a number of outside commissions together. Among these, we may note the frescoes in Monza (1648) and the frescoes of the chapel of the Transfiguration at Sacro Monte di Varallo (1671), Palazzo Reale, Palazzo Porta in Milan, and Palazzo Borromeo in Cedano (O. Menegaux, Giovanni Stefano Danedi, in Seicento: le siècle de Caravage dans les collections publiques françaises, ed. by A. Brejon De Lavergnée, exh. cat. Paris 1988-1989, Paris 1988, p. 198).

While, for a long time, for many works, the critics found it hard to attribute them to the one or to the other of the two brothers, the recent monographic works and exhibitions dedicated to them have shed considerable light upon their productive and successful careers and upon their considerable artistic achievements which so greatly impacted the arts in Lombardy during the latter half of the 17th century (cf. O. D’Albo, “G. Stefano Montalto per gli Isimbardi: un ciclo di affreschi dimenticato a Pieve del Cairo”, Arte lombarda, n.s. 163 2011, 3; A. Pacia, Giovanni Stefano Danedi ditto Montalto, Bergamo 2009; L. Bandera Gregori, Giovanni Stefano e Giuseppe Doneda: pittori trevigliesi del ‘600, exh. cat. Treviglio 1985, Calvenzano 1985).

From 1675 on, with the commission for a cycle dedicated to St Martin (at the church of the same name in Treviglio), Giovanni Stefano began to take on work with his sons, and his career entered a period characterised by more modest achievements. Giovanni Stefano Danedi died in Milan in 1690 (O. Menegaux, Giovanni Stefano Danedi, in Seicento: le siècle de Caravage dans les collections publiques françaises, ed. by A. Brejon De Lavergnée, exh. cat. Paris 1988-1989, Paris 1988, p. 198).

28 GUGLIELMO CORTESE, called BORGOGNONE (St Hippolyte, Franche Comté, 1628 – Rome, 1679)

Kneeling Man Wearing a Large Drapery Protecting his Head with his Right Hand Black chalk on grey-green paper; 260x175 mm

Provenance: Mathias Polavakovits (Lugt, 3561).

This appears to be a study for the Apostle in the lower right of the composition of the Assumption of the Virgin, the altarpiece painted by Guglielmo Cortese in 1660 for the lateral chapel of the church of S. Tommaso da Villanova, Castel Gandolfo (F. A. Salvagnini, I pittori Borgognoni Cortese (Courtois) e la loro casa in piazza di Spagna, Rome, 1937, tav. LXLV). The Apostle kneels on the step to the Virgin’s tomb on his right knee, protecting his eyes from the heavenly light as the Virgin makes her ascent. The construction of the church of S. Tommaso and its decoration were paid for by the Chigi family and the whole undertaking, including the design of the building, was in the charge of Gianlorenzo Bernini (1598-1680). Cortese’s modello for the altarpiece, which he was required to submit for approval to Bernini, is in the Musées Royaux des Beaux-Arts, Brussels.

The same kneeling Apostle is seen, with differences, in a compositional study for the altarpiece, in red chalk, in the Fondo Corsini, the Gabinetto Nazionale delle Stampe, Villa Farnesina, Rome (Repr. I; inv. FC 126874; Disegni di Guglielmo Cortese, exh. cat. by Simonetta Prosperi Valenti Rodinò, Istituto Nazionale per la Grafica, Villa Farnesina, Rome, 1979-80, p. 34, no. 28).

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Like many artists of his day, Cortese was wont to make careful preliminary studies for the drapery of each figure for a given painting in order to reduce the risk of unwelcome mistakes at the final stages. In this drawing, the artist has paid more attention to the fall of light and shadow on the ample cloak that sweeps around the Apostle’s body than to his head and limbs, particulars that had presumably been resolved in earlier drawings. In another drawing in the Fondo Corsini, the Gabinetto Nazionale delle Stampe, Villa Farnesina, Rome, this time a Kneeling Woman Seen from Behind, much the same “Berninesque” drapery is to be seen, with the cloak suggesting the unyielding surface of marble rather than the softness and suppleness of cloth (Repr. II; inv. FC 127118; Disegni di Guglielmo Cortese, Rome, 197980, p. 96, no. 258).

At the beginning of his career as a painter, Guglielmo Cortese moved within the orbit of Pietro da Cortona (1596-1669), participating in a decorative project that had been delegated to the artist’s studio, a cycle of frescoes of the Story of St Mark (1656-57). His work there was admired by Bernini, the great arts dictator of the time, who thereafter took him under his wing.

29 SIGISMONDO CAULA (Modena, 1637 – Modena, 1724)

Allegorical Subject Pen and brown ink and brown wash, heightened with white, on paper washed light brown; 446x591 mm

Provenance: P. & D. Colnaghi (An Exhibition of Old Master Drawings, June to July, 1983, no. 44, as Vittorio Maria Bigari).

Literature: N. Turner, “London: Old Master Drawings” [review of summer exhibitions at the dealers P.&D. Colnaghi, Adolph Stein and Kate de Rothschild], Burlington Magazine, CXXV (1983), pp. 505-6, fig. 64, as Sigismondo Caula.

The significance of the allegory remains unclear but may be partially deciphered as follows. At the centre of the composition, standing on a plinth, is Victory holding a laurel crown in one hand and a palm in the other; at her feet are strewn various accoutrements of war. In the right foreground, the semi-nude figure of Fortune, with her long forelock tied in a pigtail and pointing forwards, appears to obstruct the progress of the stately-looking young woman wearing a long, flowing dress and holding a chain censer in both hands. The large elephant following in her footsteps is likely to be a symbol of Africa, so that the woman carrying the incense burner may also allude to the continent. In the background, to the left, Hercules watches the Three Fates, the ugly old hags who governed mortal destiny, apparently refraining from snipping the fine thread they hold between them with the large pair of sheers in his right.

The gracefulness of the figures and the sophisticated sense of interval within the composition are typical of Caula’s attractive sense of design and restrained style of drawing, which beautifully combines Emilian and Venetian influences. In the proportions of the figures and the calm of their movements, he seems

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to pay homage to painters such as Correggio and Parmigianino, the great exponents of the Emilian High Renaissance. Only in recent decades has his work as a draughtsman emerged with clarity, thanks largely to the pioneering essay by Adalgisa Lugli (“Erudizione e pittura alla corte estense: il caso di Sigismondo Caula (1637 - 1724)”, Prospettiva, 21, April, 1980, pp.

57-74). In the Art Institute, Chicago, is a drawing by Caula of the Flight into Egypt, which shares many of the stylistic characteristics as the present drawing, from the pear-shaped heads of the figures and their elongated limbs, to the tinted paper, staccato pen-work, the flecks of which contrast pleasingly with the smooth, ample passages of “biacca,” or white heightening, applied with the brush (Repr. I; Burlington Magazine, p. 506 and fig. 65).

Caula was the leading decorative painter in Modena in the last quarter of the 17th century and the first quarter of the 18th and was extensively employed by secular and ecclesiastical patrons in the city, especially by the ruling d’Este family, principally in the person of Francesco II d’Este. As well as ceiling frescoes in palaces and churches, he painted large-scale canvases for both galleries and chapels.

30 Giovanni Battista GAULLI, also known as il Baciccio (Genoa, 1639 - Rome, 1709)

Portrait of Gian Lorenzo Bernini Pen, brown ink and watercolour; 237x195 mm

Note written with pen, bottom right: Bernino; note written with pen, verso: 6342 906.

Provenance: Herbert List collection (raised seal - Lugt 4063) Literature: F. Petrucci, Giovanni Battista Gaulli 1639 - 1709, Rome, 2009, p. 431, fig. A65.2

We still know rather little about the training of Giovanni Battista Gaulli, also known as il Baciccia (Baciccio). He was born in Genoa on 8 May 1639, and died in Rome on 2 April 1709. There can be no doubt that he was trained in Genoa, had ties with the great Genoese masters of the period, and was familiar with the works of Rubens and Van Dyck remaining in Genoa.

While, due to age considerations, it is fairly unlikely that Gaulli was, as Ratti believed (Genoa, 1769), an apprentice at the studio of Luciano Borzone (1590-1645), it may be more logical to suppose that he was trained by one of Borzone’s sons – perhaps Francesco Maria (1625-1679).

Having lost his entire family during the plague which struck Genoa in 1657, Gaulli joined the entourage of the Genoese ambassador, Giovanni Agostino Franzoni, and left for Rome. In the capital of the Papal States, the young artist soon entered into relations with the Genoese art dealer, Pellegrino Peri, who presented him to Gian Lorenzo Bernini (1598-1680).

Bernini took Baciccio under his wing, and constantly monitored his new protégé’s progress as an artist. The two became very close, not only as colleagues but also as friends, as reflected in the many commissions received through Bernini’s efforts and the various occasions in which they worked side by side – including, notably, work on the adornments of the Albertoni chapel in the Church of San Francesco a Ripa (1675).

Between May and July 1669, Gaulli travelled to Northern Italy in order to

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study Correggio’s frescoes in Parma for his adornments of the cupola of the Church of Santa Agnese in Agone. He had received the commission from the Pamphilj family, thanks to Bernini’s efforts. Bernini also provided recommendations for Gaulli’s visit and stay at the Court of the House of Este in Modena.

We know that Gaulli’s portraits were very much in demand at the time.

He frequently portrayed his great protector and friend. The earliest portrait, at the Galleria Nazionale d’Arte Antica in Palazzo Barberini (Rome), was executed between 1665 and 1666 (circa). We must also mention another portrait executed in the late 1670’s and currently at the National Gallery of Scotland. There are many versions and copies of this portrait in private collections. The painting became famous as a result of the work of the Flemish engraver, Arnold van Wasterhout (1651-1725), for the frontispieces of the two biographies of Bernini written over a period of slightly more than thirty years by Filippo Baldinucci (Firenze, 1682) and the artist’s son, Domenico Bernini (Roma, 1713).

Included as a high-quality autographic work by this Genoese master in a publication of 2009 by Francesco Petrucci (Giovanni Battista Gaulli 1639 1709, Rome, 2009, p. 431, fig. A65.2), this drawing can be dated back to circa 1660-65. This suggests Gaulli was very young when he first met and befriended Bernini.

31 CARLO DONELLI, called VIMERCATI (Milan, c. 1660-1715)

Seated Man Resting his Left Arm on a Ledge Red chalk; 254x186 mm

This finished drawing from the nude model is a study for the figure of St John the Baptist in Vimercati’s late altarpiece of Sts Carlo Borromeo and John the Baptist before God the Father, which the artist painted in 1711 for the church of San Vittore, Isola Bella, Stresa (Lake Maggiore). Another drawing for the same figure is in the Ambrosiana, Milan and was presumably made afterwards since it shows the saint in his tunic of animal skins and with his reed-cross (Cod F 231 Inf. n. 90; A. Poggi, “I disegni di Carlo Donelli ditto il Vimercati,” Nuovi Studi, 12, 2007, pp. 171-95 and fig. 258).

As a draughtsman, Vimercati’s style may be characterized by its strong line and powerful shading. An extensive area of dark may be seen behind the figure’s left shoulder, where two layers of parallel hatching superimposed over each other fan out from behind the figure. They are strengthened still more by the smaller passage of cross hatching close to the figure’s shoulder, applied to give the greatest possible emphasis to the highlight on the figure’s substantial shoulder muscle. Such vehemence of execution is less apparent in his paintings.

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From what little is known of Vimercati’s career, he seems to have worked entirely in Milan and its immediate environs. He is thought to have been a pupil of Ercole Procaccini the Younger (for whom see cat. no. 21), and like his master used red chalk as his preferred medium for drawing. Strongly apparent in Vimercati’s paintings, however, is the influence of Milanese painters of an older generation, such as Giulio Cesare Procaccini (15741625) and Daniele Crespi (1598-1630).

Drawings by Vimercati of the same type as the present example are in the Galleria dell’Accademia, Venice (U. Ruggieri, Disegni Lombardi, Milan, 1982, nos. 150-52). Besides the second study for the figure of St John the Baptist already mentioned, further drawings by him are in the Ambrosiana, Milan (A. Barigozzi and R. Bossaglia, Disegni del Settecento Lombardo, Vicenza, 1973, nos. 97-8).

It was at one time suggested, incorrectly, that the present sheet might be by the later Milanese painter, Ferdinando Porta (1689-1767) (Trinity Fine Art, Paris, Salon du Dessin, Dessins Anciens de l’Ecole Lombarde, 2001, no. 26).

32 GIUSEPPE MARIA CRESPI, LO SPAGNUOLO, after LUDOVICO CARRACCI (Bologna, 1665-1747) (Bologna, 1555-1619)

St Roch Red chalk; 310x198mm

Provenance: unidentified armorial mark; inscribed on the mount: Crespi detto lo Spagnuolo/ Comprato a Bologna 16 Maggio 1875.

An 18th-century inscription, in brown ink, which has been partly interrupted by loses to the paper as well as from fading, is written across the bottom of the sheet and may be deciphered as follows: […] Cr[esp]i, ditto lo spagnulo, ricor[…] del cartone […] del S. Ca[...].

In the drawing, Giuseppe Maria Crespi has recorded in detail the appearance of Ludovico Carracci’s St Roch, in the Pinacoteca Nazionale, Bologna, carried out in 1598-1600 on the commission of the Confraternity of S. Rocco di Pratello, Bologna (A. Brogi, Ludovico Carracci, Ozzano Emilia [Bologna], 2001, pp. 184-5, no. 70). Ludovico’s St Roch is not an oil painting but a largesized work on paper, drawn in charcoal, pastel and gouache—hence references to it in the early sources, as well as in the inscription on this drawing, as a “cartone.” The light-weight support was ideal for its intended purpose as a votive standard, to be carried out-of-doors in processions beseeching succour against the plague. However, the fragility of the paper support ultimately led to it being laid down onto canvas. In the wake of the Napoleonic invasion of the peninsular, it was removed in 1798 from the high altar of the confraternity church, passing into the ownership of the Accademia Clementina.

Crespi’s St Roch closely follows Ludovico’s figure, the principal difference

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being his omission of the saint’s dog lying at his feet, to the right, just behind the pointed end of his pilgrim’s staff. Also slightly different is the silhouette of his cloak, to the right, as it is seen in shadow against the sky. The pose of Ludovico’s St Roch made further impact on Crespi, who adapted the figure in one of his own paintings: the lower half of Crespi’s St John the Baptist in his The Baptist Preaching, in S. Salvatore, Bologna, is taken, in the same direction, from Ludovico’s figure, while the upper half, presumably in an attempt to disguise the borrowing, is quoted, in reverse.

A surprisingly large number of Crespi’s surviving drawings are after works by Bolognese masters and, like this example, are finished studies in red chalk on white paper, his preferred medium as a draughtsman. One such, taken almost at random, is his copy in the Uffizi, Florence, of Annibale Carracci’s Remus Fighting with the Cattle Thieves, one of the frescoed scenes painted by the Carracci in the frieze of the Gran Salone of the Palazzo Magnani, Bologna (GDSU, inv. no. 4411-S; red chalk, 381x452 mm). The deliberate handling, the accurate description of tonal range through extensive use of hatching and the use of a wetted tip to the chalk to achieve the darkest patches of tone are the same effects as seen here.

33 ANDREA DE ASTI OR DELL’ASTE, Attributed to (Bagnoli Irpino, 1674 – Naples ?, 1721)

Aurora and Cephalus, project for decoration of a ceiling Pen, brown ink and watercolour, traces of black chalk, on manifold paper; 353x477 mm

Provenance: Cesare Frigerio

This work is an excellent example of a ceiling decoration project for the palace of a noble family. The daring approach displayed in the dramatic perspective work and the exhilarating wealth of figurative and architectonic elements fully reflect the pictorial culture of the late Baroque period in Italy at its most sophisticated, and, in particular, the pictorial culture of Naples, inspired by the sublime stylistic lessons of Francesco Solimena (1657 - 1747).

According to Piero Boccardo – who kindly provided vital information on the iconography of the subject illustrated and on the possible identity of the artist responsible for this sheet – the ductus and the composition layout, as executed by the artist, as well as the precise manners in which the drapery is represented in movement, display marked affinities with a drawing of Phaeton asks Apollo to drive the Chariot of the Sun (Gabinetto Disegni e Stampe dei Musei di Genova). This work has been attributed elsewhere to the Genoese artist, Giovanni Andrea Carlone (1639-1697). In the meantime, however, parallels have been discovered between this work and Francesco Solimena’s large canvas for a ceiling in the palace of Count Wirich Daun in Vienna (Prague, Národní Galerie). This link would explain why the drawing dealt with here so strongly evokes Solimena’s approach.

Correct identification of the theme represented will aid us considerably in our efforts to provide at least one name, from among the many artists who frequented the great atelier of the Neapolitan master. Indeed, despite appearances, the themes represented in that work and in the Genoese drawing differ. On this sheet, the figure supported by a winged figure does not appear to be falling. Instead, it is apparently being raised to the chariot suspended in the sky. This upward movement is apparently underscored by the blowing, winged putti amid the clouds, positioned just below the two figures (the blowing is suggested by traces of pen work in the vicinity of the putti’s mouths; are the putti personifications of the winds?). Examination of the figure flying before the chariot, just above the heads of the two horses, allows us to identify the winged figure as Eos, the goddess of the Dawn. The torch borne by this figure – an attribute of the goddess (together with 70

flowers, rosy complexion and yellow cloak) – accompanies the rapid passage of the chariot of the Dawn (drawn by the two sturdy steeds, Lampus and Phaethon), indicating the passage from night to day.

Having established the identity of the winged figure, we immediately recognise the episode in question – regarding this goddess – which is illustrated in the central portion of the sheet. This is the moment in which the enamoured Aurora carries off Cephalus (the abduction took place while Cephalus was hunting). This episode indirectly evokes that other tragic sequence of events, hinging upon the themes of love and jealousy, namely the story of Cephalus who killed his adored wide, Procris.

The entire project would appear to be an evocation of the tragic love stories of classic Greek and Roman mythology. We therefore have no difficulty in recognising the nymph, Galatea, and the cyclops, Polyphemus, on the upper border (both play a part in the moving story of the fate and metamorphosis of the beautiful shepherd lad, Acis). On the lower border, we find other equally familiar figure – Diana, the goddess of hunting, standing with a spear in her hand, and, on her forehead, the crescent of the Moon (rapidly sketched in with a ‘U’ form). The reference is to the tragic end not only of the young Actaeon but also of Procris herself. Procris was killed by this magic spear, which the goddess gave to the King of Crete, Minos, and which, by a tragic twist of fate, was passed on to Cephalus directly from his poor wife, Procris.

The two lateral scenes are less easily deciphered. In this tempest of passions, jealousy and death – watched over by Venus, the goddess of love – it would appear that some space has also been given over to cuckolds. If this is the case, then perhaps the figure to the left is the Titan, Astraeus, Aurora’s husband, and the figure opposite is perhaps the god of fire, Vulcan, who was repeatedly deceived by Venus.

In view of the theme and subject of the cycle, and the fairly clear stylistic affinities, we are tempted to conclude that links can indeed be found between this sheet and a bozzetto, or preliminary study – again representing Aurora and Cephalus (Repr. I; oil on canvas, 124x152 cm, Bari, Banca Carime collec-

tion) – by one of the most prolific of Solimena’s disciples, Andrea De Asti or Dell’Aste. While the central and lower portions of the sheet have been worked upon in the painted version (and despite the changes in the postures and positions of the figures), many common traits between the drawing and the canvas emerge in the lower part, indicating that the latter work was perhaps developed from the drawing. We note the playfulness and sense of joy conveyed by the figures reflected in the warm brightness of the palette (in which the influence of Luca Giordano may be noted, mediated also by the influence of Lanfranco in the treatment of the colour). This sense of joy emerges in the drawing in the very fine brown ink watercolour work.

Robert Enggass (Towards the rediscovery of Andrea dell’Aste, in “The Burlington magazine”, 103.1961, p. 308) links the signed bozzetto with the cycle (now lost) executed by the painter in about 1720 for the gallery of the palace of the marquis, Marchese d’Angelis, in Naples, considered la più bella opera però da lui dipinta (“in any case, the most beautiful work painted by him”) (B. De Dominici, Vite de’ pittori, scultori ed architetti napoletani, Napoli, 1745, III, p. 674). The entire cycle was, indeed, much praised for its beauty. While the attribution cannot be certain, it is tempting to think of this sheet as an important record of the work of the master, De Asti, responsible for a work which, unfortunately, has since disappeared.

34 GIOVANNI BATTISTA PARODI (Genoa, 1674 – Milan, 1730)

Miracle of the Chains Pen and brown ink over black chalk under-drawing; 298x190 mm

Inscribed, upper right: 150; and below, on the backing paper on which the drawing is stuck down, in an old hand, in brown ink: volta di S. Pietro in vincoli a Roma. On the reverse of the sheet, in pen and brown ink, are various accounts.

Provenance: Cesare Frigerio; Giorgio Dalla Bella (Lugt, 3774).

As a former owner of the drawing has noted, this is Giovanni Battista Parodi’s preparatory study for fresco decoration painted in 1706 on the ceiling of the nave of S. Pietro in Vincoli, Rome (F. Titi, Studio di pittura, scoltura, et architettura nelle chiese di Roma, by B. Contardi-S. Romano, II, Firenze, 1987, II, p.

255, fig. 901). The chains in which St Peter was imprisoned are kept in the church and the painting shows how they were used in the miracle to liberate a soul possessed by the devil. St Peter supervises the proceedings from his seat on the clouds above. The composition of the drawing and fresco for the

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the most part agree, but there are many variations, especially in the figures standing to the right behind the Pope’s throne, and in the relationships of the different elements, suggesting the drawing may have been made as a modello.

Giovanni Battista Parodi came from a family of Genoese painters. His Roman activity began around 1704, under the patronage of the Genoese Cardinal Durazzo, through whom he obtained the commission to carry out the fresco in San Pietro in Vincoli. In 1708 he returned to Genoa, where he was active, as well as in Bergamo and Milan.

35 ANONYMOUS NORTHERN ITALIAN MASTER First quarter of eighteenth century

Flora Chalk, watercolour and white pigment on brown paper; 372x278 mm

Inscribed on back: B, M, n. 10.

Provenance: Cesare Frigerio; Giorgio Dalla Bella collection (Lugt, 3774).

The last collector to possess this fine sheet identified the female figure in this work as an allegorical representation of Abundance. The figure, generously scattering fruits from large basins and cornucopias brought to her by lively winged putti, is indeed Flora, the Roman and Italic goddess of the efflorescence of grain and of all food plants, including fruit trees and the vine. Over time, Flora came to be known as the goddess of Springtime.

There is a certain unseemliness in the portrayal of this sensual Flora, resting on the soft cushions of the clouds, naked under a mass of drapery rudely tugged this way and that by the winds.

This elegant composition – a constant flux of elaborate elements, epitomising the tastes of the Baroque era – is derived, practically entirely, from the striking figure of Flora in the fresco by Ciro Ferri (1634 -1689) in Palazzo Falconieri (located in Frascati), belonging to a larger cycle dedicated to the Seasons. The date of this important work commissioned from Ciro Ferri (in which we see the influence of Pietro da Cortona (1596 -1669) leading Ferri on toward proto-Rococo forms) provides us with a clear premise for the creation of this sheet, which can thus be dated after 1675-1677 (when this cycle of decorative works was completed).

The vaguely “di sotto in su” point of view adopted for the representations of

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the figures may indicate that this work, too, was planned for a ceiling decoration.

The major task we are faced with here, however, is identification of the artist responsible for this charming Flora.

At first glance, certain stylistic elements indicate the Genoese school of the first quarter of the 18th century. While the line of the eyes, the elongated limbs and the broad forehead seem to indicate fairly clearly the hand of the Genoese painter, Gregorio De Ferrari (1647-1726), we note also certain other elements (the less transparent and fluid manner of use of the white pigment, the heavier touch of the pen work) which cast doubt upon this attribution.

Adding to our problems is the perhaps rather Tuscan mode displayed in certain figurative elements. The curly locks and physical type of the putto to the left, bearing the large basin of fruits, vaguely hints at the manner of Volterrano (1611- 1689) and, therefore, leads us away from the above hypothesis (while providing, in any case, no precise answers to our questions).

It was decided therefore to err on the side of caution, and to ascribe this work to an unknown northern Italian master – it being understood, of course, that such caution detracts nothing from the truly considerable merits of this fascinating work.

36 and 37 MATTIA BORTOLONI, Attributed to (San Bellino, 1696 – Milan, 1750)

Baptism Scene in the Presence of a King Brown ink (pen) and grey (watercolour); 276x393 mm

Bottom left (chalk): P. Veronese 12; inscribed and numbers on back (pen).

Old Man talks with a young Prince (the young Joseph interpreting Dreams?)

Brown and grey ink (pen and watercolour), traces of chalk on manifold paper; 281x399 mm.

Given the attractively fluid, freehand style and the dramatically charged stress on tonality of the ink watercolour work, we may safely conclude that the fascinating drawings on these two sheets are preparatory to a fresco.

We are, however, less certain as to the subject matter of these works.

One represents a bishop performing a baptism before a king on his kneeling-stool, praying, with his back to the viewer. The other, set in a sumptuously appointed palace, represents, judging from the costumes of the characters, a conversation between an old man and a young prince. Unfortunately, in view of the lack of clearer clues, we can be no more precise than this. Given the parallels in terms of format, and in terms of the approach to perspective and the structure of the composition – not to mention the style in itself –, we can, in any case, fairly safely conclude that the two sheets are preparatory, or preliminary, works for a single cycle of decorative works.

In view of the elongated module and tapering forms of the figures, and likewise in view of the complexity of the architectonic layout, the work was once ascribed to an artist who was fully active toward the close of the 16th century – namely, the artist to which reference is (posthumously) made here: P. Veronese written on the baptism scene sheet. While erroneous, the attribution does, in any case, correctly point to the Venetia region.

However, we must date this work to a later period (by at least one hundred years, and perhaps more).

The skill with which narrative flow and descriptive detail are handled, the blending of the figurative and architectonic elements, and the refinement and complexity of approach thus displayed, point toward that bright period for Venice and Venice’s terra firma at the start of the eighteenth century, when the art of decorative painting reached new heights thanks to the work of the artists (some well known and others less so) who paved the way for the peerless Giambattista Tiepolo (1696 - 1770).

Among the artists who contributed in their various ways to this extraordinary moment in the history of painting – a time which has only recently been subjected to close critical analysis (F. Malachin, A. Vedova, Bortoloni, Piazzetta, Tiepolo: il ’700 veneto, Milano, 2010) – the painter from Polesine, Mattia Bortoloni, deserves special mention, and it is to him that we tentatively ascribe these sheets. The fluid style of the pen work in the figures and the delicately painterly effect of the rapid touches in brown ink, included 76

to delineate the depths of the folds of the drapery, are stylemes that characterise the various precise drawings executed by Bortoloni at the start of his rapidly progressing career, at a time when the influences of others – above all, the Veronese master, Antonio Balestra (1666-1740) – were still quite evident in his work. However, as noted by Fabrizio Malachin – whom we thank for his valuable suggestions and helpfulness in general – we must be careful about the attribution. As he points out, there are no precise parallels between the architectural work here and the architectural work to be found in the drawings that the most widely accredited critics attribute to Bortoloni. Here, the architectural elements seem to be attributable to another artist. Indeed, Malachin, in pointing out that a number of drawings universally acknowledged as by Bortoloni are actually the fruit of collaboration between artists, opens up a prospective field of investigation of considerable interest.

For some of the drawings, Bortoloni executed only the figures, while the architectonic spaces and perspectives were entrusted by Bortoloni to a quadraturista (or painter of illusionistic architectural settings) (F. Malachin, Un contributo per lo studio della grafica di Mattia Bortoloni, in Il cielo, o qualcosa di più: scritti per Adriano Mariuz, ed. E. Saccomani, Cittadella (PD), 2007, pp. 374-379). We note this collaboration in a drawing with a Ceiling study, formerly belonging to a private collection in Venice (F. Malachin, Un contributo … , reproduced fig. 148). This is one of the rare sheets which may figure as a key document in our attempts to reconstruct the corpus of the artist’s work as a draughtsman. On the back of this drawing we find an original script which provides us with a record of collaboration, at the planning stage, between Bortoloni and the quadraturista, Innocenzo Bellavite (late 17th century-1762). The script reads La prospettiva del Sig. Innocenzo Bellavite e le figure del Sig. Bortoloni ambo Venenziani, avuti dal sud. Bellavite in Casale mentre dipingeva il scenario del 1740 (the perspective/view by Sig. Innocenzo Bellavite and the figures by Sig. Bortoloni, both Venetian, received from the aforesaid Bellavite in Casale while he painted the scene of 1740). This indication is useful. It opens up an interesting avenue of research in regard to the attribution which we propose here. If shown to be correct, for the purposes of dating, it would provide a terminus ante quem for these two sheets.

38 and 39 JACOPO GUARANA (Verona, 1720 - Venice, 1808)

78

Heads of women

Heads of men (monks or saints?)

Black chalk and traces of white chalk on tinted paper (light pink); 260x447 mm.

Black chalk and traces of white chalk on tinted paper (light pink); 274x423 mm.

In his biography of Jacopo Guarana, Giannantonio Moschini (G. Moschini, Della vita e delle opere del pittore Jacopo Guarana Veneziano …, in Giornale dell’italiana letteratura, Venezia, 1808, XXII, pp. 135-147) informs us that although Jacopo was born in Verona on 28 October 1720, his parents were in fact Venetian. Moschini believed that Jacopo, who died in Venice on 18 April 1808, received his training in Venice under Sebastiano Ricci (16591734) and Giambattista Tiepolo (1692-1770).

Due to age considerations, it is unlikely that Guarana was Ricci’s apprentice. Furthermore, in regard to Tiepolo he was more a disciple than an apprentice. Mainly a painter of canvases and frescoes, his career began at the age of 20 as a decorator of Venetian palaces. Although he received many invitations to work abroad (Copenhagen, Warsaw and St. Petersburg), his works were practically all produced in Venice, above all between 1740 and 1790. He left Venice only for brief periods to take on commissions on the Italian peninsula (for example, adornments in Villa Pisani in Stra, Palazzo Porto Breganze in Vicenza, and Villa Contarini in Valnogaredo).

Guarana frequently worked on the interiors of Venetian palaces (G. Pavanello, L’attività di Jacopo Guarana nei palazzi veneziani, in Rivista dell’Istituto nazionale di archeologia e storia dell’arte, XXI (1998), pp. 197246). However, his work was not limited to commissions for private residences. He painted various works not only for Venetian churches (San Giacomo dall’Orio, San Moisè, San Tomà, San Martino, San Pantalon, the small Church of the Palazzo Ducale) but also in Treviso the frescoes (now lost) for the Church of San Teonisto (1758), together with the quadraturista (or painter of illusionistic architectural settings) Domenico Fossati (17431784). In 1782, after the death of the Bolognese, Ubaldo Gandolfi (17281781), Guarana – with another quadraturista, Serafino Barozzi (?-1810)

– received a commission for the frescoes of the cupola of the Church of San Vitale in Ravenna.

After Tiepolo’s departure for Spain in 1762, Guarana became the most sought-after artist in Venice, with an even greater workload than before, as a decorator of the palaces of Venice. Guarana’s son Vincenzo (1750-1815) – a child of the first bed, whose mother, Caterina Girelli, died before her time in 1758 – followed his father’s example and became a fairly successful painter.

The two sheets on display provide two splendid samplings of the sense of refinement that we note in Guarana’s masterpieces, in which the inventions and models of Ricci and Tiepolo are intelligently re-elaborated. The drawings, consisting in two heads of women and two heads of men (might these men be monks or saints?), were executed on the basis of consolidated prototypes and reveal Guarana’s qualities as a draughtsman. Throughout his career, Guarana was also a copper engraver. On various occasions, he produced drawings which were made into engravings. Indeed, he engraved some himself.

These drawings are of exceptionally fine quality. With its delicate pink tone, the fine paper of these works, and their refined elegance, indicate that, rather than preparatory studies, these works were expressly produced for sale, to meet the constant demand of collectors, above all from abroad.

By way of confirmation, we may note how carefully the heads have been positioned on the sheets. We may also note how amazingly clean the black, fluid chalk line is. We also note the relaxed ease of the hand during execution and the masterfully controlled pressure, ensuring capably rendered relief tones and chiaroscuro effects, with little sketching over or retracing required. Of an extraordinarily high quality, the effects obtained in the drawing may therefore be considered intrinsically painterly in quality.

40 FRANCESCO LONDONIO (Milan, 1723 – 1783)

Shepherd with his Herds Black chalk and white chalk on light blue prepared paper; 293x374 mm

The mark in the artist’s hand, decipherable as “Londonio fecit”, allows this remarkable, previously unknown drawing to be added to the large but still little-studied graphic corpus of Francesco Londonio (for an updated critical compendium regarding the artist, see C. Geddo, Londonio, Francesco, in Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani, vol. LXV, Roma, 2005, pp. 610-613).

The drawing, which is well preserved, was executed by means of the technique prevailing in Londonio’s graphic works, starting out with his first known study, the Bull and a reposing cow, of 1753 (Milan, Pinacoteca Ambrosiana; F 267 inf. n. 28). The artist used two tips of differing width.

One was slender, and was used to sketch and provide the layout for the composition. The thicker tip was pressed hard onto the paper in order to underscore the shadows and enliven the details of the drawing. The parts indicating light are generously heightened with white chalk, thus ensuring a decidedly lively chiaroscuro effect. The traces of colours, light blue and red, to be found on the verso and recto of the sheet may belong to the artist’s palette. The additional touches in dark grey to be found on the dog and on the hairy underbelly of the bull appear to instead be the work of a ‘restorer’ who also went over the “L f” mark with a brush. The mark was originally made using the medium used for the drawing itself, as revealed by microscopic examination. Londonio was in the habit of using a similar script when signing his works with his full name or when adding the “F L” mark to paintings, engravings and, less frequently, drawings.

Before a rather desolate landscape backdrop framed by trees on both sides, a shepherd rests with his hat pulled down over his eyes. A hairy bull – that seems to have stepped out of an arena, and not a barn somewhere in Lombardy – stares disapprovingly at a group of fat sheep lying on the ground. A strange head emerges from this woolly mass. It is the bearded head of a nanny goat bleating with gaping mouth. This rather disconcerting

80

feature adds a touch of realism to the scene – a far cry from the “bella natura” that we expect from Londonio’s works. Another characteristic of this work that sets it apart from Londonio’s typical style consists in the altered proportions of man and beast. The animals, compared to the figure, are gigantic. These oddities indicate that Dutch models have been used, and that these elements were assembled to create an original composition. The bull and the group of sheep with the nanny goat, respectively, derive from two watercolour works by the painter and engraver, Karel du Jardin (1626 –1678), both dated 1655.

Analysis of techniques and stylistic analysis confirm us in our view of the hand at work here, indicating Londonio not only in the delicate yet dynamic ductus and the marked contrasts between light and shade, but also in the careful study of the rural environment and of the anatomy of the bull in all its brawny strength. The muscles are highlighted by the lively strokes and generous application of white chalk. These anatomic features present significant parallels with the Two running bulls at the Pinacoteca Ambrosiana.

In any case, this sheet must be considered a work which differs to a degree from the corpus of this artist’s drawings. This can be seen in the ductus, which is more agitated or nervous, and irregular, and also in the points of uncertainty in the composition, and the vigorous realism of the portrayal of the animals (a derivation from the prints of du Jardin, one of the seventeenth-century Dutch sources that greatly influenced Londonio’s approach to the portrayal of animals). These considerations lend credence to the exciting idea that this drawing may date back to the earlier days of Londonio’s career as a genre painter. During this period, which we know little about, Londonio was still searching for that perfect balance between the real world and Arcadia which would make his work so popular in the Milan of the Enlightenment.

41 FELICE GIANI (S. Sebastiano Curone, Alessandria, 1758 – Rome, 1823)

Apollo Flaying Marsyas Pen and black ink and brown wash on light brown paper; 391x535 mm

Inscribed in pen in the artist’s hand, in the middle of the lower margin, between illegible flourishes that seem to be words, of the sort sometimes found sandwiching the titles he gave his drawings: […] Apollo e Marsia […].

The satyr Marsyas was an accomplished performer on the panpipes, a wind instrument despised by the gods because it made the player’s cheeks bulge unattractively as the music was made. Apollo, the sun-god played a superior string instrument, the lyre, and was outraged when Marsyas had the temerity to challenge him to a competition, which he promptly lost. Here, in an extravagant “jeu d’esprit”, Giani reduces the horror of Marsyas’s punishment—being skinned alive, in public—into just another event in this fantasy vision of ancient times. It is a mere diversion, scarcely noticed at first, in the larger picture of mountains, a distant city and viaduct, waterfalls, rocks, steep cliff-faces, a ferry-boat crowded with people crossing the water, to the right, and a solitary traveller making his way along the road, to the left, about to witness this dreadful spectacle from close up. The stretch of water may allude to the Castalian spring, the brook that ran close to the historic place of Marsyas’s punishment, revered in ancient times as a source of inspiration and learning.

Giani was the most accomplished and successful of the Neo-classical painters around 1800 and was active in the major cities of Emilia Romagna,

82

especially in his native Faenza. He also worked Rome and Venice, as well as in Paris, where he stayed in 1812-13. Although most of his output was figurative, he was also highly inventive as landscapist. A previously unknown group of his drawings, carried out while the painter was in Paris, appeared on the London art market some ten years and included several landscapes similar in style to this Apollo Flaying Marsyas (sale, Christie’s, London, 9 July, 2002, lots 83-94, and are similarly inscribed by the artist, with titles, in the middle of the lower margin, set between with words in writing that has no sense other than performing a decorative function).

Perhaps even closer in style and in the way the protagonists have been diminished in size to two dolls wrestling with each other on a country road in a vast, ancient wooded landscape is Giani’s pen-and-wash drawing of Hercules and the Nemean Lion, in the Biblioteca Civica, Forlì (fondo Piancastelli, album, inv. 661; A. Ottani Cavina, Felice Giani, 1758 - 1823, e la cultura di fine secolo 1999, II, pp. 738-9, no. A3.16). Ottani Cavina dates the Hercules and the Nemean Lion between the first and second decades of the nineteenth century, which must surely also be the date of the present sheet.

Index of works

1 p. 6

2 p. 8

3 p. 10

4

After Michelangelo, possibly by Girolamo Marchesi Da Cotignola Pietà

After Michelangelo, probably

by Giovanni Francesco Barbieri, called Guercino Nude Child Pulling a Drapery over his Shoulder

Circle of Raphael Design for the Decoration of an Altar-wall

Girolamo Giovenone Saint Sebastian

p. 14

84

p. 16

7 p. 18

8 p. 20

9 p. 22

p. 12

5

6

Polidoro Da Caravaggio, Polidoro Caldare, called, Circle of

10

Adoration of the Magi

p. 24

Girolamo Da Treviso The Holy Family, with the Infant St John the Baptist, Accompanied by Three Holy Women, one of whom Introduces a Child to the Infant Christ, and with Two Donors Master of the Victoria and Albert Diableries Mythological Scene

Girolamo Da Carpi, Girolamo Sellari, called Seated Female Figure after the Antique

Pellegrino Tibaldi after Polidoro Da Caravaggio Vulcan Standing in a Niche

Bartolomeo Passerotti Head of Christ in a “Baptism of Christ”

11

Lattanzio Gambara Three male figures

p. 26

12 p. 28

13 p. 30

14

p. 34

16 p. 36

Claudio Ridolfi, Attributed to Entry of Jesus into Jerusalem

p. 38

Giovanni Battista Naldini A Seated Potentate Receiving a Kneeling Petitioner at a Ceremony in a Town Square

Giovanni Battista Naldini Attributed to Religious Celebration, with a Kneeling Soldier Receiving a Necklace and Sword of Honour, Watched by his Fellows in Arms verso: Studies of figures after the Antique Alessandro Casolani Study of figures

p. 32

15

17

18

Giovanni Mauro Della Rovere also known as Il Fiamminghino

p. 40

Allegory

19 p. 42

Giovanni Battista Della Rovere also known as il Fiammenghino or Giovanni Mauro Della Rovere also known as il Fiammenghino Scenes from the lives of the saints Faustinus and Jovita

20

Guido Reni Madonna of the Rosary

p. 44

Ludovico Cardi, called Cigoli Head of a Boy Looking Down to the Right

Annibale Carracci Male Nude, Three-quarter-length, Seen from Behind, Leaning against a Ledge

21

Circle of Guido Reni, Anonymous Bolognese

p. 46

St Jerome

22

GIULIO BENSO, attributed to Battle, with Vision of St. Francis

p. 48

85

23

Gian Giacomo Barbelli St Peter

p. 50

24

Ercole Procaccini The Younger

Giovanni Battista Gaulli, also known as il Baciccio Portrait of Gian Lorenzo Bernini

p. 64

25

Melchiorre Gherardini also known as il Ceranino

31

p. 54

Male figure

p. 66

Carlo Francesco Nuvolone

32

Head and Shoulders of a Sibyl Wearing a Turban, Accompanied

by Cupid

p. 68

27

Giovanni Stefano Danedi also known as Montalto

33

p. 58

Christ bearing Cross

p. 70

28

Guglielmo Cortese, called Borgognone

34

p. 60

Allegorical Subject

30

Head and Shoulders of a Youth, in Profile to the Right

p. 56

Sigismondo Caula

p. 62

p. 52

26

86

29

Kneeling Man Wearing a Large Drapery Protecting his Head with his Right Hand

p. 72

Carlo Donelli, called Vimercati Seated Man Resting his Left Arm on a Ledge

Giuseppe Maria Crespi, Lo Spagnuolo, after Ludovico Carracci St Roch

Andrea De Asti or Dell’aste, Attributed to Aurora and Cephalus, project for decoration of a ceiling

Giovanni Battista Parodi Miracle of the Chains

35

Anonymous Northern Italian Master

41

p.74

Flora

p. 82

36 37 p. 76

38 39

Felice Giani Apollo Flaying Marsyas

Mattia Bortoloni, Attributed to Baptism Scene in the Presence of a King Old Man talks with a young Prince (the young Joseph interpreting Dreams?)

Jacopo Guarana Heads of women Heads of men (monks or saints?)

p. 78

40

Francesco Londonio Shepherd with his Herds

p. 80

87

Printed by: IGV Industria Grafica Valdarnese San Giovanni Valdarno (Ar) Italy