BACCIO BANDINELLI | TWO NUDES, ONE HOLDING A CLOTH

Formerly in a portfolio inscribed 'S.2' with the bookplate of Edward, Earl of Powis (Edward Clive, 1st Earl of Powis of the third creation (1754-1839),

thence by inheritance to his second son, Robert Henry Clive (1789-1854), of Oakly Park, Shropshire, M.P. for South Shropshire,

thence by descent to Robert Windsor-Clive (1824-1859) and his son Robert George, Baron Windsor (1859-1923), for whom the earldom of Plymouth was revived in 1905,

thence by descent,

sale, London, Christie's, Important Old Master Drawings including Property of The Earl of Plymouth, 1 July 1986, lot 110

R. Ward, Baccio Bandinelli as a Draughtsman, unpublished Ph. D Thesis, University of London, 1982, no. 266 (D)

This grand, large scale sheet by Baccio Bandinelli illustrates the artist's mastery of pen and ink. His ability to create form, through his system of crosshatching, reflect the artist’s main activity as a sculptor. Bandinelli executed a number of studies of standing male nudes and figures in movement throughout his career which makes this type of drawing difficult to date. 

We are most grateful to Dr. Roger Ward who, having seen the original drawing at the time of the 1986 sale, has kindly re-confirmed the attribution on the basis of a photograph. Dr Ward remarks on the handling of the principal figure, which is so characteristic of Bandinelli's working methods, commenting on how the artist builds up form in layers, from the multiple contours of the calves to the zig-zag hatching of his left arm.