The Jeffrey E. Horvitz Collection of Italian Drawings

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Lot 40
  • 40

Giovanni Mauro della Rovere, called Il Fiammenghino

Estimate
8,000 - 12,000 USD
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Description

  • Giovanni Mauro della Rovere, called Il Fiammenghino
  • the fall of simon magus

  • Pen and brown ink and wash, heightened with white, over traces of black chalk, on blue paper;
    bears initials and date in pen and brown ink: G.M.R. 1619 Guinio and bears inscription on the mount: guinio and Ecole Lombarde;
    bears inscription on the back of the old mount: La chute de Simon le Magicien / a La plume Sur papier bleu Lavé a / l'encre de La Chine et rehausseé de blanc. Lomb

Provenance

Van Parijs (L.2531 with number 115);
R.W.P. de Vries (L.2786a);
with Galerie Katrin Bellinger, Munich; acquired in 2002

Exhibited

London, Katrin Bellinger at Harari and Johns, Master Drawings, 1990, no. 13, reproduced

Condition

Laid down on the mount. Some oxidization in the white heightening, and some small creases. Otherwise the condition is fine.
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.

Catalogue Note

Giovanni Mauro della Rovere was born to a family of Flemish artists working in Milan.  He remained in the Lombard capital for most of his career, and his work reveals the influence of Giovanni Paolo Lomazzo and Ambrogio Figino.  His style was well suited to the demands of Counter-Reformation art as promulgated by Cardinal Federico Borrommeo and he received numerous commissions throughout Lombardy.  Della Rovere was also a prolific draughtsman and this drawing is characteristic of his style, with its distinctive handling of wash and white heightening.  A drawing by the artist in the Albertina bears a similar inscription: GMR 1600 novembre. and another in Stockholm is inscribed on the verso: G.M.R. 1617 marzo 17.1  Such precise dates suggest that although the handwriting seems different, they may well be inscriptions by the artist himself.

The story of Simon Magus was apparently recorded by St Cyril in the middle of the fourth century.  A heretic who settled in Rome, Simon had great success in attracting followers;  when Saints Peter and Paul arrived in Rome, they found he was flying through the air, proclaiming that he was being transported to Heaven.  As a result of the Saints' intense prayers, the demons drawing Simon's chariot fled, whereupon he fell to his death.  This drawing cannot be related to a recorded work by della Rovere, but it is interesting to note that Lomazzo included the scene in his frescoes for the decoration of the Foppa Chapel in San Marco, Milan.

1. See V. Birke and J. Kertész, Die Italienischen Zeichnungen der Albertina, Vienna 1995, vol. III, p. 1554, inv. no. 2788, reproduced; and P. Bjurström, Italian Drawings, Stockholm 1979, no. 292, reproduced