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0521551331 c 01 c CUNY 160 /Joannides 052155 133 1 January 10 , 2007 22 : 14
CATALOGUE 28 WHOLLY OR PARTIALLY AUTOGRAPH SHEETS 15 9G.Aleft eye in left profile, in red chalk; copy of A; by
Quaratesi?.Third lineH.Aleft eye and eyebrow in front view, in red chalk;
copy of I; by Mini?.
I.Aleft eye and eyebrow in front view, in red chalk; by
Michelangelo.
J.Aleft eye in front view, in red chalk; abbreviated copy
of I; by Quaratesi?.
K.At right edge, a left eye in left profile, in red chalk,
similar to A in structure, but with the pupil turned sharply
and unnaturally to the left; by Quaratesi?.Fourth lineL.Aleft eye and eyebrow in front view, in red chalk; copy
of I; by Quaratesi?.
M.Aleft eye and eyebrow in front view, in red chalk;
copy of I; by Mini?.
N.Aleft eye and eyebrow in front view, in red chalk;
copy of I; by Quaratesi?.
O.The head of a young man with long hair in left profile,
in red chalk; copy of D; by Mini?.
P. At right edge, a variant of K, in red chalk; by
Quaratesi?.Fifth lineQ.Diagrammatic sketch of a hanging lock of hair, in red
chalk; copied from R?; by Quaratesi?.
R.Ahanging lock of hair, in red chalk, perhaps by
Michelangelo.
S.Two fused hanging locks of hair, in red chalk; two
overlapping copies of R?; by Mini?.
T. Diagrammatic sketch of curls of hair, in red chalk;
beginning of a copy of W; by Quaratesi?.
U.An upper eyelid and a portion of eyebrow, in red chalk;
probably another attempt at N, after I; by Quaratesi?.Sixth lineV. Aleft eye in front view, in black chalk; copy of H, by
Quaratesi?.
W.Complex curls of hair, in red chalk; by Michelangelo.
X.Two? variant copies of W, in red chalk, fused, by
Mini?.
Y.Beginning of a variant copy of W, in red chalk; by
Quaratesi?.
Z.Beginning of a variant copy of W, in red chalk; by
Quaratesi?.AA.Beginning of a variant copy of R?, in red chalk; by
Quaratesi?.
BB.The beginning of an outline of an ear, in red chalk;
probably copied from O rather than D; by Quaratesi?.
CC.An ear, in red chalk; copied from BB rather than D;
byQuaratesi?.
DD.Inscription in Michelangelo’s hand?, in red chalk:
Andra qua.
EE.Inscription in Mini’s hand?, in red chalk:Andrea qu.Seventh line
FF.Several hatching lines.
GG.Hanging locks of hair, in red chalk; after W,
simplified; by Mini?.
HH.Aminiature left eye in left profile, in black chalk;
after A; by Quaratesi.
II.Partcopy of D or O, in black chalk; by Quaratesi?.
JJ.Lower centre in graphite, no. 32.
KK.Inscription in Michelangelo’s hand, in black chalk:
andrea abbi patientia.
LL.Inscription in Mini’s hand?, in black chalk:ame me
c ̃osol ̃atione asaiin part over MM.
MM.Inscription in Mini’s hand?,Andrea quar,inred
chalk.
NN.Inscription in Mini’s hand?,Andrea Quara...?in
redchalk.Discussion
Recto
The drawing of a dragon with two rather than four legs
and two wings – following a model established by Paolo
Uccello and others – overlaying several loose sketches of
ahead by his pupil Antonio Mini, was probably made by
Michelangelo c.15 2 4– 5 .Itisstriking and exceptionally
accomplished, more detailed and subtle in its handling
than most of Michelangelo’s pen drawings of the15 2 0s,
and without the element of caricature – although distor-
tion of nature is inherent in the subject – which those
display. The density of the hatching is remarkable and
rich, and the drawing must have taken some time to exe-
cute. The fact that it is made over drawings by his inept
pupil suggests that it is a demonstration piece, but the level
of accomplishment is so high that it would have daunted
rather than encouraged a pupil.
Michelangelo seems to have been interested in draw-
ing imaginary animals during the15 2 0sand early153 0s.
Asimilar drawing of a dragon of the same period, now
lost, survives in a copy by an unidentified draughtsman
in Christ Church ( JBS 77 ;pen, 174 × 200 mm) and in
asecond copy, whose attribution to Andrea del Sarto
originates with his pupil Giorgio Vasari, in the Louvre