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Spaightwood Galleries
120 Main Street, Upton MA 01568-6193; 800-809-3343
Old Master Drawings: 16th and early 17th Century Italian Drawings
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This show was prompted by our acquisition over the past few years of a number of old master drawings, including a number by Italian artists of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries and their contemporary followers, Marcantonio Raimondi, Andrea Schiavone, Annibale Carracci, Federico Zuccaro, Cherubini Alberti, Guercino, Simone Cantarini, Pier Francesco Mola, Paolo di Matteis, F. Zanara, Matteo Rosselli, Jan Baptiste de Wael, and works by contemporary followers of Michelangelo, Parmigianino, Titian, Tintoretto, Veronese, and Domenichino. Taken together, they offer the possibility of seeing how the enormous impact of artists like Michelangelo, Raphael (and his chief follower, Giulio Romano), Parmigianino, and the great Venetian masters, like Titian, Tintoretto, and Veronese, changed the shape of Italian Renaissance art, leading to 17th-century masters like the Carracci, Domenichino, Guercino, Guido Reni (and his chief assistant, Simone Cantarini) who finally turned their collective backs on the Mannerists and sought a new classicism of their own. Taken individually, however, they offer the opportunity to discover or rediscover the joys of drawing when practised by great and near great and even just very good artists. Some of these works appear to be finished drawings, others attempts to conceptualize an artistic problem to be solved, still others models for members of the master's workshop to execute in whole or in part under the master's supervision.
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Giulio Romano (Giulio Pippi; Rome 1499-1546 Mantua), attributed, Justice. Black and red chalk on heavy laid paper. Attributed to Giulio on the verso. Justice has her right hand on an ostrich and holds a scale in her left towards which she directs her attention. As Millard Meiss argued (in “Ovem Struthionis,” Studies in Art and Literature for Belle da Costa Greene, ed Dorothy Miner [Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1954], 95), in explaining the significance of the large egg (which he identifies as an ostrich egg) hanging over the enthroned Virgin and Child in Mantegna’s late fifteenth-century San Zeno altarpiece: “The great egg was . . . a common symbol of the immaculate conception of Christ. Both the Physiologus and the Bestiaries tell us that the eggs of the ostrich, abandoned by the mother bird, were hatched by the sun. This remarkable incubation was compared to the virgin birth of Christ. In the [translated] words of Albertus Magnus. . . . ‘If the sun can hatch the eggs of the ostrich, why cannot a virgin conceive with the aid of the true sun?’ ” Symbolically Giulio is juxtaposing an image of strict justice (the scales) with an image of mercy (Christ). Vasari reminds us that after the death of Pope Adrian, Giulio and his assistant threw down several walls in the Sala di Constantine that had been prepared for oil paintings, but left two decorations they had previously completed as decorations to accompany their portraits of the popes in the niches of the room, "Justice and another virtue." Since most of Giulio's later drawings were executed in pen and ink with washes while his early drawings were done in red and black chalk, it is very likely that our drawing relates to the Justice Vasari mentions in his life of Giulio in Part III of the Lives. Abrasions top left, bottom center-right, and right side not affecting image; tear extending from top margin down to Justice's hair. Image size: 381x254mm. Price: SOLD.
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Federico Zuccaro (Italian, 1540-1609), Study of an mythological figure (Ceres). Pen and brown ink and wash on cream laid paper mounted on laid paper, c. 1561-63. Our drawing was originally attributed to Bernardino India (1528-1598) and Lionello Spada (1576-622), however, Suzanne Folds McCullagh (Chicago Art Institute) and L. M. Giles rejected this attribution in a conference with a previous owner on 15 October 1996. McCullagh suggested either Taddeo or Federico Zuccaro and dated it c. 1570. Further research has suggested that the drawing is related to Federico's Frieze with scenes from the Lives of Moses and Aaron in the Palazzo del Belvedere, Appartamento do Ritiro of Pope Pius IV. c. 1561-63. (See Carlo Pietrangeli, Paintings in the Vatican [Boston: Bulfinch Press, 1996], page 412, n. 391, 2nd stucco figure from the left). Federico had done a number of allegories (see e.g. his Allegory of Sloth in the Fogg Art Museum at Harvard [Mundy n. 43[ and some of the cycle of drawings in his Life of Taddeo, esp. n. 1, 3-4, 6, 11, and 15-16), and the drawing style supports the attribution. Image size: 272x97mm. Price: $20,000.
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Federico Zuccaro (Italian, 1540-1609), Attributed to, The Lamentation. Pen and reddish brown ink and gray wash and red chalk with white heightening on cream laid paper. The Virgin Mary tenderly swaddles her dead son as she did her infant years earlier. The action takes place at the foot of the cross unnoticed by two men talking behind her to the right of the right cross. For works very close stylistically to this piece see E. James Mundy, with the assistance of Elizabeth Ourusoff de Fernandez-Gimenez, Renaissance Into Baroque: Italian Master Drawings by the Zuccari, 1550-1600 (Milwaukee: Milwaukee Art Center, 1989), plates 56, 82, 85, and 88. Image size: 232x165mm. Price: $16,500.
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Alessandro Casolani (Italian, 1552-1606), Studies of reclining figures. Pen and brown ink on cream laid paper. On the verso, an early hand annotated the sheet "Michelangelo," probably not because he thought the drawing was by Michelangelo, but because he was reminded of Michelangelo's sculpture Night in the Medici Chapel in Florence. These may be studies for a pediment or a lunette fresco. Image size: 87x187mm. Price: $8850.
Casolani was born in Mensano in the rural area of Casole d'Elsa between 1552 and 1553. Although he was probably not conscious of how good he was, his fame spread throughout Italy and abroad. His artistic formation took place in Siena under the guidance of the Arcangelo Salimbeni, where he developed, with some study companions (Cristofano Roncalli and the sculptor Prospero Roncalli, called the "Bresciano"), a passion for fantastic inventions and chromatic liveliness. Casolani studied for some years in Rome as well and succeeded, upon his return to Siena, in uniting the Sienese and Roman schools and become the"modern" Sienese painter who received the most prestigious commissions in Siena. His famous Adoration of the Shepherds for the Duomo di Siena dates to the ‘90s; he also worked for the Certosa di Pavia. A major retrospective was held in the Casole d'Elsa in Siena to honor one of the most important Sienese painters of the 16th century.
Bibliography: Alessandro Bagnoli, Patrizia La Porta, ed. Il Piacere del colorire: Artistic Itinerary of Alessandro Casolani 1552/53 - 1607: Guide to the exhibition held at Museo Archeologico e della Collegiata, Casole d'Elsa (Firenze: Centro Di, 2002.
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Cherubino Alberti (Borgio San Sepulchro 1553-1615 Rome), Hercules killing the Hydra. Pen and brown ink and wash on cream laid paper mounted on laid paper. The Hydra was one of the "impossible tasks" indirectly imposed on Hercules by Juno, who hated him because he was Jove's illegitimate son. Thy Hydra had the property of growing multiple new heads each time one was cut off. Hercules solved the problem by strangling its heads. There are two similar drawings in the Farnesia, Rome. See Kristina Hermann-Flore, 1983, nos. 106r and 174 v. Image size: 124x146mm Price: SOLD.
According to the Grove Art Dictionary, he was active as both a painter and a printmaker. The best known of the three sons of Alberto Alberti, he distinguished himself as a printmaker at an early age. One of his earliest prints, an etching of the Virgin and Child (1568; B. 149) shows his interest in Raphael as well as in contemporary Mannerist art. In Rome he studied with Cornelius Cort, whose swelling burin line he adopted to create pictorial effects of strong chiaroscuro. Between 1571 and 1575 he made several prints after Federico Zuccaro and Taddeo Zuccaro (B. 131, 136, 140, 159, 171, 176). During the next ten years he reached the height of his fame as a printmaker, producing engravings after Raphael, Michelangelo, Polidoro da Caravaggio and of ancient statues. His prints of Polidoro are particularly valued as documents of lost works. He also made prints from paintings by Andrea del Sarto, Rosso Fiorentino, Marco Pino, Pellegrino Tibaldi and Cristofano Gherardi. He made numerous original engravings, among them an Angel Supporting the Body of Christ (B. 139), which exemplifies his concern with graceful postures and ornamental draperies. In his later years he designed elaborate presentation prints, such as a portrait of Henry IV of France in an ornamental cartouche (B. 248) and a large Adoration of the Shepherds (B. 129) for Pope Clement VIII. His oeuvre includes over 180 prints.
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Annibale Carracci (Italian, 1560-1609), attributed, Apollo giving ass's ears to King Midas for prederring Pan's music to that of Apollo in a singing contest. Pen and brown ink and pencil on cream laid paper, c. 1603-1604. Annibale did drawings of Pan c. 1578-98 (National Gallery 2000, n. 49), and a number of other drawings of Apollo c. 1603-1604 for the Farnese Gallery in Rome. Image size: 270x335mm. Price: SOLD.
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Titian, Veronese, and Jacopo Tintoretto dominated the Venetian art scene for most of the 16th century, winning most of the public and religious commissions during that period. The Doges' Palace in Venice is particularly rich in work by Veronese. Veronese's studio was active and works from it were eagerly sought. Sir Philip Sidney, the English poet, diplomat, and soldier, after fleeing the St. Bartholomew Day's massacre in Paris in 1572 went to be mentored by Hubert Languet at the Emperor's Court. Several years later, wanting to commission a portrait for Languet before he went back to Engliand, he went to Venice, where, after visiting the studios of both Veronese and Tintoretto, he commissioned his portrait from Veronese. Veronese was also popular with the nobility, who commissioned works for their villas and studies, often of an allegorical nature.
In his introduction to W. R. Rearick, The Art of Paolo Veronese 1528-1588 (Washington DC: National Gallery of Art, 1988), Teresio Pignatti observes that one of the ways in which Veronese differs from his contemporaries is "his exceptional virtuosity in drawing," which was based "not only on direct acquaintance with the paintings to be seen in Mantua and Parma, but also on his familiarity with drawings and engravings by or after Parmigianino and his Venetian followers such as Schiavone" (p. 6). According to Pignatti, early critics of Veronese, starting with Vasari, stressed Veronese's graphic skill as "an essential aspect of an artist they viewed almost as repudiating the reigning principle in Venice, color." Pignatti notes that in 1556 Francisco Sansovino, the first critic to describe the paintings in the Sala del Consiglio dei Dieci in the Palazzo Ducale, affirmed that " 'Paolo is beginning to make himself known as something rare in his profession' and that his work proves him 'truly possessed of disegno [design, drawing]] and delicacy.' " Pignatti also reminds us that Ridolfi's mid-17th century study of Veronese stresses that Veronese "used to train his hand by copying Durer's engravings and prints, and perhaps as well certain drawings by Parmigianino that he found in an album owned by the Muselli family in Verona" (p. 6). We may observe this in the drawing after Durer's Pentecost in his Small Woodcut Passion below.
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Paolo Veronese, attributed, Pentecost. Pen and brown ink and wash on cream laid paper, c. 1545-55?. Old collector's mark lower left. On the verso are 6 studies of heads looking upwards and a study of feet and legs, possibly a study for a crucifixion. The heads show through on the left side and the bottom of this sheet. If one compares this drawing with Durer's Pentecost in the Small Woodcut Passion, it is clear that Veronese was working with it close at hand. Image size: 215x165mm. Price: $17,500.
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Paolo Veronese, attributed, Pentecost. Detail. Pen and brown ink and wash on cream laid paper, c. 1545-55?. Old collector's mark lower left. On the verso are 6 studies of heads looking upwards and a study of feet and legs, possibly a study for a crucifixion. The heads show through on the left side and the bottom of this sheet. If one compares this drawing with Durer's Pentecost in the Small Woodcut Passion, it is clear that Veronese was working with it close at hand. Image size: 215x165mm. Price: $17,500.
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VERSO: Paolo Veronese, attributed, Studies for a Crucifxion?. Pen and brown ink and wash on cream laid paper, c. 1545-55?. Old collector's mark verso lower left. On the verso is a study Durer's Pentecost from the Small Woodcut Passion showing the Virgin and the Apostles receiving the Holy Spirit on Pentecost. Image size: 215x165mm.
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Collector's stamp, lower left. While indistinct, the seal appears to feature a crown top center.
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Italian School, late 16th-early 17th century; circle of Bronzino?), Venus, Cupid, and a Satyr. Pen and brown ink and wash with white heightening on cream laid paper. In this very striking drawing, a satyr draws up the covers to reveal a sleeping Venus and her drowsy son Cupid. The work looks like a product of late Italian Mannerism. It is reminiscent of Bronzino, though quite different from his painting of the same subject. Provenance: Collection N. Hone (English painter, sales record in 1781, 1785); Zeitlin & Verbrugge, Los Angeles CA. Image size: 295x210mm. Price: SOLD.
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Venetian School, late 16th century, Kneeling woman holding a sea shell and looking over her right shoulder. Pen and ink on white laid paper with blue coating. Discoloration on dress. The black lines are stronger in the drawing and the discolored area in her dress is less prominent A very good drawing just back from conservation in less than ideal condition. Image size: 185x176mm (irregular) Price: $5000.
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Venetian School, late 16th century, The Birth of the Virgin. Pen and brown ink on thin laid paper. This seems to have been in a collector's album of drawings at one point: it is numbered 36 in ink upper right and attributed to Veronese in pencil under the drawing left of center. In the background, St. Anne reclines in a canopied bed attended by a servant while others clean up after the birth. In the foreground, another servant shows the Virgin to Joachim. Image size: 155x200mm. Price: $6500.
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Circle of Veronese (Venice, late 16th-early 17th century) Allegorical figures of Africa and Asia. Brush and brown ink and wash and black chalkon cream laid paper, c. 1600. Titian, Veronese, and Jacopo Tintoretto dominated the Venetian art scene for most of the 16th century, winning most of the public and religious commissions during that period. The Doges' Palace is particularly rich in work by Veronese. With inscriptions in ink. Image size: 262x188mm. Price: $6500.
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Spaightwood Galleries, Inc.
To purchase, call us at 1-800-809-3343 (508-529-2511 in Upton MA & vicinity) or send an email to sptwd@verizon.net.
We accept AmericanExpress, DiscoverCard, MasterCard, and Visa.
We also accept wire transfers and paypal.
For directions and visiting information, please call. We are, of course, always available over the web and by telephone (see above for contact information). Click the following for links to past shows and artists. For a visual tour of the gallery, please click here. For information about Andy Weiner and Sonja Hansard-Weiner, please click here. For a list of special offers currently available, see Specials.
All works are sold with an unconditional guarantee of authenticity (as described in our website listing).
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Visiting hours: Saturday and Sunday noon to 6 pm and other times by arrangement.
Please call to confirm your visit. Browsers and guests are welcome.
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