27 David with the Head of
Goliath
Pen and brown ink; H: 29.5 cm (nVs in.); W: 21.6 cm
(8^ in.)
84.GA.6i
MARKS AND INSCRIPTIONS: At bottom left corner, col-
lection marks of Sir Thomas Lawrence (L. 2445), Nils
Barck (L. 1959),}. F. Gigoux (L. 1164).
PROVENANCE: Sir Thomas Lawrence, London; Nils
Barck, Paris and Madrid;}. F. Gigoux, Paris (sale, Hotel
Drouot, Paris, March 20-22, 1882, lot 125); private col-
lection, Switzerland; art market, Switzerland.
EXHIBITIONS: The Lawrence Gallery, Fourth Exhibition,
Woodburn's Gallery, London, 1836, no. 16.
BIBLIOGRAPHY: None.ALTHOUGH THE DEPICTION OF A BEARDED DAVID
with the head of Goliath is unusual, no alternative inter-
pretation of the iconography of this drawing has been
proposed. The drawing is closely related to Parmigia-
nino's Standard-Bearer in the British Museum, London
(inv. 185 8-7-24-7) .* The two sheets are comparable in
size, medium, and style, both being highly finished pre-
sentation sheets. In addition they both once belonged to
Lawrence and Barck and may have been considered a
pair. It is even possible that Parmigianino made them as
pendants, especially since their principal figures are
shown in complementary poses. Such a pairing would
have been fully in keeping with the Mannerist delight in
complexly interrelated figures. Popham has placed the
British Museum sheet i n Parmigianino's second Parma
period,^2 a dating that would also apply to the Museum's
drawing.- A. E. Popham, Catalogue of the Drawings of Parmigianino
(New Haven, 1971), no. 255. - Ibid.
74 ITALIAN SCHOOL • PARMIGIANINO