Mars seated, with one arm raised, three Cupids on the right play with his spear

Mars seated, with one arm raised, three Cupids on the right play with his spear thumbnail 1

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Artist/Maker	Unknown School, 17th Century (artist) Caravaggio, Michelangelo Merisi Da (artist)
Place of origin	Italy (drawn)

Mars seated, with one arm raised, three Cupids on the right play with his spear; Pen and sepia, washed.

Object details

Category	Drawings
Object type	Drawing
Title	Mars seated, with one arm raised, three Cupids on the right play with his spear (generic title)
Materials and techniques	Pen and sepia, washed Pen Sepia Drawing Wash Technique
Brief description	Drawing; Mars seated, with one arm raised, three Cupids on the right play with his spear; previously attributed to Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, Pen and sepia, washed; Late 16th century.
Physical description	Mars seated, with one arm raised, three Cupids on the right play with his spear; Pen and sepia, washed.
Dimensions	Height: 6.8in Width: 10.1in Original measurements converted from fractional inches into decimal inches (rounded to one decimal place). Dimensions taken from: DYCE COLLECTION. A Catalogue of the Paintings, Miniatures, Drawings, Engravings, Rings and Miscellaneous Objects Bequeathed by The Reverend Alexander Dyce. London : South Kensington Museum, 1874.
Credit line	Bequeathed by Rev. Alexander Dyce
Object history	Bequeathed by Rev. Alexander Dyce
Subjects depicted	Man Cupids Spear Mars
Bibliographic references	DYCE COLLECTION. A Catalogue of the Paintings, Miniatures, Drawings, Engravings, Rings and Miscellaneous Objects Bequeathed by The Reverend Alexander Dyce. London : South Kensington Museum, 1874. Ward-Jackson, Peter, Italian Drawings. Volume II. 17th-18th century, London, 1979, p. 109 The following is the full text of the entry: Seated soldier, probably Mars, and three putti playing with a lance or arrow. Inscribed in ink in an old hand 'Questo disegno è del Michelangelo Caravaggio primo pensiero'; the name of the same artist inscribed again in another hand on a slip of paper pasted on the back of the mount Pen and ink and wash 6 7/8 x 10 1/8 (174 x 257) Dyce 226 PROVENANCE Padre Resta; Lord Somers (the inscription d.40, overprinted by Reynolds's mark, refers to a MS. in the British Museum which is a transcript of Resta's comments on the drawings in his and then in Somers's collection. See Popham, Resta; also Lugt 2981 and Lugt, Supplement, p. 419); J. Richardson Sr (Lugt 2184); T. Hudson (Lugt 2432); Sir J. Reynolds (Lugt 2364); Dyce Bequest 1869 LITERATURE Dyce Catalogue no. 226 (as by Caravaggio) The note against d.40 in the Resta Somers MS. in the British Museum shows that Resta ascribed the drawing to the bambocciante Jan Miel. But it is not by him or like him. Nor is the old attribution to Caravaggio any better founded. The drawing is reminiscent of Salvator Rosa in handling.
Collection	Prints, Drawings & Paintings Collection
Accession number	DYCE.226

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Record created	September 11, 2009
Record URL	https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O1136969/mars-seated-with-one-arm-drawing-unknown-school-17th/

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