Pietro Berrettini, called Pietro da Cortona

Sale, New York, Sotheby's, 13 January 1988, lot 30 (as Attributed to Pietro da Cortona)

J.M. Merz, Pietro da Cortona, Tübingen 1991, p. 48, note 206;
J.M. Merz, 'Life Drawings by Pietro da Cortona,' Master Drawings, vol. XLIII, no. 4, 2005, pp. 471-2; p. 480, no. A23, reproduced in color p. 474, fig. 21

Laid down. The red chalk remains vibrant and fresh. There is brown staining at the outer margins of the sheet and there some larger brown stains at the upper left corner. There is a small hole towards the lower left corner of the sheet. Sold in a 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.

Merz considers this an early work, of the 1620s, because of the way the nude is studied and represented.  His article (see Literature) presents a most interesting analysis of Cortona's male academies, of the placement of the models, of the technique of drawing them and of the purposes they served.  Later in his career Cortona was able to rely less literally on the posed model, but nonetheless it remained a regular part of his studio practice.

The drawing came for sale in 1988 from an album which had probably been compiled by a collector in Rome in the mid-18th century, perhaps directly from the contents of an artist's studio.  It contained a large number of drawings by Giovanni Battista Beinaschi for commissions in Naples and Rome, as well as works by different hands, many unattributed.  At that time the attribution to Cortona was proposed independently by both Nicholas Turner and Peter Dreyer.