Pirro Ligorio

Brentano-Birckenstock Collection;
sale, New York, Sotheby's, 13 January 1989, lot 111; acquired at the sale

Gainesville, et al., 1991-93, cat. no. 8

Sold mounted and framed in a modern gilded wooden frame. Window mounted. Various vertical folds and smaller creases in the paper. Made up above the lowest figure in the lower right corner. Also two holes near the lower edge, both nearly repaired. Further small patches of repairs in the upper left, near Diana's outstretched hand. Some vertical cracks leading from the upper edge. All repairs are very neatly made, and although there is some surface dirt in places, the chalk is still strong.
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.

The artistic personality of Pirro Ligorio is well represented by this handsome red chalk drawing of Apollo killing the children of Niobe.  Architect, painter and antiquarian, Pirro had a great reputation in Rome as an archaeologist and he drew much inspiration from his knowledge of ancient buildings.  Active in Rome for the majority of his career, he exemplifies the strong impact on all aspects of art that the city of Rome exercised over the formation of young artists.  When he received the commission, around 1558, for the entire decoration of the secluded Casino of Pio IV, in the Vatican, Pirro drew on a wide variety of sources from the antique, so the intense stucco decoration of the exterior appears as a celebration of the ancient world. 

The present drawing, which is highly finished, has a solid and sculptural quality which is reinforced by the dense composition of many figures compressed in the space, as in an antique relief.  Niobe is seen in the center with her arm raised towards Diana imploring mercy , while Apollo has just shot one of his arrows to kill another of her children. The subject is taken from Ovid's Metamorphoses.  Diana and Apollo avenge their mother Latona as Niobe, having had fourteen children, had the arrogance and imprudence to ridicule the worship of Latona, who only had two.  This insolence provoked Latona to punish Niobe.

The composition was reproduced in reverse by Phillipe Galle, in an engraving published in 1557 (fig.1).  This gives a terminus ante quem for the drawing, but it seems unlikely that it was specifically made as the design for this print, as Pirro was unknown to Galle, and also, as Linda Wolk-Simon points out, the inscription at the bottom of the print, which was published by Hieronymous Cock, mistakenly credits the invention to Giulio Romano.¹  It is much more plausible, as she suggests, that it relates instead to a façade decoration:  ' The relief-like quality of the design is consistent with this function:  Roman façade paintings of this period as a rule were executed in monochrome and were meant to simulate ancient reliefs'.  Wolk-Simon also rightly stresses the relation to one of Polidoro da Caravaggio's most admired Roman façade decorations, of the same subject, on the Palazzo Milesi.

1.  Gainesville, et al., loc. cit.