Daniele Ricciarelli, called da Volterra

F. Abbott (L.970);
sale, London, Sotheby's, 9 April 1981, lot 76 (as Francesco Salviati);
with Yvonne Tan Bunzl, London, from whom acquired in 1984

London, Yvonne Tan Bunzl, Old Master Drawings, 1984, no. 9, reproduced (as Francesco Salviati);
Gainesville, et al., 1991-93, no. 4, reproduced (as Francesco Salviati)

Luisa Mortari, Francesco Salviati, Rome 1992, pp. 225-6, no. 322, reproduced (as possibly not by Salviati)

Window mounted. A strip of paper added at the top, the tip of the head redrawn. Some light staining and surface dirt along the edges and traces of faint stains scattered around. Creases in the making of the paper and some irregularity . Some rubbing of the surface and in the black chalk but overall in quite good condition.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

This impressive figure relates to Francesco Salviati's apsidal vault decoration in the side chapel of the Margrave of Brandenburg, in the Roman church of Santa Maria dell'Anima.  The fresco formed part of a cycle, executed between 1549 and 1550, which is one of the artist's most extraordinary achievements; the key compositions in the cycle are The Deposition, over the altar, surmounted by The Resurrection, with The Descent of the Holy Spirit in the apsidal vault. The present figure of an apostle appears at right hand end of this last composition.

Stylistically, this drawing is characterised by very fine, small strokes of black chalk, producing extremely subtle modulations of tone and form. The effect created is a combination of great delicacy in the use of the medium and considerable overall visual strength. The drawing was, understandably, formerly attributed to Salviati, but its technique and style are in fact characteristic of the work of another important artist active in Rome at the same time, namely Daniele da Volterra. The latter, although very individual in his style, seems always to have been interested in the work of his contemporaries:  he absorbed a great deal from Michelangelo in particular, and also from Perino and Tibaldi, and must have been equally fascinated by the monumentality of Salviati.

Though both of Tuscan origin, in around 1550-51 Francesco Salviati and Daniele da Volterra both worked on the decoration of the Oratorio of San Giovanni Decollato in Rome.  This was just after Salviati completed his work in Santa Maria dell'Anima, and this moment of contact between the two artists could plausibly have provided Daniele da Volterra with the motivation and opportunity to make a study such as this, probably from a lost drawing by Salviati.  In fact, it was Daniele da Volterra who received, in 1551, the commissions for the main altarpiece for the Oratorio, and for a fresco on the right wall depicting The Birth of Saint John the Baptist, for which a drawing survives, in the Musée Fabre, Montpellier.¹  Daniele did not, however, complete either commission, and the Birth of St John was subsequently taken over by Salviati.²  The intertwined nature of the two artists' careers was highlighted again, at a somewhat later date, when they competed for the decoration of the Sala Regia in the Palazzi Vaticani.

Stylistically this sheet seems characteristic of Daniele's work, and can be convincingly compared with other studies by the artist.  It is particularly close to a black chalk drawing of Aeneas and his attendant, now in the Albertina, Vienna, which was also formerly attributed to Salviati, but is in fact a study for Daniele's painting, Mercury urging Aeneas to leave the Couch of Dido.³

1. Vittoria Romani, Daniele da Volterra amico di Michelangelo, exhibition catalogue, Florence, Casa Buonarroti, 2003, under no. 22, reproduced fig. 58

2. Luisa Mortari, Francesco Salviati, Rome 1992, p. 119, no. 31, reproduced

3. Formerly private collection, Stockholm; Romani, op.cit., no. 40, reproduced and fig. 89, and passim