Design for an ewer with lid in the shape of a scallop shell held in a bird's beak

Design for an ewer with lid in the shape of a scallop shell held in a bird's beak; mask ornament at base of handle and scallop shell decoration on body of ewer.

From the Collection of Jonathan Richardson, Sen., The Duke of Argyll (1798), J. Thane, W. Esdaile & J. C. Robinson.

J. Richardson, Sr (Lugut 2184); J. Thane (Lugt 1544, on the back in pencil); W.Esdaile (Lugt 2617); (?) 5th Duke of Argyll; Sir J.C. Robinson (Lugt 1433); Bought by the museum in 1910.

The 'cardinale di Matoa', for whom the design was made, was presumably Ercole di Gonzaga, Bishop of Mantua (1505-1563, created cardinal 1527). On the death of his brother Federico, Duke of Mantua, in 1540, Cardinal Ercole became regent and Giulio Romano's principal patron.The inscription on the drawing is in a hand similar to Giulio's. An inscription on the back of the drawing states that the sheet was in the collection of the Duke of Argyll in 1798 and quotes the number P.77, no. 51.

Giulio’s greatest technical skill was demonstrated in his drawings, which are notable for their incisiveness and abundance of invention. His formidable talent as a designer was most successfully realized in his architectural projects and in the ensemble of his complex decorative programmes. The immediate influence of his work was marked in the architectural treatises of Andrea Palladio and Sebastiano Serlio and in the move towards an increasing elaboration of illusionistic fresco painting.

Giulio Romano was an Italian painter and architect. He was trained by Raphael, who became his friend and protector. Romano was attuned to the needs of courtly patrons and had a style that blended modern sensibilities with the forms of classical art. His contemporaries particularly praised the facility and inventiveness of his drawing. Most of his career was spent in Mantua, as court artist for Federico II Gonzaga, 5th Marchese and 1st Duke of Mantua (ruled 1530–40).

E.5129-1910