5 6 View of Saint Peter's
r
Study of a Young Man
v
Red chalk (recto); red and black chalk (verso); H: 27.4 cm
(ioI3/i6in.); W: 41.3 cm (i6Viin.)
85.06.22 8
MARKS AND INSCRIPTIONS: (Recto) on a strip of paper
attached to bottom of sheet, inscribed D Vue de Stpierre
de rome... Tire du Cabinet de Monsieur le Marquis de Gou-
vernet, 2, several undecipherable letters in brown ink.
PROVENANCE: Marquis de Gouvernet, Paris; private
collection, Paris; art market, Zurich.
EXHIBITIONS: None.
BIBLIOGRAPHY: None.THIS IS ONE OF A RELATIVELY SMALL GROUP OF CITY
views by Federico. It shows the square in front of Saint
Peter's, Rome, as it appeared around 1590-1600. At the
extreme left there is a partial view of the Egyptian obelisk
that had been moved to the square by order of Pope Six-
tus in 1586. At the left of the row of buildings is the arch-
episcopal palace and to its right the old facade of Saint
Peter's. Further to the right is the three-story benediction
loggia, begun by Pope Pius II in 1462, and then the Palaz-
zo Vaticano. At the extreme right Federico has lightly
sketched in the edge of the loggia painted by Raphael. In
front of the entrance to the Vatican is the bastion for the
papal guard, and at the foot of the staircase are the
fifteenth-century statues of saints Peter and Paul. The
drawing can be dated to the period following Federico s
return from Spain in 1588, after the placement of the obe-
lisk in the square and following completion of the dome.
Stylistically, it is closest to his drawing of 1576 of the Pi-
azza della Signoria, Florence, in the Louvre, Paris (inv.
4624) .* This is especially true of the freedom with which
architectural detail has been rendered.
The style of the verso bears out this late dating. It
shows a young boy drawn with great intimacy. The use
of black and red chalk together and the verso's delicacy
of touch are comparable to other late portrait studies by
Federico, such as the drawings of two children, in the
Louvre, Paris (inv. 4594), and of a family, in the Musee
de Lille (inv. 2568).i. J. Gere, Dessinsde TaddeoetFedericoZuccaro, exh. cat., Musee
du Louvre, Paris, 1969, pp. 61, 62, no. 76.verso134 ITALIAN SCHOOL • ZUCCARO