SEBASTIANO DEL PIOMBO
46 Cartoon of the Head of Saint
James
Black and white chalk, pricked for transfer on two joined
sheets of tan paper, silhouetted; H (max.): 30. i cm (n^7 /s
in.); W (max.): 30.6 cm (12 in.)
82.GB.ioy
MARKS AND INSCRIPTIONS: At right, inscribed 72 in
brown ink.
PROVENANCE: Private collection, Paris.
EXHIBITIONS: None.
BIBLIOGRAPHY: M. Hirst, Sebastiano del Piombo (Ox-
ford, 1981), p. 60; J. Martineau and C. Hope, eds.,
Genius of Venice 1500-1600, exh. cat., Royal Academy
of Arts, London, 1983, p. 282, under no. 059.THIS CARTOON WAS DRAWN BY SEBASTIANO FOR THE
figure of Saint James in the Transfiguration fresco in the
upper part of the chapel of Pierfrancesco Borgherini in
San Pietro in Montorio, Rome. The project as a whole
spanned the years 1516-1524. The cartoon was preceded
by a squared study for the figure of Saint James at Chats-
worth (inv. 47 ; Hirst 1981, pi. 86). In that drawing and
in the fresco itself, the head of the saint is shown at a sharp
angle, and the joins of the sheets making up the cartoon
indicate that it too was composed in this way.^1 The car-
toon has been silhouetted,and somewhat damaged, but
still retains the great sculptural impact Sebastiano in-
tended. This sole surviving cartoon by Sebastiano was
first identified by A. S. Harris while it was in a private
collection in Paris.I. The cartoon was laid down showing the head with no tilt at
all until its acquisition by the Museum. It was then removed
from its old mount by A. Yow and set at the correct angle.114 ITALIAN SCHOOL • SEBASTIANO DEL PIOMBO