- 18
Jacopo Palma, called Il Giovane
Description
- Jacopo Palma, called Il Giovane
- recto: the madonna and child with st. jerome and a warrior saintverso: study of the head of a young woman
Pen and brown ink and wash (recto);
red and black chalk with touches of white heightening on buff paper (verso);
bears numbering in brown ink on the verso: 29
Provenance
Chavaillon Collection;
sale, Châtellevault, Etude Sabourin, 31 May 2003, lot 76, where bought by the present owner
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
This pen and ink sketch is utterly characteristic of Palma's style. Strangely, however, he seems to have made almost no paintings of this kind of classic Venetian horizontal composition of the Madonna and Child adored by saints. It is tempting to suppose, therefore, that this is an instance of Palma's making a study after a work by an earlier Venetian artist.
The attractive head on the verso, somewhat unusual in the combination of chalks, seems drawn from life and could have served in any number of Palma's compositions.
A weaker version, of the recto, possibly a copy, is in the Musée Fabre, Montpellier.1
1. C. Loisel et al., Venise, l'art de la Serenissima, Dessins des XVIIe et XVIIIe siècles, exhib. cat., Montpellier 2007, no. 3 (as Palma Giovane)