Agostino Carracci

John, Lord Northwick (1770-1859),
by inheritance at Northwick Park,
to Capt. E.G. Spencer-Churchill, 
sale, London, Sotheby's, 1 November 1920, lot 46 (as Annibale Carracci,
purchased at the sale, 25 s.);
sale, London, Christie's, Master Drawings from the Oppé Collection, 5 December 2006, lot 16

London, Royal Academy, Old Master Drawings, 1953, no. 160;
Bologna, Palazzo dell'Archiginnasio, Mostra dei Carracci, 1963, no. 92, pl. 48;
London, Royal Academy, The Paul Oppé Collection, 1958, no. 3;
Ottawa, National Gallery of Canada, Exhibition of Works from the Paul Oppé Collection, 1961, no. 113

D. Posner, Annibale Caracci, London, 1971, II, under no. 16, pl. 16b (as Annibale);
P.J. Coony and G. Malafarina, L'Opera Completa di Annibale Carracci, Milan 1976, no. 17.1 (as Annibale);
A. Brejon de Lavergnée and N. Volle, Seicento, le siècle de Caravage dans les collections françaises, exhib. cat., Paris, Grand Palais, and Milan, Palazzo Reale, 1988-1989, under no. 34;
C. Legrand, Le dessin à Bologne, 1580-1620, La réforme des trois Carracci, exhib. cat., Paris, Louvre 1994, under no. 46;
A. Sutherland Harris, 'Agostino Carracci's inventions: Pen-and-ink studies, 1582-1602', Master Drawings, XXXVIII (2000), p. 420, note 35 

Laid down on an old mount. A loss to the top right corner made up, and other small losses to the left top margin towards the corner, and some pinpoint holes lower right and two tiny losses also lower left towards the corner. Slight surface dirt, Overall in good condition. Media strong.
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Skilfully drawn, this very immediate image of a dwarf, pointing to the right while smiling at the viewer, relates to the dwarf in the far left foreground of the landscape known under the title Fête Champêtre, in the Musée des Beaux-Arts, Marseille (fig. 1). Scholars have often debated whether the painting is by Annibale or Agostino Carracci, a discussion that has also extended to the present drawing and another connected with the painting, a landscape with figures, now in the Louvre.¹ 

Posner, publishing the painting as Annibale, dated it circa 1584, around the time of the decoration of Palazzo Fava.  Clovis Whitfield, on the other hand, advocated the now generally accepted attribution to Agostino, and pointed out that the biographer Carlo Cesare Malvasia, in his 1678 history of Bolognese painting, described the painting as Agostino’s work: ‘Nell’ore appunto di quiete e di consolazione, stanchi dal lavoro nella sala de’signori Favi, operò per svariarsi e prender lena Agostino qu’paesi toccata di sopra, ov’è un ballo di villani, e i pifferi sul palco in uno…² (‘In the spare and quiet time, tired from working on the 'sala' of the 'signori' Fava, Agostino succeeded to have some sort of distraction and to recover new energy in painting the landscapes mentioned above, where there is a dance of 'villani', and musician playing pipes...’).³  Whitfield also argued for the attribution of the painting to Agostino on stylistic grounds, writing: 'In any case, the tight rendering of the detail is much more static than is characteristic of Annibale, while the figures are consistent with those of the Palazzo Fava fresco of Jason entrusting the Golden Fleece to Pelias.'⁴

Regarding the attribution of the Oppé drawing, scholarly opinion remains divided.  Ann Sutherland Harris is of the opinion that the drawing is closest to Agostino in style, and seems more calligraphic and less tonal than one would expect from Annibale, but Babette Bohn, who has not seen it in original, prefers an attribution to Annibale.⁵  Bohn argues that 'the regular shading could be ascribed to either Annibale or Agostino, but the sense of solidity that the shading conveys so successfully to the figure, the convincingly naturalistic way the figure turns complexly through space, and the engaging and humorous characterization of the face all suggest Annibale's hand.'  It has also been pointed out that the present sheet is indeed rather bolder and freer in handling than other early red chalk drawings known by Agostino, and is very close to the handling seen in Annibale's red chalk study, Young man removing his shirt, in the Louvre.⁶  The use of red chalk is common to all the Carracci, but at this early stage, it is Agostino's style that is the closest to that of his brother Annibale.  The Oppé sheet is rapidly sketched and built with uniform and decisive parallel strokes, and the artist seems especially concerned with the effect of light and shadow, a contrast which clearly defines this quick and lively image. 

Given the collective nature of the early works by the Carracci, especially during the time of their close collaboration on the decorations at Palazzo Fava, executed in 1583-1584, in which they surely tried very consciously to achieve an overall uniformity and a common language, it is not surprising also to find a similar stylistic overlap in their drawings.  It is very likely that in working together on the same projects they exchanged not only ideas, but even drawings, and under these circumstances there will always be drawings for which a firm conclusion regarding attribution remains elusive. This does not, however, in any way diminish the importance of this fine and very well preserved figure drawing, directly connected with a significant early Carracci painting.

^1. Paris, Louvre, inv. no. 7126; C. Loisel, Ludovico, Agostino, Annibale Carracci, Paris 2004, p. 295, no. 718, reproduced p. 294, fig. 718 (as Annibale)

^2. C.C. Malvasia, Felsina Pittrice Vite dei Pittori Bolognesi, ed. Zanotti, Bologna 1841, p. 334

^3. C. Whitfield, ‘The Landscapes of Agostino Carracci : Reflections on his role in the Carracci School,’ Les Carrache et les décors profanes, Actes du colloque organizé par l'Ecole française de Rome, 1988, pp. 78-80

^4. Ibid., p. 80; for an image of Agostino’s fresco in Palazzo Fava see A. Ottani, Gli affreschi dei Carracci, Bologna 1966, reproduced tav. 37

^5. Email communication, 24 May 2016 

^6. Paris, Louvre, inv no. 7230;  C. Loisel, op. cit., pp. 213-4, no. 429, reproduced p. 215