Master Works on Paper from Five Centuries
Master Works on Paper from Five Centuries
Bacchanale
Auction Closed
January 26, 04:31 PM GMT
Estimate
20,000 - 30,000 USD
Lot Details
Description
Giulio Raibolini, called Giulio Francia
1487 - 1545
Bacchanale
Pen and brown ink and wash
254 by 197 mm; 10 by 7¾ in.
Giulio Francia was the son of the Bolognese painter and goldsmith Francesco Francia (1447-1517) and, alongside his brother Giacomo, assumed responsibility for the family workshop upon the death of their father in 1517. Both brothers clearly absorbed their father's graphic style which was itself so clearly indebted to Mantegna.
Drawings by Giulio and Giacomo Francia are exceedingly rare. Emilio Negro (see Literature) has identified only five sheets that can be attributed to the Francia brothers, including the present one which he believes to be by Giulio. The other four are in the British Museum, London,1 the Princeton University Art Museum,2 the Royal Collection, Windsor3 and in the Uffizi, Florence.4
The reappearance of the present work on the market for the first time in nearly forty years, with its strong classicizing influences and playful subject matter, therefore provides a unique opportunity for private and institutional collectors alike.
1. London, British Museum, inv. no. 1911,1018.3; Negro and Roio, op. cit. p. 105, fig, 147
2. Windsor, Royal Collection, RCIN 990297; ibid., p. 110, under note 44
3. Princeton, Princeton University Art Museum, inv. no. 1947-177; ibid.
4. Florence, Uffizi, inv. no. 582 E (as Bagnacavallo); ibid.