Lot 13
  • 13

Paolo Caliari, called Il Veronese

Estimate
30,000 - 40,000 GBP
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Description

  • Paolo Caliari, called Il Veronese
  • a study of a seated woman seen from below, and another study of her head
  • Black and white chalk on blue paper; the corners cut;
    bears inscription: Paolo.V; and Sagredo numbering, verso: P. no. 53 and on the backing: P. no: 48;

Provenance

From the so-called Sagredo-Borghese album (with numbering, see above),
the provenance of which possibly as follows:
Doge Nicolò Sagredo, Venice, by circa 1654;
his brother, Stefano Sagredo, Venice;
his nephew, Zaccaria Sagredo, Venice;
his wife, Cecilia Sagredo, until sold, circa 1743;
private collection, Lyon circa 1919;
sale, Monaco, Christie's, 2 July 1993, lot 21 (in a collection of drawings from a Sagredo album belonging to a French private collector)

Literature

W.R. Rearick, 'More Veronese Drawings from the Sagredo Collection', in Master Drawings, 1995, no. 2, p. 135; p. 134, reproduced fig. 2

Condition

Unframed. Window mounted. The four corners of the sheet cut. Detached from the Sagredo-Borghese album page, which is preserved. Light thinning of the paper throughout the sheet, in some parts resulting in tiny pin-point holes. Some surface dirt. One pink tempera splash below the figure's knee. At the right edge the paper is slightly wrinkled and there are two creases at the lower margin, original to the paper. The colour of the paper is more blue-green than in the catalogue reproduction. Both the black and white chalks are stronger and more robust. Overall in reasonable condition.
"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."

Catalogue Note

Roger Rearick identified this as a study for a figure in Veronese's St. Mark Crowning the Theological Virtues, a ceiling painting originally executed for the Sala della Bussola in the Palazzo Ducale, Venice, but now in the Louvre (fig. 1).  Rearick stresses the importance of this drawing as the first surviving example of Veronese's use of chalk, a medium he adopted on his arrival in Venice and which became so important to his technique, but which here he still uses with the linear habits of the pen and ink drawings of his training in Verona. 

The decoration of the room was Veronese's first major independent commission in Venice, awarded to him on the basis of his work, in collaboration with other artists, on the adjoining Sala delle Udienze, and generally dated to 1553-54.  In writing about the painting, Pignatti particularly admires Veronese's arrangement of the Virtues, with the elegant play of the forms of their drapery and their raised arms, details which Veronese is studying in the present drawing.1 

The beginnings of the Sagredo collection are believed to lie with Doge Nicolò Sagredo who acquired a large number of drawings from the Bassano studio in 1651.  His collection passed to his brother Stefano and then to his son Zaccaria who added greatly to the collection, especially by his acquisition of the Caliari family collection.  The Sagredo drawings were kept in albums and can be recognised by the familiar corner tabs and pen inscriptions.  The collection seems to have begun to be dispersed in the early 19th century and a large portion was sold in Lyon in 1919.  The present drawing was among a group acquired by a French collector at that time.

1. T. Pignatti and F. Pedrocco, Veronese, Milan 1995, vol. I, p. 64