Anonymous draughtsman, Italian School
18th century
Pencil and white highlighting on blue prepared paper; gridded for transfer
Image 2 1/4 x 5 1/4 inches each; archival frame 11 1/4 x 15 1/2 inches each
Provenance: Boston Antique Company
A pair of figure studies on identically shaped sheets of blue prepared paper, each cut to the silhouette of its subject and presented in matching conservation framing. One depicts Mercury, the winged messenger god, shown as a lightly draped youth in a petasus hat and carrying his caduceus, the serpent staff that is his attribute. The companion sheet depicts a figure of Mars or Armour in a crested Roman helmet and cuirass with pteryges, lance at left. Both sheets bear a visible grid of pencil lines, indicating they were squared for transfer to a larger decorative or fresco composition.
The technique of squaring for transfer, in which a preparatory drawing is overlaid with a measured grid to allow accurate scaling to a wall or canvas, was standard practice in Italian decorative painting from the Renaissance through the 18th century. The blue prepared paper, white heightening, and shaped supports are consistent with studies made for painted architectural interiors, and the complementary pairing of Mercury and Mars as allegorical figures of commerce and warfare was a common decorative program in Italian palace and villa decoration.
We ship free anywhere in the world, fully insured, packed by hand.
Anonymous draughtsman, Italian School
18th century
Pencil and white highlighting on blue prepared paper; gridded for transfer
Image 2 1/4 x 5 1/4 inches each; archival frame 11 1/4 x 15 1/2 inches each
Provenance: Boston Antique Company
A pair of figure studies on identically shaped sheets of blue prepared paper, each cut to the silhouette of its subject and presented in matching conservation framing. One depicts Mercury, the winged messenger god, shown as a lightly draped youth in a petasus hat and carrying his caduceus, the serpent staff that is his attribute. The companion sheet depicts a figure of Mars or Armour in a crested Roman helmet and cuirass with pteryges, lance at left. Both sheets bear a visible grid of pencil lines, indicating they were squared for transfer to a larger decorative or fresco composition.
The technique of squaring for transfer, in which a preparatory drawing is overlaid with a measured grid to allow accurate scaling to a wall or canvas, was standard practice in Italian decorative painting from the Renaissance through the 18th century. The blue prepared paper, white heightening, and shaped supports are consistent with studies made for painted architectural interiors, and the complementary pairing of Mercury and Mars as allegorical figures of commerce and warfare was a common decorative program in Italian palace and villa decoration.
We ship free anywhere in the world, fully insured, packed by hand.
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