Giovanni Battista Gaulli, called Il Baciccio

Sale, London, Sotheby's, 5 December 1977, lot 53, reproduced

B. Canestro Chiovenda, 'La morte di S. Francesco Saverio di G. B. Gaulli....Altre opere attribuite o inedite,' Commentari, vol. XXVIII, no. 4, 1977, fig. 18;
Mario Di Giampaolo, Dal Disegno all'Opera compiuta, exhib. cat., Torgiano, Museo del Vino, 1987, p. 68, under no. 25;
Francesco Petrucci, Baciccio, Rome 2009, p. 509, no. B34.4, reproduced

Some surface dirt; bottom edge uneven; tear bottom left, going into leg of putto; attached to mount at various points around edge.
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.

These are studies related to Baciccio's ceiling fresco Christ in Glory Receiving Franciscan Saints, in Santi Apostoli, Rome (fig.1), painted, apparently in two months, in 1707 and paid for by Cardinal Giorgio Cornaro, Bishop of Padua and titular pastor of Santi Apostoli.¹  The standing putto to the left does not appear in the fresco, but the others do, differently placed in relation to each other, and holding, respectively, a mitre, a cardinal's hat, a crown and a crozier.  It is probable that the attributes they hold refer to the patron rather than to any of the saints depicted.  An unusually large number of drawings related to the composition are known: fourteen in Düsseldorf, one in Oxford and another in Berlin.²  All are on the same white paper and of the same size as the present study.   A bozzetto for the ceiling is in a private collection.³ 

Mario Di Giampaolo compared this with a similar drawing of five putti which is related to Baciccio's Madonna and Child with St. Anne, painted circa 1675 for S. Francesco a Ripa, Rome.  This charming and lively study is utterly characteristic of Baciccio's style and of his use of pen and brown ink and gray wash, and perfectly illustrates the description given by the great 18th century French collector, A.-J. Dezallier d'Argenville: 'Les desseins du Bacici sont chauds & d'une touche très spirituelle; le feu qu'ils font paroître fait oublier l'incorrection & le peu de détail qui s'y trouvent, la tournure des figures est charmante.  Ces desseins sont faits à un trait de plume lavés à l'encre de la Chine...l'esprit, les beaux racourcis, la grande ordonnance & l'intelligence des lumières se réünissent dans ce maître dont le goût est le même que celui du Bernin.'⁴ 

1.  R. Engass, The Painting of Baciccio, University Park, Pennsylvania 1964, p. 142, reproduced fig. 134
2.  D. Graf, Die Handzeichnungen von Guglielmo Cortese und Giovanni Battista Gaulli, Düsseldorf 1976, p. 134-137, nos. 410-423 and H. Macandrew, 'Baciccio's Later Drawings', Master Drawings, vol. x, no. 3 (1972), pp. 246-7
3.  Il Baciccio, exhib. cat., Ariccia, Palazzo Chigi, 1999-200, p. 151, no. 31, reproduced
4.  Abrégé de la vie des plus fameux peintres, Paris 1745, vol. I, p. 391, quoted in Macandrew, op. cit., p. 231