Lot 534
  • 534

Giovanni Battista Castello, called Il Bergamasco

Estimate
8,000 - 12,000 USD
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Description

  • Giovanni Battista Castello, called Il Bergamasco
  • the martyrdom of st. sebastian
  • Pen and brown ink and wash over black chalk, pricked for transfer

Provenance

Sale, Florence, Sotheby's, 18 October 1969, lot D86 (as Luca Cambiaso), reproduced

Literature

Lauro Magnani, Luca Cambiaso da Genova all' Escorial, Genoa 1995, pp. 187-88, reproduced fig. 205 and pp. 207-8, note 2

Condition

The drawing appears to be laid down and it is attached in places to the mount dating to the 1950s. The margins are buckled, possibly there is some sort of remains of where the drawing was hinged or glued before being put into the present mount . The drawing countours are pricked so in few cases like to the right margin at the level of the column the pricking has created a tear. Paper looks slightly brittle and the ink a bit sunk. It is framed in a modern plain wooden frame.
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

This is the preparatory study for Castello's large altarpiece, commissioned in 1561 by Taddeo Spinola for the church of S. Sebastiano, Genoa.  The work, in situ by 1562, was executed on canvas, which may have influenced Cambiaso who, as Magnani points out (op. cit.), was still working on panel.  The present study can be closely compared with Cambiaso's drawing of the same subject and of about the same date, formerly in the Suida Manning collection and now in the Blanton Museum of Art, Texas.Castello's altarpiece, almost five meters high, is now in the convent of the Monache Agostiniane di Santa Chiara e San Sebastiano, Genoa.

1. See J. Bober, I grandi disegni italiani del Blanton Museum of Art dell'Università del Texas, Milan 2001, no. 11, reproduced