Ferrarese School, circa 1480

Laid down. Due to the thick preparation there are a few cracks and scratches scattered around. Two small vertical cracks one below the nose to the neck and another from the neck to the beginning of his mantle. Another similar one in length to the right and a few other small horizontal scratches at the level of his cushion and hat and few tiny losses of pigments. A longer crack along the right leg over the mantle and another running vertically below the book, a scratch and a few losses of pigment just below the right arm. Another crack running horizontally just above his feet and a slighter wider one to the left top of the composition. Some surface rubbing at the bottom and the top. Sold unframed.
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This preparatory study for the tomb of the famous fifteenth century humanist, Niccolò Perotti, is a rare surviving example of a modello probably made to present to the patron.  We are grateful to Dr. Paul Taylor for identifying the monument's subject.  Perotti, who was the author of the first modern Latin school grammar, died in 1480, the terminus post quem for the execution of the present sheet.  He was buried in the cathedral of Manfredonia, in Puglia, but today no evidence of his tomb remains.  In the 17th century the cathedral was completely destroyed, first by the Turks and then by the earthquake of 1688.  The tomb, which was probably executed in marble or stone, must have been on the floor of the cathedral.  This modello clearly shows some six different choices for the design of the border of the tomb, and two choices, embroidered or plain, for the pleated cloth below the tasseled pillow where the humanist's head is resting.  His hands are crossed over a large book, while another lies under his feet.  The capital letters inscribed on the base, before the date of his death, MCCCCLXXX, correspond to the first line of Perotti's 'Rudimenta Grammatices', printed by Pannartz and Sweynheim in 1473. The famous text was being sold all over Europe by the end of the century, and was reprinted one hundred and seventeen times.

Drawing on a thick green preparation, the artist of this fascinating sheet has skilfully used both pen and brown ink and the point of the brush dipped in a darker shade of brown ink to create strong contrasts, emphasized by the use of white heightening.  He has enhanced the volumes and indicated the depth of the sculpted drapery, suggesting the illusion of a three dimensional work.  Stylistically, the drawing is close to the work of the Ferrarese artist Cosmè Tura (1430-1495), painter to the Este court until the mid 1480s.  The subtle and elaborate indication of folds is also reminiscent of four sculpted Saints, especially Saint George and Saint Francis, which were finished around 1460, now in the museum of the cathedral of Ferrara.¹  Dr. Richard Stemp has attributed these full length figures to Bernardo Rossellino (1409-1464).  It is not, perhaps, surprising that the present drawing reflects stylistic trends still fashionable in Ferrara in the late 15th century, and has resonances of sculptural examples introduced to the city by Florentine masters.  During the quattrocento in Ferrara painters and sculptors worked closely together and were aware of each other's works and innovative ideas.

Most interestingly, it was common in the 15th century in Puglia for works to be commissioned from artists active in the north of Italy, especially those from Ferrara and Venice.  There were strong commercial links between the two regions and as those northern Italian cities were recognized as centers of great artistic achievement, it would be logical that patrons would turn to them for important sculptures and paintings, such as the tomb of such a distinguished scholar.

1.  Cosmè Tura e Francesco del Cossa, L'arte a Ferrara nell'età di Borso d' Este, exhib. cat., Ferrara, Palazzo dei Diamanti, Palazzo Schifanoia, 2007-2008, pp. 378-381, reproduced