The Triumph of David, large full-page miniature [Italy (Rome), c.1550-75]

single leaf, 275x226mm, vellum, reverse blank, cut to shape, edges rubbed and lower border cropped, vellum cockled, with small creases and pigment loss, in an Italian carved walnut and parcel-gilt Renaissance frame

Condition is described in the main body of the cataloguing where appropriate.
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NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

An unusual and monumental miniature illuminated by one of Giulio Clovio's most talented pupils, one of his collaborators in the Towneley Lectionary, perhaps identifiable as the Fleming Maximilian de Monceau

provenance

The dimensions of the present miniature are similar to those of the final item sold in the famous Celotti sale of miniatures and cuttings: “David bearing in triumph the Head of Goliath, a highly finished miniature, height 10½, width 7½, by an unknown hand, after a design by Lucas Van Leyden”, attributed to the pontificate of Innocent XI (1676-89), Christie’s, 26 May 1825, lot 97.

illumination

The sophistication of the scene, the monumentality of the figures and the soft richness of the palette are close in style to Giulio Clovio, a Croatian artist mainly active in Rome (1498-1578). Clovio was praised by Vasari as the “Michelangelo of small works” (Le vite ... [1568], VII, 1965, pp.439-50). He was certainly the greatest illuminator active in Italy in the 16th century and, consequently, attracted and influenced generations of artists, both Italian and foreign, creating a school that caused manuscript illumination to continue and flourish at the papal court beyond the end of the century, despite the competition of mechanically decorated printed books.

The artist of the present miniature was one of Clovio’s most talented pupils. From Clovio he absorbed the ability to design a soft and atmospheric three-dimensional landscape, and to use colours and light to create forms and statuesque bodies, which are reminiscent of Michelangelo’s. He might not have had the ability to create the illusion of movement that characterises the works of the master, but his figures show a powerful strength and serenity. The treatment of the bodies, the facial features and the bright colours identify him as one of Clovio’s collaborators in the illustrious Towneley Lectionary for Cardinal Alessandro Farnese, produced in Rome in the 1550s and possibly later (New York, Public Library, MA 91, cf. the Charge of Saint Peter on f.11v, perhaps executed after Clovio’s death in 1578; see J.J.G. Alexander, The Towneley Lectionary Illuminated for Cardinal Alessandro Farnese by Giulio Clovio, 1997; idem in The Splendor of the Word, exh.cat., 2005, no.31).

Sylvia Pettenati discusses the artists that collaborated with Clovio and Claudio Massarelli (Clovio's favourite pupil) in the Towneley Lectionary: Alessandro da Como and the Flemish artist Maximilian de Monceau (Grandi pittori per piccole immagini, 1998, at pp.42-43). Italian art normally shows David holding Goliath's head in his hand. The unusual iconography of the present leaf, following the Flemish tradition of representing David holding Goliath’s head on the point of his victim’s sword, may suggest that the artist of the present miniature could well be Clovio's pupil Maximilian.

iconography

David shown returning in triumph holding the head of Goliath on the point of a sword, was used for instance by Lucas van Leyden for a glass panel c.1514 now in the Ambrosiana library (see Husband in The Luminous Image, 1995, cat.56), which was copied in a series of engravings and in a Flemish tapestry, c.1530 (Getty Museum, 97.P.7). The present leaf appears to be one of the first instances, if not the first, in which this iconography was used in Italy, well before Pietro da Cortona employed it in the decoration of Palazzo del Pigneto for the Sacchetti family (destroyed; known through a series of engravings).

The reverse is blank, and as the leaf is cut to shape, it is difficult to assess whether the leaf comes from a Psalter or was always intended as a free-standing miniature. The trompe-l’oeil frame of the present leaf is reminiscent of the frames in some of the Sistine chapel Choirbooks (in particular the Gradual, Cappella Sistina 8), and may suggest an origin in a codex; some of the miniatures in the Towneley Lectionary are blank on their recto. On the other hand, Alexander has convincingly shown that, after 1540, a market for single-leaf miniatures intended for diplomatic gifts flourished in Europe; he listed seven such miniatures produced by Clovio for this purpose (The Towneley Lectionary, p.13). The Triumph of David would have been a perfect subject for a rich and powerful 16th-century patron.

We are grateful to Laura Nuvoloni for her assistance in cataloguing this lot.