Jacopo Negretti, called Palma Giovane

Sale, London, Sotheby's, 15 July 1983, lot 29 (as Domenico Tintoretto);

Duca Roberto Ferretti di Castelferretto;

Sale, London, Christie's, 6 July 1993, lot 27;

Sale, Paris, Christie's, 21 March 2002, lot 36;

Where acquired.

W.R. Rearick, Il disegno in Veneto e in Friuli nel Cinquecento, in Dal Pordenone a Palma il Giovane, exhib. cat., Pordenone 2000, p. 20, fig. 24, pp. 22, 24, note 44.

Toronto, Art Gallery of Ontario, Italian Drawings from the Collection of Duke Roberto Ferretti, 1985, no. 18.

Preparatory for the altarpiece depicting the Pentecost, circa 1605, in the Cathedral of the Oderzo, near Treviso (fig. 1), this fine study in oil showcases Palma’s skill in producing bold chiaroscuro effects which are brilliantly translated and heightened further in the finished painting.¹  In terms of composition, the drawing and painting are extremely close, apart from the inclusion of the dove of the Holy Spirit in the upper part of the painting. Palma seems to have made use of oils in the context of preparatory studies only sproadically; other examples include a study in the Louvre for the Dead Christ supported by Angels² and a study for Saint Jerome in the Wilderness, on the art market in 1997.³ 

There is no doubt that Tintoretto and Veronese's work inspired Palma and their oil modelli were certainly influential in Palma's handling of the medium. Perhaps the decision to use oil for this particular commission afforded Palma more freedom to experiment with the light and shadows that are so integral to the success of his altarpiece.  

1. S. Mason Rinaldi, Palma il Giovane, Milan, 1984, no. 182, fig. 403

2. W.R. Rearick, exhib. cat., 2000, op.cit., p. 190, no. 54, reproduced

3. Sale, New York, Christie's, 30 January 1997, lot 35