Jacopo Robusti, called Jacopo Tintoretto Venice 1518 - 1594

Dr C.R. Rudolf, his sale, London, Sotheby's, 19 May 1977, lot 26 (purchased by the present owner)

Laid down on the old Rudolf mount. A number of losses towards the lower part of the drawing, which are visible in the catalogue. The lower left and margins are missing, as is the upper left corner. Also an oval loss below the left eye- also visible in the catalogue. There are a few other losses, probably due to silver fish. The paper is faded to a light brown.
"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. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

This drawing is closely related to two others showing the head of Giuliano seen from precisely the same angle and executed in the same technique, now at Christ Church, Oxford.¹  Byam Shaw lists several other versions of this composition, and suggests that Tintoretto made the studies from a cast or even an original modello by Michelangelo. In the Christ Church collection are a group of studies by Tintoretto of the full figure of Giuliano, seated and nude, and another study of his head, from a very different angle to the present example², which Byam Shaw suggests may in fact have been made from a different model than the present study of the head alone.

The biographer Carlo Ridolfi, in writing about Tintoretto's early career, records in particular that he bought, often expensively, casts after Antique marbles and models by Daniele da Volterra after Michelangelo's Medici tombs which he studied intensely by lamp light:  'Indi si mise a raccorre da molte parti, non senza grave dispendio, impronti di gesso tratti da' marmi antichi, e si fece condurre da Firenze piccoli modelli di Daniele Volterrano, cavati dalle figure delle sepolture de' Medici...; sopra i quali fece uno studio particolare, traendone infiniti disegni a lume di lucerna, per formarsi, mediante le ombre gagliarde prodotte da' que' lumi, una maniera forte e rilevata.³

1. James Byam Shaw, Drawings by Old Masters at Christ Church Oxford, Oxford 1976, no. 761 recto and verso, pls. 427, 428

2. Byam Shaw, op. cit., nos. 758-60

3. Carlo Ridolfi, Le meraviglie dell'Arte, 2nd edition, Padua 1837, vol. II, p. 175