Girolamo da Carpi

Estimate

6,000 - 8,000 USD

bidding is closed

Description

Girolamo da Carpi
Combat of Greeks and Amazons with Achilles and Penthesilea
Pen and brown ink, made up at the bottom;
bears numbering in black ink, lower right: 4, and inscription in brown ink, on reverse of backing: Orig^l di Raffalle d'Urbino

Provenance

Possibly Sir Joshua Reynolds (bears mark on verso of old backing, similar to L.2364);
Paul Sandby (L.2112);
François Alziari, baron de Malaussena (L.1887)

Condition

Made up at the bottom. Laid down. Paper significantly browned, presumably by glue. Sold in a modern gilded 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 a copy after an important Roman sarcophagus of the first half of the 3rd century A.D., today in the Vatican Belvedere.¹ The sculpture is first specifically recorded in the Villa Giulia at the beginning of the 17th century, although it seems to have been known since the 15th. It was still in the Villa Giulia when Winckelmann was writing his important accounts of classical sculptures in the 1750s, and was moved to the Vatican only later in the 18th century.

The drawing, left partly unfinished, with some of the figures and horses quickly sketched, may have been cut on the left hand side, where the sculpted relief includes a few more figures. In the center to the right, Achilles holds the body of Penthesilea, a queen of the Amazons whom he has just killed. The hero was struck by her beauty and they fell in love with each other in the very moment before she was slain. Bober and Rubinstein point out that the poses of this group are closely inspired by the famous Greek sculpture of the 2nd century B.C., Menelaus carrying the body of Patroclus. ²

1. P. P. Bober and R. Rubinstein, Renaissance Artists and Antique Sculpture, London 1986, p. 176, no. 139, reproduced fig. 139;
2. Ibid., p. 187, no. 155, reproduced fig. 155