PERINO DEL VAGA (PieroBuonaccorsi)
CIRCA I5OO-I54730 Studies of Figures and
Architecture*
Figure Studies
v
Pen and brown ink, brown wash, and black chalk, in-
cised for transfer (recto); pen and brown ink and brown
wash (verso); H: 32.7 cm (12%in.); W: 22.5 cm (8^3 / 4 in.)
88.GG.I32
MARKS AND INSCRIPTIONS: (Recto) at bottom left cor-
ner, inscribed D, Tiepolo in black ink, C in black chalk;
(verso) inscribed 12, P/SS in brown ink, HI/^o6 in
black chalk, Beato [cancelled: alfin] ha quello che torna al
fin senza faticha I che in memoria eppeso non llagrava I chi
troppo penssa el pensar la terra I chi Valtri impaci piglia e sua
cr... / chi Valtrui tribola se stesso atterra I chi inpacida la suo
morte seque I chi biasima altri se stesso I tal dice d'altrui che di
se ste[sso] I Voro da valsente I sot'ombra s'orofacile.. .et volon
... / la nesicita non v'a legge I e sse legge ha el paziente I
megli'e patir honestamente I he perdesi un onesto sp... in
brown ink by the artist.^1
PROVENANCE: Private collection, United States; sale,
Sotheby's, New York, January 13, 1988, lot 84; art mar-
ket, London.
EXHIBITIONS: None.
BIBLIOGRAPHY: None.
PERINO BEGAN DRAWING ON THE RECTO WITH A
study for the vault of the Sala Regia in the Vatican (Sothe-
by's 1988), which was executed between 1542 and 1545.
The architectural planning was due to Antonio da San-
gallo, and this design by Perino suggests either that he
had a greater role than has been assumed or that he was
copying a plan by Sangallo for his own use while design-
ing the decoration of the vault. The figures on the recto
divide into two groups. Perino first made the six smaller
ones, all of which seem to have been intended for specific
locations, given the individualized nature of their attri-
butes and poses; in several cases they are shown with ar-chitectural details. Unfortunately, none of them are di-
rectly relatable to any of Perino's projects, even though
they are completely characteristic of his figure types. It
is possible that they were made in relation to the wall or
window designs for the Sala Regia, but there is no evi-
dence to support such a hypothesis at this point.
The four somewhat larger figures at the top of the
recto and the one at the top center of the verso were all
drawn after the other sketches on their respective sides of
the sheet and differ from them in several ways. They are
all shown with elaborate, fanciful hats or headdresses and
exaggerated expressions approaching caricature. In turn
there are three drawings by Perino in the Louvre (inv.
623, 624, 10.711) that are similar in technique, though
they show full-length images of warriors. It has been
suggested by R. Bacou that those images were intended
for a ballet or theatrical display.^2 It is possible that the
sketches on the Museum's sheet were intended for similar
purposes.
Lastly, there are five other figures on the verso, two
of which are in apparent discourse at the bottom left. In
proportion, drapery, and handling they are closest to two
drawings of standing figures in the collection of John
Gere, London,^3 and in the Metropolitan Museum of Art
(inv. 61.180). The purpose of the figures on the Getty
verso and of the latter two drawings remains elusive.
The Getty drawing may be dated to the early to
mid-15405 due to its connection with the documented
work on the vault of the Sala Regia and by association
with the Louvre and Gere drawings, which also date
from this part of Perino's career.1. Inscription transcribed by G. Corti, February 1989.- R. Bacou, LeXVIesiedeeuropeen: Dessinsdu Louvre, exh. cat.
(Musee du Louvre, Paris, 1965), p. 86, under no. 205.
3. Y. Tan Bunzl et al., Italian i6th-Century Drawings from British
Private Collections, exh. cat. (Scottish Arts Council, Edinburgh
Festival Society, 1969), no. 60.
PERINO DEL VAGA • ITALIAN SCHOOL 83