Italian Ceramics: Catalogue of the J. Paul Getty Museum Collection

e t y w e c g e h s t e h [ a o w u o q a e a s c

29

Plate with the

Abduction of Helen

Francesco Xanto Avelli (Rovigo,

ca. 1486/87-ca. 1544)

Urbino

1534

Tin-glazed earthenware

H: 6.3 cm (2V2 in.)

Diam: 46.1 cm (18 Vs in.)

84.DE.118

MARKS AND INSCRIPTIONS

On the reverse, in blue, M.D.XXXIIII/Quest'el

pastor che mal mird'l bel/volto/D'Helena Greca,

e, quel famoso rapto/pel qua! fu'l mondo sotto

sopra volto. /.Fra[ncesco]:Xa[n]to. A[velli]. Ida

Rovigo, i[n]lUrbino.

CONDITION

Minor cracks and repairs, partly overpainted, on

the rim; break in the upper-left section of the dish,

with moderate to heavy overpainting; some glaze

faults; seven stilt marks on the obverse along the

rim (originally there were eight, but one is missing

because of the repair).

PROVENANCE

Sold, Sotheby's, London, November 21, 1978,

lot 44; [Rainer Zietz, Ltd., London, sold to the

J. Paul Getty Museum, 1984].

EXHIBITIONS

Objects for a "Wunderkammer," P. D. Colnaghi

and Co. Ltd., London, June 10-July 31, 1981.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Christie's Review 1976, 397; Gonzalez-Palacios

1981A, 124-25, no. 65; GettyMusJ 13 (1985): 243,

no. 176; Bojani 1988, 129; Hess 1988A, no. 31;

Roseo 1995, fig. 19; Summary Catalogue 2001,

no. 367.

THE ENTIRE OBVERSE SURFACE OF THIS LARGE istoh-

ato plate is painted with a scene of the Abduction of He­

len by the Trojans in brilliant blue, yellow, brown, ocher,

buff, orange, manganese purple, turquoise, several tones

of green, black, and opaque white. The warm, orange-

toned palette of this work is typical of Xanto's produc­

tion and of istohato painting in Urbino about 1530. The

center of the reverse is inscribed in blue with the date

and artist's signature as well as a verse, adapted from

Petrarch's "Triumph of Love,"^1 describing the painted

mythological scene: 1534 —This is the shepherd who ill-

fatedly admired the beautiful face of Helen of Greece—

and that famous abduction for which the world was

thrown into confusion. Francesco Xanto Avelli da

Rovigo in Urbino (fig. 29A).

Xanto was the most talented and prolific rival of the

celebrated early sixteenth-century ceramic artist Nicola

da Urbino.^2 Although an abundance of Xanto's works

have come down to us—many of which are signed,

dated, and otherwise inscribed—little is known about

the artist. He appears to have been an educated and

multitalented man. For his istoriato works and their in­

scriptions, he drew upon a variety of important artistic

and literary sources, which he often inventively modi­

fied to suit his compositions and verse. Xanto was also a

poet, writing a series of sonnets in honor of Francesco

Maria I della Rovere, Duke of Urbino (r. 1508-38).^3

These sonnets contain numerous allusions to historical

vents and therefore assist in establishing a biography of

he artist, as well as a chronology of his work.^4

Born in Rovigo, Xanto moved to Urbino by 1530, the

ear in which he began inscribing in Urbino on his

ares,^5 and for the following decade and a half he

xecuted a vast number of signed works exhibiting an ex­

eptional consistency of style. Timothy Wilson has sug­

ested that a trade dispute of 1530 in which Xanto was

mbroiled may have induced the artist to begin signing

is plates with his full name.^6

According to documents, Xanto was clearly a work­

hop employee at the time of this dispute. He attempted

o improve his position by banding together with other

mployees (dipendenti delVarte figulina) to demand

igher wages,- in response, a group of workshop heads

capi-bottega] agreed to resist the employees' demands

nd simply not hire them without the consent of the

ther capiJ It is certainly possible that by signing his

ares Xanto was attempting to wrest control of his prod­

cts from the workshop directors.

Xanto's works are distinguished by dynamic and vig­

rously modeled figures in crowded compositions fre­

uently based on engravings by Marcantonio Raimondi

nd others, which he often inventively and eclectically

xcerpted and recombined. For the present plate's istori­

to decoration, Xanto drew upon an engraving of the

ame subject either by Marcantonio or by Marco Dente,

alled Marco da Ravenna (active 1510-27), after Raphael

166