Old Master Drawing 16thC Italian Parmigianino Apollo And Daphne

Description: Here is an absolutely fascinating drawing by one of the most sought after artists of the renaissance with an equally fascinating story and association. This is a diminutive work by Parmigianino (Mazzola) that the British say was most likely for a coin design, or other gold work. During the renaissance, artists were multi taskers to help with revenue and also to spread the art of the studio. Raphael was a well known designer of tapestries, while Michelangelo was also an architect (as was many other artists), anyway, Mazzola was known to have created designs for metalworks and coins, etc. Given its diminutive size, 8 x 10.5 cm along with it’s peers in other institutions, these three items were most likely studies for such a coin….in this case, the myth of Daphne and Apollo. I will accompany this description with the description by the British Museum and The Louvre, as they have adjoining works that were no doubt from the same set of drawings. I will comment on them and I have included photos in my array for this, take a look and compare, they are from the same series. I much prefer this work to the others as it shows the river god in the process of changing Daphne into a laurel tree just as Apollo is catching her….lots of action!!!! The collectors mark is another very interesting aspect of this work. It is that of Nicholas Laniere (L. 2886). His story can be read at Lugt, but the gist is that he bought drawings for king Charles I along with himself. He assumed that when he was ready to sell his drawings he would naturally sell them to the king….didnt work out that way and he ended up selling most of his collection to Thomas Howard, 5th Earl of Arundel. The British and Louvre both cobble together aspects of this provenance based on sale records. This work, however, is the only one with the mark of where it all started. No doubt this was one of three or four little sketches on a sheet and then were later separated for sale. The verso of this work denotes an origin with the Baiardo collection. This was a very early Italian collector that collected predominantly Mazzola drawings and he owned many. A later inventory was made of his collection but it is extremely complicated, therefore, I reference it here but I have not taken a deep enough plunge to decipher an inventory number that was attached to it, if any. I do have a copy of the full inventory and if the purchaser would like to enter that rabbithole on their own, I will send a copy of it. They either missed the tiny little mark or ignored it, either way, it turns out to be very important as the entire journey of all 4 works starts with this one! Provenance research can be fascinating. At any rate, there is probably much more to be unearthed here and would be a very interesting ride through that research. Please ask questions as you have them. This is a great opportunity to own a fairly significant work from one of the greatest and most famous artists from the renaissance!!! FROM THE BRITISH MUSEUM: Popham 1967 Other studies for this composition are in the Louvre (6406) and at Berlin (Fröhlich-Bum, fig. 75). They are perhaps designs for a medallion to be worn in a hat. The elongated figures and tenuous line point to Parmigianino's latest period. FROM THE LOUVRE: Commentaire : Ce dessin a été daté par A.E. Popham (1971) de la fin de la carrière de l'artiste. Il en existe une autre version très proche à Londres (British Museum, Inv. 1946-7-13-439 ; Gnann, 2007, n° 851) et une copie à Windsor (Royal Library, n° 0555). A rapprocher aussi des deux autres études de même sujet : l'une conservée à Berlin (Kupferstichkabinett, sans num. d'inv.; Gnann, 2007, n° 852), l'autre à Vienne (Albertina, SL 97 Inv. Nr. 2667 ; Gnann, 2007. 853.) Bibliographie: - J. Vergnet-Ruiz, dans 'Hommage au Corrège. Catalogue des dessins du Maître, de ses élèves et des artistes qui ont subi son influence. Exposés à l'occasion du quatrième centenaire de sa mort (1534)', cat. exp. (Paris, L'Orangerie des Tuileries, 1934), p. 32 n° 56 ; - A.Ghidiglia Quintavalle, 'Il Bertoja', Milano, 1963, p. 55 (Bertoja) ; - A.E.Popham, 'Ghidiglia Quintavalle, Augusta: Il Bertoja', dans Old Master Drawings, 2, 1964, p. 169-173 ; - M. Fagiolo Dell'Arco, 'Il Parmigianino: un saggio sull'ermetismo del Cinquecento', Roma, 1970, p. 83-86, 210-211 note 20 ; - A.E. Popham, 'Catalogue of the Drawings of Parmigianino', 3 vol., New Haven and London, 1971, I, p. 140 n° 386 ; - A. Gnann, 'Parmigianino: Die Zeichnungen', 2 vol., Petersberg, Michael Imhof Verlag, 2007 (Studien zur internationalen Architektur- und Kunstgeschichte, 58), n° 850 ; - L. Linharès, dans cat. exp. Parmigianino, Dessins du Louvre, par L. Angelucci, D. Cordellier, L. Lhinarès, R. Serra, sous la direction de D. Cordellier, musée du Louvre, Salles Mollien, 17 décembre 2015 - 15 février 2016, Paris / Milan, Musée du Louvre / Officina Libraria, p. 40 sous note 16.

Price: 3890 USD

Location: Oak Park, California

End Time: 2025-01-30T18:39:49.000Z

Shipping Cost: 10 USD