Cartouche with Two Caryatids

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Specifications

Title	Cartouche with Two Caryatids
Material and technique	Pen and brown ink, brown wash
Object type	Drawing > Two-dimensional object > Art object
Location	This object is travelling

Dimensions	Height 273 mm Width 246 mm
Artists	Workshop of: Giorgio Vasari
Accession number	I 392 di. (PK)
Credits	Loan Stichting Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen (former Koenigs collection), 1940
Department	Drawings & Prints
Acquisition date	1940
Creation date	in circa 1550-1575
Watermark	geen (vH, 7P)
Inscriptions	'Di Gio: Antonio Pordanone' (mount, verso, lower centre, pen and brown ink, probably/possibly by Vasari: see Luijten/Meij 1990)
Collector	Collector / Franz Koenigs
Provenance	Giorgio Vasari (1511-1574, L.2480 in dorso, ‘Di Gio: Antonio Pordanone'), Arezzo/Florence/Rome; Pietro Vasari (1526-1595), Florence; Francesco I de’ Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany (1541-1587), Florence; probably Antoine-Joseph Dezallier d'Argenville (1680-1765, L.2951 deest), Paris (according to Woodburn); his sale, Paris (Rémy) 18-28.01.1779, possibly part of lot 3 (Michelangelo), 156, 157 or 159 (Pordenone); Sir Thomas Lawrence (1769-1830, L.2445), London; Art dealer Samuel Woodburn (1781-1853, L.2584), acquired with the Lawrence Collection in 1834, cat. London 1836c, tenth exhibition, no. 39 (Michelangelo, portrait of Ariosto, cartouche by Vasari, £105); Willem II, King of the Netherlands; his sale, The Hague (De Vries, Roos, Brondgeest) 12.08.1850, lot 164, voor Fl 320 to 'Weimar' as 'Michelangelo, portrait of Ariosto'); his daughter Princess Sophie van Oranje-Nassau (1824-1897), Grand Duchess von Sachsen-Weimar-Eisenach, Weimar; her husband Grand Duke Karl Alexander von Sachsen-Weimar-Eisenach (1818-1901) Weimar; their grandson Grand Duke Wilhelm Ernst von Sachsen-Weimar-Eisenach (1876-1923), Weimar; Art dealer Julius W. Böhler (1883-1966), Lucerne; Franz W. Koenigs (1881-1941, L.1023a), Haarlem, acquired in 1929 (Luini; mount by Giorgio Vasari); D.G. van Beuningen (1877-1955), Rotterdam, acquired with the Koenigs Collection in 1940 and donated to Stichting Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen
Exhibitions	London 1836c, no. 39 (Michelangelo, Portrait of Ariosto); Rotterdam/New York 1990, no. 63; Florence 2000, no. 5a-5b; Rotterdam 2006 (Kunstenaarsportretten); Rotterdam 2007 (no cat., de coll.1) Rotterdam 2009 (coll 2 kw 1); St Petersburg/Dordrecht/Luxembourg 2014, no. 177; Rotterdam (Rondom Fra B.) 2016; Paris/Stockholm 2022-23, no. 22 (Paris only)
Internal exhibitions	Van Pisanello tot Cézanne (1992)
External exhibitions	Giorgio Vasari: The Book of Drawings (2022) Giorgio Vasari: The Book of Drawings (2022)
Research	Show research Italian Drawings 1400-1600
Literature	London 1836, no. 39 (Michelangelo, portrait of Ariosto, cartouche by Vasari); Von Ritgen 1865, pl. 26 (Michelangelo); Weigel 1865, no. 4939 (Parmigianino school); Kris 1929, vol. 1, pp. 56, 165, vol. 2, pl. 218 (Florentine school); Suida 1929, p. 237 (Bernardino Luini); Kurz 1937, p. 38, pl. 34 (Bernardino Luini); Vienna 1963, p. 3, under no. 7 (Parmigianino); Pope-Hennessy 1964, vol. 1, pp. 488-489, under no. 517 (Florentine school); Prinz 1966, p. 132, no. 114; Popham 1971, vol. 1, p. 178, no. 569, vol. 3, pl. 430 (Parmigianino); Ragghianti Collobi 1971, p. 43, fig. 24 (Parmigianino; mount by Gherardi?); Ragghianti Collobi 1972, p. 51 (Parmigianino; mount attrib. Gherardi); Ragghianti Collobi 1974, vol. 1, pp. 126, 183-184, vol. II, p. 213, pl. 486 (Valerio Belli; mount attrib. Gherardi); Burns/Fairbairn/Boucher 1975, p. 97, under no. 181 (attrib. Parmigianino); London 1983, p. 174, under no. 142 (attrib. Parmigianino); Florence/Rome 1983-84, pp. 72-73, under no. 24 (Parmigianino); Graham Pollard 1984-85, p. 1329, under no. 777 (Parmigianino, 1527-1530); Gardner von Teuffel 1987, p. 665, fig. 12 (attrib. Parmigianino); Luijten/Meij 1990, pp. 177-178, no. 63, ill. (Parmigianino); Scailliérez 1994, p. 36, fig. 12c (attrib. Parmigianino); Labbé/Bicart-Sée 1996, p. 174, ill. (Parmigianino); Börner 1996, p. 190, under no. 828 (Parmigianino); Van Tuyll van Serooskerken 2000, p. 351, under no. 353 (Parmigianino); Van der Windt in Florence 2000, p. 14, no. 5a-5b, ill. (Parmigianino); Burns/Collareta/Gasparotto 2000, pp. 38, 41, 62-63, 267-268, 270-271, 274, no. 2, ill. (Anon. Northern Italy); Ferino-Pagden 2002, p. 73 (Parmigianino); Monbeig Goguel 2002, p. 282 (Parmigianino?); Parma/Vienna 2003, p. 402, under no. III.3.19 (Parmigianino); Attwood 2003, p. 231-232, under no. 414 (Parmigianino); Graham Pollard 2007, pp. 448-449 (Parmigianino); Joannides 2007, p. 2, Appendix 2, A, no. 28 (p. 408), B, no. 39 (p. 415), C, no. 20 (p. 422), D. no. 164, p. 424 and Commentary p. 432 (Parmigianino); Gnann 2007, vol. 1, pp. 175-176, 317 and 445, no. 599, vol. 2, p. 474, ill. (Parmigianino); Davis 2007, p. 264 (Parmigianino); St Petersburg/Dordrecht/Luxembourg 2014, pp. 278-279, no. 177, ill. (Parmigianino); Eitel-Porter 2015, pp. 426-427, fig. 3 (Parmigianino); Paris/Stockholm 2022, pp. 70, 85 and 218, no. 22, ill. (Parmigianino; mount attrib. Vasari or workshop); London 2022, p. 266 (Parmigianino)
Material	Pen > Artist's material > Material > Material and technique Brown ink > Ink > Artist's material > Material > Material and technique
Object	Drawing > Two-dimensional object > Art object
Technique	Brown wash > Washing > Wash > Drawing technique > Technique > Material and technique
Geographical origin	Italy > Southern Europe > Europe
Place of manufacture	Florence > Tuscany > Italy > Southern Europe > Europe

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Entry catalogue Italian Drawings 1400-1600

Author: Maud Guichané

This delicate red chalk drawing depicts Valerio Belli (c.1468-1546). The features of this famous Renaissance medallist and hardstone engraver from Vicenza are well known thanks to several effigies executed in the sixteenth century: a small portrait painted by Raphael (1483-1520),^[1]a marble relief whose attribution remains uncertain,^[2]and a medal, often considered to be a self-portrait.^[3]In each of these works, the model is depicted in full profile turned to the left, in the manner of the antique and probably in reference to Belli's activity. The resemblance between these portraits is striking. The links between the works and their respective chronologies have been the subject of numerous hypotheses.^[4]However, until the attribution and dating of these works are clearly established, it seems impossible to determine whether the Rotterdam drawing played a role in their creation.

It is nevertheless accepted that our drawing served as a model for the accompanying woodcut that illustrates the biography of Belli in the second edition of Giorgio Vasari’s Vite (Giunti, 1568) (fig.). From the 1540s onwards, Vasari set about collecting the portraits of the artists featured in this book, and from 1560 he undertook to have them engraved.^[5] Vasari kept this drawing in his Libro de’ Disegni,^[6]as can be seen from the brown ink mount that was made by the artist or by one of his assistants.^[7]The iconography of the caryatid and Persian telamon foreshadows the engraved framing for the sculptors’ portraits in the Vite, but the strong illusion of depth is unusual for a Vasari mount.^[8]

Revealed on the verso of the sheet when the backing was removed is an inscription – whose sixteenth-century spelling may be by Vasari himself^[9]– referring to Giovanni Antonio de’ Sacchis, known as Il Pordenone (1483-1539). If this is Vasari’s attribution for this drawing, it was quickly and permanently forgotten, changing several times as the sheet passed through several prestigious collections.^[10]For Sir Thomas Lawrence, Samuel Woodburn and later William II, the work was by Michelangelo and represented Ariosto.^[11]Later, the drawing was given to an anonymous artist from Northern Italy^[12]or from the Florentine school^[13]and then to Leonardo's follower, Bernardino Luini (c.1485-1532).^[14] It was even considered for a time to be a self-portrait by Valerio Belli, and thus a rare example of his graphic activity.^[15]Weigel in 1865 suggested the name of Parmigianino.^[16]His proposal was not taken up again until 1963 by Oberhuber.^[17] Confirmed by Popham in 1971, this attribution is still essentially retained today.^[18]

Belli was in Rome from 1520 and Parmigianino stayed there from 1524 to 1527. It is possible that the portrait was made there,^[19]unless the two artists met earlier, in the early 1520s.^[20]Few portraits drawn by Parmigianino are known and the attribution is based primarily on stylistic considerations. We can see his subtle handling of the red chalk, as well as the modelling of the face, and his mastery of the line and hatching.^[21] This refined manner can be found in other portrait studies in red chalk such as the presumed portrait of Giorgio Anselmi,^[22]or that of a knight of the Order of Malta.^[23]

Footnotes

^[1]Formerly in Collection Kenneth Clark, New York, c.1517-1520, oil on panel, 12.5 cm (diam.), Madrid, Abelló Collection. See London 1983, pp. 174-75, no. 142; Rome 2020, pp. 266-67, no. V.46; London 2022, pp. 266-67, no. 77.

^[2]Anonymous, possibly Valerio Belli (?), c.1530-1540, marble, 54.1 x 45 x 10 cm, London, Victoria and Albert Museum, inv. A.4-1932. See Pope-Hennessy 1964, vol. 2, pp. 488-89, no. 517, vol. 3, fig. 513 (Florentine School); Burns/Collareta/Gasparotto 2000, pp. 271-73, no. 3 (anonymous); Donati 2004, p. 15 (Michelangelo); Davis 2007, pp. 269-71 (Belli?).

^[3]One of the best copies of this medal in lead or bronze is kept in Washington: lead, 4.79 cm (diam.), Washington, National Gallery of Art, inv. 1957.14.1312; see Attwood 2003, pp. 231-32, no. 414; Graham Pollard 2007, pp. 448-49. Because of its poor quality of execution, Davis (2007, pp. 263-64 and note 52) attributes it to Camillo Mariani, c.1590. It would therefore be posthumous to Belli. The attribution of the medal to Belli had also been rejected by Burns/Collareta/Gasparotto 2000, p. 196.

^[4]Burns/Collareta/Gasparotto 2000, pp. 41-42, 62-63, 161-62, 267-75. For example, the drawing was regularly considered as preparatory for the medal: Kris 1929, vol. 1, pp. 56, 165, vol. 2, pl. 218; Rotterdam/New York 1990, p. 177, no. 63; Florence 2000, p. 14, nos. 5a and 5b; Gnann 2007, p. 175. According to Charles Davis, the iconography of Valerio Belli depends on only two prototypes: the medal and the Rotterdam drawing (Davis 2007, p. 264). Kurz (1937, p. 38), Prinz (1966, p. 132, no. 114) and Gardner von Teuffel (1987, p. 665, fig. 12) link the drawing with the medal, but also with relief and xylography, and even Raphael’s portrait.

^[5]The production process of these engraved portraits is now well documented: see recent publications by Moretti 2018, passim and Paris/Stockholm 2022, pp. 83-84.

^[6]Vasari’s provenance has been confirmed by the recent study in Paris/Stockholm 2022. See also Kurz 1937, p. 38, pl. 34; Prinz 1966, p. 132, no. 114. Shearman and Gasparotto (in Burns/Collareta/Gasparotto 2000, p. 270, cat. 2) are the only ones to refute this provenance.

^[7]Only three mounts are now attributed to Vasari with any certainty. Most of the mounts executed in his entourage seem to have been drawn by Jacoppo Zucchi, a skilled draughtsman and one of Vasari’s main collaborators; Paris/Stockholm 2022, p. 16. As for the mount of our sheet, Licia Collobi Ragghianti suggested C. Gherardi (Collobi Ragghianti 1972, p. 51; Collobi Ragghianti 1974, p. 126); her proposal was taken up in Rotterdam/New York 1990, p. 178, no. 63.

^[8]Paris/Stockholm 2022.

^[9]According to Rotterdam/New York 1990, p. 178, no. 63, the inscription could indeed reveal Vasari’s attribution and must have been made between the creation of the drawing and the addition of the mount. See also Hans van der Windt, in Florence 2000, p. 14, nos. 5a and 5b.

^[10]In the absence of initials or a number by Dezallier d'Argenville on the drawing (see L.2951), this element of the sheet’s provenance remains based on a tradition derived from the Woodburn catalogue. The hypothesis of Labbé and Bicart-Sée (1996, p. 174) that the work was among the drawings by Parmigianino in lots 107 or 496 of Dezallier d'Argenville’s sale cannot be maintained because it was based on a later attribution, suggested only from 1865 (see Weigel). In the eighteenth century and until the 1850 sale, the work was still called Pordenone or Michelangelo. For example, consider lots 3 (‘quatre belles études de figures dessinées à la plume, & une à la sanguine par Michel-Ange Buonaroti’), or lots 156-158, which include drawings by Pordenone.

^[11]Inventory of old masters drawings from Sir Thomas Lawrence’s collection, transcribed by Committee of the Burlington Fine Arts Club after the manuscript preserved in the Library of the Club, 1927; London 1836, no. 39; Catalogue des Tableaux anciens et modernes de Diverses écoles et statues formant la Galerie de feu sa Majesté Guillaume II, roi des Pays Bas, La Haye, De Vries, Roos, Brondgeest, 12-20 August 1850, lot 164; respectively published in Joannides 2007, Appendix 2, A, p. 408, no. 28 (26); B, pp. 415-16; D, p. 424, no. 164.

^[12]Shearman and Gasparotto in Burns/Collareta/Gasparotto 2000, p. 270-71, no. 2.

^[13]Kris 1929, vol. 1, pp. 56, 165, vol. 2, pl. 218.

^[14]Suida 1929, p. 237.

^[15]Collobi Ragghianti 1974, p. 126. According to her, the drawing itself derived from one of the known effigies of Belli. See also Burns in Burns/Collareta/Gasparotto 2000, pp. 38, 41.

^[16]Weigel 1865, p. 412, no. 4939: school of Parmigianino.

^[17]Oberhuber 1963, p. 3, under no. 7. Based on the comparison with Parmigianino’s drawn self-portrait in the Albertina in Vienna.

^[18]In particular Gnann 2007, p. 445, no. 599.

^[19]Rotterdam/New York 1990, p. 177, no. 63; Gnann 2007, p. 317.

^[20]It is interesting to note that shortly after 1527, Belli acquired from Pietro Aretino the famous Self-portrait with the Mirror painted by Parmigianino (Vienna, Kunsthistorisches Museum, Gemäldegalerie, inv. 286).

^[21]Rotterdam/New York/Fort Worth/Cleveland 1990, pp. 177-78, no. 63; Gnann 2007, p. 317.

^[22]Red chalk, 139 x 230 mm, New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art, inv. 1973.321.

^[23]Red chalk, 172 x 140 mm, Moscow, Pushkin Museum, inv. P-6190 verso.

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