Master Works on Paper from Five Centuries
Master Works on Paper from Five Centuries
Four putti holding two flags and a helmet
Auction Closed
January 26, 04:31 PM GMT
Estimate
15,000 - 20,000 USD
Lot Details
Description
Nicolò dell' Abate
Modena 1509/12 - 1571 Fontainebleau (?)
Four putti holding two flags and a helmet
Black chalk heightened with white chalk; silhouetted above the figures and laid down
179 by 176 mm; 7⅛ by 7 in.
A typical example of Nicolò dell' Abate's graphic style, the present sheet is compositionally reminiscent of a red chalk study of two putti, at Chatsworth, which was identified by Sylvie Béguin as a preparatory study for one of the groups of putti dividing the various scenes from the Life of Camilla, frescoed by Nicolò in a room in the Palazzo Poggi, Bologna (circa 1550).1
The plumed helmet held by the putto to the left of the present composition and the standards to the right are symbols of war, an appropriate subject for such a room, though the decorations as executed are in fact not so elaborate and include a smaller number of putti. Furthermore, the style of the drawing appears to be more mature than one would expect at this time, so this study may actually relate to a different project, from later in the artist's career.
1. S. M. Béguin, Nicolò dell' Abate, exhib. cat., Bologna, Palazzo dell' Archiginnasio, 1969, pp. 105-106, cat. no. 47, reproduced fig. 47; M. Jaffé, The Devonshire Collection of Italian Drawings, Bolognese and Emilian Schools p. 36, cat. 433, reproduced p. 37