Design for grotesque ornament
Drawing
mid 16th century (made)
mid 16th century (made)
| Place of origin |
Drawing, Design for grotesque ornament: a mask (with an alternative mask above) flanked by a pair of naked boy among scrollf of acanthus; verso: design for a sauce-boat or other dish, in the top right corner a medallion containing a bearded man's head in profile, Lombardy, mid 16th century.
Object details
| Object type | |
| Title | Design for grotesque ornament (generic title) |
| Materials and techniques | Pen and ink over black chalk |
| Brief description | Drawing, Design for grotesque ornament: a mask (with an alternative mask above) flanked by a pair of naked boy among scrollf of acanthus; verso: design for a sauce-boat or other dish, in the top right corner a medallion containing a bearded man's head in profile, Lombardy, mid 16th century. |
| Dimensions |
|
| Style | |
| Bibliographic reference | Ward-Jackson, Peter, Italian Drawings Volume I. 14th-16th century, London, 1979, p. 213.
The text is as follows:
LOMBARDY: mid 16th century
466
Recto Design for grotesque ornament: a mask (with an alternative mask above) flanked by a pair of naked boys among scrolls of acanthus
Pen and ink over black chalk Size of sheet
8 x 61 (203 x 158) E.4474-1920
Verso Design for a sauce-boat or other dish. In the top right hand corner a medallion containing a bearded man's head in profile faintly sketched in black chalk
Pen and ink over black chalk
PROVENANCE Grahl (Lugt 1199); Benno Geiger (sale, Sotheby, 7 and 9 December 1920, lot no. 297; bought by the Museum)
LITERATURE Planiscig and Voss, no. 15 and pl. 15
Planiscig and Voss thought that the drawing was by the same hand as a somewhat similar sheet in the Albertina (Albertina Catalogue, 6, no. 403, pI. 89); and the Albertina drawing, traditionally ascribed to Credi, was attributed to Cesare da Sesto by Meder, who believed it to be by the same hand as the sketchbook in the Pierpont Morgan Library which Fairfax Murray published as by Cesare (Fairfax Murray, Two Lombard sketch Books, London, 1910). But our drawing is by a different hand. It is drawn with the left hand, whereas the other drawings are right-handed. Moreover, the anatomy of the kneeling man on the verso is defective and reveals characteristics that cannot be found in the other drawings. The handling of the pen recalls Girolamo da Carpi, and the drawing is probably by an artist who imitated his style. As Pouncey has pointed out (orally), there are two drawings (verso and recto) in the Pierpont Morgan Library by the same hand (vol. I, 34A and 34B). The recto represents a man holding a scallop shell on his shoulder, with two other sketches. The verso shows designs for acanthus scrolls, with a male nude, very similar to the recto of our drawing. These are left-handed drawings too. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | E.4474-1920 |
About this object record
Explore the Collections contains over a million catalogue records, and over half a million images. It is a working database that includes information compiled over the life of the museum. Some of our records may contain offensive and discriminatory language, or reflect outdated ideas, practice and analysis. We are committed to addressing these issues, and to review and update our records accordingly.
You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.
Suggest feedback
You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.
Suggest feedback
| Record created | June 30, 2009 |
| Record URL |
Download as: JSONIIIF Manifest
