P 1 : KsF
0521551331 c 01 -p 3 a CUNY 160 /Joannides 052155 133 1 January 11 , 2007 10 : 18
276 WHOLLY OR PARTIALLY AUTOGRAPH SHEETS CATALOGUES 56–57Corpus IV, no. 605 (Recto: contemporary with [Cat. 56 ].
Generally connected with Palazzo Farnese but De Ange-
lis d’Ossat has drawn attention to relation to the aedicule
and the door of the library in Palazzo dei Conservatori.
Ve r so: horizontals [Di – Diii] and windows for the exte-
rior of the drum of St. Peter’s. Converging lines next to
plans for the ribs of the dome. [A, B] plans for Conserva-
tori. de Tolnay also sees an elevation of the portico based
on [B], which the compiler cannot decipher. [G]: herm-
pilasters supporting a cornice.). Ackerman and Newman,
1986 ,p.31 2(Recto: “design apparently for the niche on
the first landing on the grand staircase of the Conser-
vatori.” Probably unrelated to Palazzo Farnese. Verso: as
1961 / 1964 , with addition “the drum and base of.”). Con-
tardi, 1990 ,p. 261 (Recto: window design, probably for
Conservatori. Verso: ground plans and perhaps elevations
of a portico; perhaps for the Conservatori: The large plan
in the centre [B] shows three bays with pairs of embedded
columns recalling those in the vestibule of the Laurentian
Library, while the plan along the left edge indicates four-
teen free-standing columns in seven bays as they exist
today.). Carpiceci, 1991 ,pp. 45 , 87 with graphic analysis
(Verso: identification of plans uncertain, perhaps a first
idea for the Palazzo dei Conservatori; notes relation to
Laurenziana vestibule. [E] a sketch of the interior of the
drum of St. Peter’s.). Morrogh, 1994 ,pp. 151 – 5 (Recto:
“supplied the designs both for the niches on the first floor
landing of the [Palazzo dei] Conservatori staircase and for
the door to the Archive room on thepiano nobileland-
ing.” The “Archive door is close, not only in design, but
also thematically, to the door that leads to the Laurentian
Reading Room” and the inscription punningly refers to
foglie[leaves] of books. Verso: “A row of rooms, isolated
from one another, runs up the sheet. On the right the
fac ̧ade is shown with its inset coupled columns, while
on the left a door from each room leads to a series of
inner rooms. It is highly unusual to find a row of small,
independently accessed rooms behind a richly columned
fac ̧ade....It is perhaps only in a major civic building that
small, bottega-like, rooms are likely to be set behind a
fac ̧ade with columns....Wemust suppose that the loggia
would have been closed up, allowing for small ante-rooms
in front of the guild rooms. Outside the coupled columns
recall those of the Laurentian Vestibule. Their scale sug-
gests that they would have embraced only one storey; so
they would not have formed a giant order. This is all very
different from the Conservatori that we see today.”). Per-
rig, 1999 ,p. 238 (Recto: Michelangelo. Verso: sketches by
Giulio Clovio after Michelangelo’s Roman architectural
projects; recorded in Clovio’s posthumous inventory as
“Una finestra fatta da m. Michel-Angelo,” or as “Una
porta fatta di mano propa di Michel Angelo.” FromFarnese Collection, not the Casa Buonarroti; Michelan-
gelo the Younger recorded verses by Michelangelo pre-
served in other collections.). Elam, 2001 , [unpaginated
but p. 11 ] (Michelangelo; “shows evidence of erasures and
corrections...used after Michelangelo’s death to provide
both a door and a niche surround for the Palazzo dei
Conservatori.”).CATALOGUE 57Recto: Christ on the Cross with Two Attendant Figures
Ve r so: The Crucified Christ
184 6. 89 ;R. 72 ;P.II 343 ; Corpus 415Dimensions: 278 × 234 mm
Watermark: Robinson Appendix no. 16. Roberts Arrows
B.Briquet 6291 , Rome,15 6 1– 2.Medium
Black chalk with some ruled lines, white heightening,
three indented horizontal stylus lines above Christ’s knees
and ankles, respectively, probably to establish the propor-
tions. Remains of framing line in black chalk.Condition
There are three horizontal incised lines. The sheet has
a major pressed-out horizontal fold, inherent wrinkles,
small edge nicks and losses, minor surface abrasions, a
diagonal abraded streak, and fibrous accretions on the
edges. There is uneven discolouration, local speckled
staining, and adhesive residues on the verso.Inscriptions
Recto: In pen and ink, upper right,F12(?);no. 24(?).
Ve r so: In pen and ink, lower leftdi Bona Roti; above this
the irregular number:no. 58.Discussion
From the15 4 0s onwards, coinciding with and follow-
ing his gift to Vittoria Colonna (see Cat. 67 ), Michelan-
gelo made several – perhaps many – drawings ofChrist on
the Cross, some of which are now known only in copies
and others of which are no doubt entirely lost. But the
sequence of surviving drawings of theChrist on the Cross
to which the present sheet is generally thought to belong
seems to be particularly closely connected. These draw-
ings form, in a sense, a series, although hardly a program-
matic one, and they were drawn late in Michelangelo’s life.
However, a caveat is in order. Even though the present
sheet is clearly related to the others in style and mood,