European Drawings - 1, Catalogue of the Collections

BACCIO BANDINELLI

2 Study of Two Men

r

Study of the Head of a Bearded

Man

v

Pen and brown ink; H: 34 cm (i3^3 /s in.); W: 22.5 cm

(S^/iein.)

85.GB.227

MARKS AND INSCRIPTIONS: (Verso) at top right corner,

inscribed Bacchio Bandinelli in brown ink.

PROVENANCE: Anne-Louis Girodet de Roucy Trioson,

Paris (sale, M. Perignon, Paris, April n, 1825, lot 5o6[?],

as "Trois dessins attribues a Michel- Ange et Baccio Ban-

dinelli"); by descent, Girodet family, Paris; art market,

Zurich.

EXHIBITIONS: None.

BIBLIOGRAPHY: None.

THE RECTO IS ONE OF A LARGE NUMBER OF NUDE STUD-

ies, several with two figures, by Bandinelli. The nude at

left derives from the Apollo Belvedere, though the po-

sition of the right arm reflects Michelangelo's David just

as the left hand of the other nude may suggest a knowl-

edge of the corresponding detail of that statue. In terms

of Bandinelli 's drawings, the recto is closest to the study

of -two nudes in the Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washing-

ton, D.C. (inv. 26.i83a). It is also relatable to studies of

four nude men at Christ Church, Oxford (inv. 0082),^1

and to two sheets made in preparation for the Hercules and

Cacus group, in the Uffizi (inv. yi4E) and at Christ

Church (inv. 008 5).^2 The connection to studies for the

Hercules and Cacus group would argue for a date of

around 1525 for the Museum's drawing.^3

This is confirmed by the drawing on the verso,

which is a preparatory study for the head of Hercules. It

is similar to the study at the left on the verso of the sheet

at Christ Church which has a full-length drawing of Her-

cules on its recto (inv. 008 5).^4 However, the Christ

Church drawing for the head of Hercules is more precise

in manner and more closely defined in detail. In the Mu-

seum's drawing and in the sculpture, Hercules is looking

into the distance, whereas in the Christ Church sheet, his

gaze is clearly directed downwards to Cacus. The style

verso

of the Museum's verso is comparable to the drawing of

two heads on the verso of the Christ Church sheet with

four nude studies on its recto (inv. 0082).^5

1. J. Byam Shaw, Drawings by Old Masters at Christ Church Ox-

ford (Oxford, 1976), vol. 2, pi. 71.

2. P. Barocchi et al., Mostra di disegni deifondatori delVAccademia
   delle Arti del Disegno, exh. cat., Gabinetto Disegni e Stampe de-
   gli Uffizi, Florence, 1963, fig. 6; Byam Shaw (note i), pi. 70.
   3. C.Lloyd, "Four Drawings by Bandinelli at Christ Church,"
   Burlington Magazine 3, no. 795 (June 1969), pp. 373-374. A
   copy of the recto was with Alistair Mathews in 1966 (Witt Li-
   brary photo mount).


3. Byam Shaw (note i), pi. 69.
   5. Lloyd (note 3), fig. 53-

22 ITALIAN SCHOOL • BANDINELLI