Niccolò Ricciolini 1687 – Rom – 1772 Mars, Venus and Cupid
Black chalk, with stumping and touches of pen and brown ink on laid paper. (c. 1710/20). 34.3 x 24.3 cm.
Period
15th-18th Century
Technique
Works on paper
Details
Literatur:
Nicholas Turner, European master drawings from Portuguese collections II: Italy and Portugal, Porto 2021, S. 148f., Kat.-Nr. 61, mit farb. Abb.
Ausstellung:
Desenhos de mestres italianos em coleções portuguesas (II), Museu Nacional Soares Dos Reis, Porto (Oktober–Dezember 2001), Kat.-Nr. 61.
Provenienz:
Sotheby’s, London, Auktion, 14.12.1992, Los 97 (als “Bolognese School, 17th Century”);
Europäische Privatsammlung, auf Unterlage mit dem Sammlerstempel “FB mit Ginkgoblatt im Oval” (noch nicht von Lugt/Fondation Custodia veröffentlicht).
Description
Dr Elizabeth McGrath and Paul Taylor (both Warburg Institute Library) examined the present drawing in 2020 and assume that the content is allegorical rather than mythological, i.e. without recourse to a textual model. The figure on the right possesses two of the attributes attributed to the personified fury (“Furore”) in Cesare Ripa’s Iconologia (1593), including the curled hair (“capelli rabbuffati”) and a large, burning torch (“una gran torcia accesa”); only the severed head of Medusa is missing. The meaning of the two other figures in the strangely disparate juxtaposition remains enigmatic: on the one hand, a half-naked, satyr-like grinning boy, who is probably holding up a branch of fruit and standing like a statue on a pedestal decorated with rams’ heads, and on the other, a lifeless infant lying on the ground. Has the contemplation of the statue taken its toll on Furore’s nerves, even provoking him to an irascible outburst?
The date of origin of the drawing can be narrowed down to 1710-20. The figure of Furore bears a certain resemblance to Mercury in the large ceiling fresco painted together with his father Michelangelo Ricciolini (1654-1715) in the gallery of the Palazzo Buonaccorsi, Macerata, which depicts the marriage of Bacchus and Ariadne. – Horizontal fold. Lower left corner replaced. Isolated faint brown stains. Tiny dark ink stains (traces of workshop?). A small tear at the base on the left. Tiny holes in the lower right margin and in the right corner. In good condition for its age.
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Black chalk, with stumping and touches of pen and brown ink on laid paper. (c. 1710/20). 34.3 x 24.3 cm.
Period
15th-18th Century
Technique
Works on paper
Details
Literatur:
Nicholas Turner, European master drawings from Portuguese collections II: Italy and Portugal, Porto 2021, S. 148f., Kat.-Nr. 61, mit farb. Abb.
Ausstellung:
Desenhos de mestres italianos em coleções portuguesas (II), Museu Nacional Soares Dos Reis, Porto (Oktober–Dezember 2001), Kat.-Nr. 61.
Provenienz:
Sotheby’s, London, Auktion, 14.12.1992, Los 97 (als “Bolognese School, 17th Century”);
Europäische Privatsammlung, auf Unterlage mit dem Sammlerstempel “FB mit Ginkgoblatt im Oval” (noch nicht von Lugt/Fondation Custodia veröffentlicht).
Description
Dr Elizabeth McGrath and Paul Taylor (both Warburg Institute Library) examined the present drawing in 2020 and assume that the content is allegorical rather than mythological, i.e. without recourse to a textual model. The figure on the right possesses two of the attributes attributed to the personified fury (“Furore”) in Cesare Ripa’s Iconologia (1593), including the curled hair (“capelli rabbuffati”) and a large, burning torch (“una gran torcia accesa”); only the severed head of Medusa is missing. The meaning of the two other figures in the strangely disparate juxtaposition remains enigmatic: on the one hand, a half-naked, satyr-like grinning boy, who is probably holding up a branch of fruit and standing like a statue on a pedestal decorated with rams’ heads, and on the other, a lifeless infant lying on the ground. Has the contemplation of the statue taken its toll on Furore’s nerves, even provoking him to an irascible outburst?
The date of origin of the drawing can be narrowed down to 1710-20. The figure of Furore bears a certain resemblance to Mercury in the large ceiling fresco painted together with his father Michelangelo Ricciolini (1654-1715) in the gallery of the Palazzo Buonaccorsi, Macerata, which depicts the marriage of Bacchus and Ariadne. – Horizontal fold. Lower left corner replaced. Isolated faint brown stains. Tiny dark ink stains (traces of workshop?). A small tear at the base on the left. Tiny holes in the lower right margin and in the right corner. In good condition for its age.
Estimate
Time, Location
Auction House
