Anonymous draughtsman, Venetian School
17th century
Pen, black chalk, and wash with white highlights on blue prepared paper
Image 11 1/2 x 14 1/2 in. (29.2 x 36.8 cm); archival frame 14 3/4 x 18 in. (37.5 x 45.7 cm)
Provenance: Richard Yeakel, until 2001; private collection, acquired from the above, 2001; private collection, acquired from the above, 2018; private New England collection
A preparatory modello for a devotional altarpiece, this drawing presents the Assumption of the Virgin with dramatic conviction. The Virgin rises on billowing clouds attended by putti in the upper register, while below a central apostle gestures upward in astonishment, his drapery rendered in vigorous chalk strokes, surrounded by companions who kneel and crane upward in response. The composition reflects the influence of the great Venetian decorative tradition, with its command of spatial recession, overlapping figural groups, and the luminous interplay of chalk and white heightening on prepared ground.
The use of blue prepared paper, pen underdrawing, and wash with white highlights is characteristic of Venetian draftsmanship of the 17th century, a tradition descending from Veronese and Tintoretto through their numerous studio successors. Modelli of this type were working documents presented to patrons for approval prior to the execution of a finished altarpiece, and their survival in period frames with documented collecting histories is relatively uncommon. The piece comes from a private New England collection with continuous provenance from 2001.
We ship free anywhere in the world, fully insured, packed by hand.
Anonymous draughtsman, Venetian School
17th century
Pen, black chalk, and wash with white highlights on blue prepared paper
Image 11 1/2 x 14 1/2 in. (29.2 x 36.8 cm); archival frame 14 3/4 x 18 in. (37.5 x 45.7 cm)
Provenance: Richard Yeakel, until 2001; private collection, acquired from the above, 2001; private collection, acquired from the above, 2018; private New England collection
A preparatory modello for a devotional altarpiece, this drawing presents the Assumption of the Virgin with dramatic conviction. The Virgin rises on billowing clouds attended by putti in the upper register, while below a central apostle gestures upward in astonishment, his drapery rendered in vigorous chalk strokes, surrounded by companions who kneel and crane upward in response. The composition reflects the influence of the great Venetian decorative tradition, with its command of spatial recession, overlapping figural groups, and the luminous interplay of chalk and white heightening on prepared ground.
The use of blue prepared paper, pen underdrawing, and wash with white highlights is characteristic of Venetian draftsmanship of the 17th century, a tradition descending from Veronese and Tintoretto through their numerous studio successors. Modelli of this type were working documents presented to patrons for approval prior to the execution of a finished altarpiece, and their survival in period frames with documented collecting histories is relatively uncommon. The piece comes from a private New England collection with continuous provenance from 2001.
We ship free anywhere in the world, fully insured, packed by hand.
