DOMENICO BECCAFUMI
6 Study for the Figure of
Abraham
Pen and brown ink and brown wash; H: 15.3 cm (6 in.);
W: 9.3 cm (3II/i6in.)
83.00.1 8MARKS AND INSCRIPTIONS: (Recto) at bottom right
corner, inscribed 77 in brown ink; on mount, at bottom
right corner, collection mark of Richard Cosway
(L. 628); (verso) on mount, inscribed Eseguito nel pavi-
mento de Duomo di Siena che... in brown ink.
PROVENANCE: Richard Cosway, London (sale, Stan-
ley's, London, February 19, 1822, lot 896); sale, Sothe-
by's, London, November 15, 1961, lot 249; private col-
lection, Paris.
EXHIBITIONS: Dessins fran^ais et italiens du XVIe et du
XVIIe siecle dans les collections privees fran^aises, Galerie
Claude Aubry, Paris, December 1971, no. 8.
BIBLIOGRAPHY: D. Sanminiatelli, Domenico Beccafumi
(Milan, 1967), p. 154, no. 75; G. Brigand and E. Bac-
cheschi, L'opera completa di Beccafumi (Milan, 1977), p.
no, under no. 162.
THIS DRAWING IS A PREPARATORY STUDY FOR THE
pavement showing the Sacrifice of Isaac which was de-
signed by Beccafumi for the cathedral of Siena in 1547.
Although a number of minor differences exist between
the drawing and the pavement, the former established
the basic pose and gesture of the figure of Abraham. The
figure of Isaac in the drawing appears to reflect a knowl-
edge of the Belvedere Torso, while in the pavement
Isaac's pose seems closer to a Hellenistic type of the kneel-
ing Venus that was admired in the sixteenth century.
The application of wash in broad areas of the draw-
ing indicates its relationship to a final medium in which
tonal areas had to be dealt with quite broadly. In the
drawing Beccafumi used a wide patch of wash to dra-
matically hide Abraham's face, an approach he altered in
the pavement, where the figure is brightly lit except at
the left. The idiosyncratic draughtsmanship, a hallmark
of the artist's manner, was given freest rein in the ren-
dering of the hands and feet. Overall, the drawing is
most akin to a study of an angel, perhaps used for this
same pavement, and another of a man striding forward,
both in the Uffizi (inv. 10762, 1260).30 ITALIAN SCHOOL • BECCAFUMI