Andrea Boscoli

Philippe Leroux, Paris,
from whom acquired by Dr. John O'Brien (L.4230)

This theatrical and vibrant composition, executed in Boscoli’s characteristic technique of fluid pen and ink enriched by abundant wash, encapsulates his ability to use bold chiaroscuro effects to create drama and atmosphere in his drawings.   

Taking full advantage of the intrinsic dynamism of his subject, Boscoli’s Stag Hunt mimics, in its draughtsmanship, the movement and anticipation of the mounted hunters and their dogs to the right of the composition.  The dark wash in this area effectively directs the viewer’s attention to the landscape beyond, heightening both the sense of movement, and the visual contrasts between the figures, horses and dogs that stand almost in relief, to the right, and the expanse of countryside filling the left section and background of the drawing.

Stylistically, this drawing shares certain similarities with Boscoli’s Metamorphoses drawings of the 1590s, especially in details such as the wispy trees.¹  The strong use of chiaroscuro can also be seen in works that the artist produced in the Marches between c.1600-1605, and it should therefore probably be dated to circa 1600. 

Another drawing by Boscoli of the same subject is in Christ Church, Oxford.²  In addition to the pen and ink and wash of the present drawing, the Oxford Stag Hunt also, somewhat unusually, incorporates watercolor.  Both sheets include similar motifs, including the large tree in the foreground and the staffage of very elongated stags and hounds, and in both the chiaroscuro effects are very pronounced.  It is interesting to note that Popham suggested that the Christ Church drawing may have been inspired by the hunting scene, designed by Federico Zuccaro in 1565, as the back-cloth for a comedy performed in Palazzo Vecchio, Florence, on the occasion of the marriage of Francesco de’ Medici to Giovanna of Austria.  Zuccaro’s grand hunting scene, in watercolor and tempera, is housed in the Uffizi, Florence^.3 

1.  Il Seicento Fiorentino, Arte a Firenze da Ferdinando I a Cosimo III, Disegno/Incisione/Scultura/Arti minori, exhib. cat., Florence, Palazzo Strozzi, 1986-87, p. 106, cat. no. 2.48

2.  J. Byam Shaw, Drawings by Old Masters at Christ Church Oxford, Oxford 1976, no. 233, reproduced pl. 1553.

3.  J. Gere, Disegni degli Zuccari, Florence 1966, cat. 48, pl. 33