Matteo Rosselli

With Colnaghi, London; acquired 1988

London, Colnaghi, Master Drawings, 1988, no. 23, reproduced;
Gainesville, et al., 1991-93, no. 19

C. Monbeig Goguel, Musée du Louvre. Dessins Toscans XVIe-XVIIe Siècles 1620-1800, vol. II, Paris 2005, p. 355, under cat. no. 510

Mounted and framed in a modern gilded frame, laid down on japanned paper and window mounted, some holes or wear at upper part of sheet to left of boy's face and also in lower part near feet and some towards hem of coat. Paper is rough and therefore contains darker spots from the manufacture not stain. Otherwise condition fine and chalk 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.
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This is a preparatory study for a figure in Rosselli's frescoed lunette in the Chiostro Grande of SS. Annunziata, Florence, which depicts Pope Alexander IV Approving the Rule of the Servite Order.  The decorative cycle was painted by a group of artists between 1614 and 1618, and Rosselli executed four of the frescoes.  According to the biographer Baldinucci, Pietro da Cortona was particularly impressed by the fresco for which the present drawing is a study.  Linda Wolk-Simon noted the existence of a study of the whole composition, in which the figure at the far right is a bearded man, rather than the youth seen in the present drawing and the final fresco.¹ 

Both in the choice of red chalk and in the apparent use of a live model, this very charming and naturalistic drawing is entirely characteristic of Rosselli's work.  

1. Sold, London, Sotheby's, 7 July 1966, lot 109; Gainesville, et al., loc. cit.