European Drawings 2: Catalogue of the Collections

2 Study of a Young Man

r

Study of a Standing Man with a

Beard (accidental offset)

v

Black chalk; H: 14.3 cm (5^5 / 8 in.); W: 9.7 cm (3I3/i6 in.)
Sy.GB.io

MARKS AND INSCRIPTIONS: (Recto) at bottom right, il-
legible inscription in brown ink, collection mark of N.
Dhikeos; on mount, inscribed S. F. n°. 245 in brown ink;
(verso) inscribed Bronzino(?) in brown ink.

PROVENANCE: Sagredo collection(?), Venice; de Bois-
sieu collection, Lyons; N. Dhikeos, Lyons; art market,
New York.

EXHIBITIONS: None.

BIBLIOGRAPHY: None.

THIS RECENTLY DISCOVERED DRAWING WAS MADE AS
a preparatory study for the young male servant standing
at the center of the Feast of Herod, a fresco in the Chiostro

dello Scalzo, Florence. The pose and drapery of the fig-

ure are almost fully evolved in the drawing, with only a

few minor adjustments and further detailing added in the

fresco. There are visible pentimenti along the right arm,

in the fingers, and in the positioning of the left shoulder.

By contrast the head is summarily drawn and corre-

sponds only generally to the fresco. Absent in the draw-

ing are the hat and open mouth that appear in the final

version. The head underwent further study in a quick

sketch on a sheet in the Kupferstichkabinett, Berlin (inv.

xdz 12924 verso), though the figure is still shown there

with his mouth closed. The Museum's drawing is similar

in purpose to the studies of Saint Michael in the Pierpont

Morgan Library, New York (inv. 1,31), and the Capitani

at Chats worth (inv. 710), in which the poses and drapery

are elaborately developed, while the heads are only

broadly indicated. In these and other similar instances,

Sarto would no doubt have employed separate and more

detailed head studies before turning to the fresco itself.

The Feast of Herod was completed by May 30, 1523,

which provides a terminus ante quern for the Getty draw-

ing. The faint offset on the verso of the sheet cannot be

connected to a known work.

verso ANDREA DEL SARTO (Italian, 1486-1530). The Feast of Herod
(detail). Fresco. Florence, Chiostro dello Scalzo. Photo cour-
tesy Gabinetto Fotografico Soprintendenza Beni Artistici e
Storici (SBAS) di Firenze.

22 ITALIAN SCHOOL • ANDREA DEL SARTO