Francesco Montelatici, called Cecco Bravo

C.R. Rudolf, London,
his sale, London, Sotheby's, 19 May 1977, lot 69

London, Arts Council, Old Master Drawings from the Collection of Mr C.R. Rudolf, 1962, no. 14

Window mounted. All four corners have been restored, most significantly at the lower left corner. There is staining around the edges of the sheet and at all four corners.
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.

Grand and impressive, this large sheet is one of a number of studies of male nudes by Cecco Bravo that have survived.  Some are executed in black chalk, others in red chalk, sometimes heightened with white, and in a combination of red and black chalk which the artist used to such effect in his compositional drawings.  There are two major holdings of these academies: the National Gallery of Scotland and the Uffizi.¹ The present study accords well with those examples, both in technique and in the presence of the numbering, Many of the nudes, like the present figure, have been given wings and are thought to be connected with Cecco's lost fresco of the Fall of the Rebel Angels, painted circa 1648 in SS. Michele e Gaetano, Florence.

^1. K. Andrews, National Gallery of Scotland, Catalogue of Italian Drawings, Cambridge 1968, vol. I, pp. 75-77., nos. D1956-72, vol. II, figs 527-43 and A. R. Masetti, Cecco Bravo, Venice 1962, nos. 81-104