P 1 : JZP
0521551335 c 06 CUNY 160 /Joannides 052155 133 1 January 11 , 2007 11 : 50
36 2 COPIES AFTER PAINTINGS CATALOGUE 96CATALOGUE 96AGroup of the Saved
184 6. 108 ;R. 64 ;P.II 363Dimensions: 236 × 352 mmMedium
Red chalk, with some touches of oxidised white lead.Condition
The sheet is lined. There are several central, vertical
pressed-out folds with associated ingrained dirt and abra-
sion. There are major tear repairs, with a minor loss and
a hole, which is not filled; there are also other repaired
edge tears and small abraded areas. There is extensive fox-
ing, many stains, including an oil stain, and widespread
discolouration. The primary support is drummed by its
four edges to the backboard of the mount, so the verso is
not visible.Discussion
An early copy, drawn with some precision and, despite
the aridity remarked upon by Nesselrath, handled withconfidence. This drawing was in all probability made
from the fresco, and not from an intermediate copy. The
draughtsman presumably stood on a step-ladder.
This drawing may well have been one element in a
mosaic of copies after the fresco and was perhaps made
with a print in view – although it does not appear to
have been used for one – but its sharpness and relative
impersonality could be no more than the result of the
copyist’s desire for accuracy. He does succeed in conveying
something of the weight of Michelangelo’s figures.
The drawing does not appear to be by a major creative
artist, and no attribution can be more than speculative,
but Marcello Venusti, who made his name as a copyist of
theLast Judgement,isapossibility; the facial types are not
unlike those found in his paintings.History
Richard Cosway (L. 628 ); Sir Thomas Lawrence (no
stamp); Samuel Woodburn.References
Woodburn,184 2,no. 82 (“Study of several figures for the
bottom part of theLast Judgement.”). Woodburn,184 6,
no. 50 (As184 2.). Fisher,186 2,p. 3 , pl. 3 (As Woodburn,
184 2.). Fisher, 1865 , II, p. 22 , pl. 3 (As186 2.). Robinson,