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Design for a tomb for Pope Leo X

Design
ca. 1521 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Design for a tomb for Pope Leo X. It shows a statue of the pope reclining on the top of the monument; the allegorical figures of Hope, Love, Faith and Charity are below. A tablet in the middle is inscribed with the first ten letters of the alphabet and the name 'LEO X'.

The design was probably made by Sansovino in an attempt to obtain the commission for Leo X's tomb, perhaps in the Pope's lifetime, or soon after his death in 1521.

The drawing was part of the collection assembled by John Talman (1677-1726). Talman was the son of the celebrated architect William Talman. From about 1698 he was employed by his father to help assemble material for his extensive collection of architectural drawings, prints and books. A keen traveller, he went to the Continent twice in search of acquisitions. He visited the northern Netherlands, France, Germany and Italy, and he made numerous watercolour copies of altarpieces and churches in Rome.

Talman was back in England in 1715. He was a founder-member of the Tavern Society, London, which later became the Society of Antiquaries, and he was appointed its first director. Like his father, Talman believed in the elevating purpose of art and in the use of art collections for the public good. Although his will indicates that he had wanted his vast collection (which contained over 32,000 prints and drawings), to go to Trinity College, Cambridge, he later changed his mind and instructed that it should be sold for the benefit of his children. A portion of the collection was nonetheless given outright to the Society of Antiquaries, who acquired further items from the auction in London on 19 April 1727.


Object details

Category
Object type
TitleDesign for a tomb for Pope Leo X (published title)
Materials and techniques
Pen and ink and wash
Brief description
Drawing, Design for a tomb for Pope Leo X, by Andrea Sansovino, Italian School, pen and ink and wash, ca. 1521
Physical description
Design for a tomb for Pope Leo X. It shows a statue of the pope reclining on the top of the monument; the allegorical figures of Hope, Love, Faith and Charity are below. A tablet in the middle is inscribed with the first ten letters of the alphabet and the name 'LEO X'.
Dimensions
  • Height: 400mm
  • Width: 242mm
Style
Production typeUnique
Marks and inscriptions
A tablet in the middle of the design is inscribed with the first ten letters of the alphabet and the name 'Leo X'; a later inscription (in the lower left corner), probably in the hand of J. Talman, reads 'Giov. Dosio'
Object history
J. Talman (Lugt, Supplement 2886A, which is Talman's mark); Sir T. Lawrence (Lugt 2445); S. Woodburn (sale, Christie, 4-14 June 1860; bought by the Museum)
Subjects depicted
Summary
Design for a tomb for Pope Leo X. It shows a statue of the pope reclining on the top of the monument; the allegorical figures of Hope, Love, Faith and Charity are below. A tablet in the middle is inscribed with the first ten letters of the alphabet and the name 'LEO X'.

The design was probably made by Sansovino in an attempt to obtain the commission for Leo X's tomb, perhaps in the Pope's lifetime, or soon after his death in 1521.

The drawing was part of the collection assembled by John Talman (1677-1726). Talman was the son of the celebrated architect William Talman. From about 1698 he was employed by his father to help assemble material for his extensive collection of architectural drawings, prints and books. A keen traveller, he went to the Continent twice in search of acquisitions. He visited the northern Netherlands, France, Germany and Italy, and he made numerous watercolour copies of altarpieces and churches in Rome.

Talman was back in England in 1715. He was a founder-member of the Tavern Society, London, which later became the Society of Antiquaries, and he was appointed its first director. Like his father, Talman believed in the elevating purpose of art and in the use of art collections for the public good. Although his will indicates that he had wanted his vast collection (which contained over 32,000 prints and drawings), to go to Trinity College, Cambridge, he later changed his mind and instructed that it should be sold for the benefit of his children. A portion of the collection was nonetheless given outright to the Society of Antiquaries, who acquired further items from the auction in London on 19 April 1727.
Bibliographic references
  • Ward Jackson, Peter, Italian Drawings. Volume One: 14th-16th century, London, 1979, cat. 312, pp. 147-148, illus. The following is the full text of the entry: SANSOVINO, ANDREA Andrea Contucci (1467/70 - 1529) 312 Design for a tomb for Pope Leo X A tablet in the middle of the design is inscribed with the first ten letters of the alphabet and the name 'Leo X'; a later inscription (in the lower left corner), probably in the hand of J. Talman, reads 'Giov. Dosio' Pen and ink and wash I5 ¾ x 9 ½ (400 x 242) 2260 PROVENANCE J. Talman (Lugt, Supplement 2886A, which is Talman's mark); Sir T. Lawrence (Lugt 2445); S. Woodburn (sale, Christie, 4-14 June 1860; bought by the Museum) LITERATURE The same as for the preceding entry, no. 311, except that the illustrations are numbered differently, as follows: Middeldorf, fig. A; Huntley, fig. 72; Venturi, fig. 152. Moreover, the following reference should be added: C. de Tolnay, Michelangelo, 4, The tomb of Julius II, Princeton, 1954, pp. 9 and 90, and fig. 238 Middeldorffirst doubted the old attribution to Dosio and ascribed the design to Sansovino. The idea of placing an effigy of the deceased on his side with his head resting on an arm was an invention of Sansovino's, first carried out in the tombs of Cardinal Ascanio Sforza and Cardinal Gerolamo Basso della Rovere in S. Maria del Popolo, Rome. The draughtsmanship is consistent with Sansovino's manner as revealed in two drawings representing Astronomy and St Joseph in the Uffizi, first published by Middeldorf in The Burlington Magazine, 60, 1932, pp. 236-45, reproduced also in Huntley, loc. cit., figs. 67 and 68. The design was probably made by Sansovino in an attempt to obtain the commission for Leo X's tomb, perhaps in the Pope's lifetime, or soon after his death in 1521. The commission for the Pope's tomb was eventually given to Baccio Bandinelli. The drawing should be studied in connection with two other designs for tombs that were likewise in Talman's collection and doubtless originated in the same artist's studio: they are no. 3II above, and a drawing at Weimar which is reproduced in Huntley, loc. cit., fig. 71.
  • Bigi Iotti, Alessandra, 'Andrea Sansovino and the design for a funerary monument for Leo X', The Burlington Magazine, No. 1268, Vol. CL: November 2008, pp. 757-759.
  • Franklin, David, Carlo Gasparri, Ingrid D. Rowland, Sebastian Schütze, From Raphael to Carracci: The Art of Papal Rome, Ottawa: National Gallery of Canada, 2009.
Other number
PWJ 312 - Ward Jackson Catalogue Number
Collection
Accession number
2260

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Record createdAugust 17, 2007
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