Luigi Sabatelli

Sale, London, Christie's, 21 November 1996, lot 6; acquired at the sale

Vertical crease at center. Small tear repaired at top left of center; small hole - or worn patch - left of that on edge of mountain top. Small tear middle of left edge. Stain in Charon's cloak by mast. Bottom left corner worn. Paper basically strong and ink also.
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The subject of the present work is taken from Dante's Inferno, canto 3. Other drawings by Sabatelli illustrating scenes from Dante are known, and can be dated to his last Roman period (1789-94). Another version of this same subject is in the Castello Sforzesco, Milan (coll. F 19/2). A drawing of Dante and Virgil is in the Palais des Beaux-Arts, Lille, but may be dated stylistically to earlier in the artist's career.¹ Beatrice Paolozzi Strozzi, in her catalogue of the Sabatelli drawings exhibition at the Uffizi, comments on the renewed fascination with selected episodes from Dante, an interest which Sabatelli shared with contemporary artists such as Cades and Giani, and which can probably be traced to the influence of John Flaxman.²

Sabatelli trained in Rome, where he was influenced by French Academicians. He then spent time in Florence and made many paintings and prints based on the city's history and literature. He was professor at the Accademia di Brera in Milan for many years, but still travelled and obtained commissions in other cities.  

1. See Barbara Brejon de Lavergnée, Catalogue des Dessins italiens ..., Paris/Lille 1997, p. 209, no. 598, reproduced

2. See Beatrice Paolozzi Strozzi, Luigi Sabatelli, exhibition catalogue, Florence, Uffizi, 1978