The Drawings of Michelangelo and His Followers in the Ashmolean Museum

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162 WHOLLY OR PARTIALLY AUTOGRAPH SHEETS CATALOGUES 28–29

80 ,15 6,37 9(Recto: Michelangelo, a fantasy, not for a

specific project. Verso: Michelangelo? similarity of head

[D] to BM W 40 verso/Corpus 315 .Critique of Beren-

son’s reconstruction of “Andrea.”). Wilde, 1953 a,pp. 60

(Recto: Michelangelo. c. 1525 .); pp. 3 , 77 (Verso: teach-

ing drawing c. 1525 ; [D] a variant of the head on BM

W 40 verso/Corpus 315 ,ofatype which also occurs as

early as15 0 1– 3 on [Cats. 1 and 2 ]. [A, I, and W] by

Michelangelo; the other sketches are copies by a pupil

or pupils, including, probably Andrea Quaratesi.). Wilde,

1953 exh., no. 52 (Recto: dragon drawn over “some child-

ish profiles.”). Parker, 1956 ,no. 323 (Recto: Michelan-

gelo over sketches by Mini, c. 1525 .Verso: a teaching

drawing. [D, I, and perhaps A and V] by Michelangelo,

the rest by Mini. The inscription not an exhortation but

the commencement of a draft of a letter.). Dussler, 1959 ,

no. 343 (Recto: Michelangelo over sketches by Mini, c.

1525. Rejects hypotheses of purpose of Frey, Fischel, and

Berenson. Verso: [A, C, and I] by Michelangelo; [D]

might be a pupil; the remainder by Mini.). Berenson,

1961 ,no. 1555 (As 1903 / 1938 .). Brugnoli, 1964 ,no. 31

(Recto: cites Berenson’s hypothesis; profile sketches by

a pupil.). Berti, 1965 ,pp. 452 , 458 (Recto: records pro-

posed connection with candelabra in New Sacristy. Verso:

school drawing.). Goldscheider, 1965 ,no. 48 (Recto:

unlikely that it was drawn for a decorative project. Verso:

three or four sketches by Michelangelo, copied by a pupil,

usually identified with Antonio Mini; uncertainty over

authorship of inscriptions.). Weinberger, 1967 ,p. 341

(Recto: Michelangelo,15 2 0– 5 ,over pupil sketches. Verso:

[D] autograph.). Hartt, 1971 ,no. 191 (Recto: 1517 – 18.

Asalamander?. Probably for an ornamental figure for

San Lorenzo. Profiles by Mini.); no. 311 (Verso: 1525 –

31. “Set of exercises in drawing.” By Michelangelo: “the

first profile eye in the upper left corner [A]; the sec-

ond from the left in the upper row of eyes shown in

full-face [I]; the first rich group of locks from the left

[W]; the upper of the two shaded profiles [D]....The

passage at lower right is the beginning of a draft of

a letter to...Andrea Quaratesi.”). Gere and Turner,

1975 ,no. 106 (Recto: Berenson’s suggestion implausible.

Ve r so: studies by Michelangelo, copies by a pupil; inscrip-

tion probably draft of beginning of a letter.). de Tolnay,

1975 , Corpus I, no. 96 (Recto: Michelangelo over pupil

sketches, 1515 – 19 .Verso: sketches by Michelangelo and

copies by Andrea Quaratesi, c. 1525 .). De Tolnay, 1976 ,

Corpus II, p. 94 (Verso: [D] and [O] reproduced beside

an antique cameo bust ofAbundance.). Lamarche-Vadel,

1981 ,p. 4 (Recto: reproduced.). Hirst, 1988 ,pp. 13 – 14

(Verso: teaching drawing; upper profile [D] and three left

eyes by Michelangelo, the rest by a pupil, “who may have

been Antonio Mini.”). Wallace, 1995 ,pp. 118 – 20 (Recto:

Michelangelo over profiles by Mini. “The dragon seems

to have been an impromptu invention that grew in size

and complexity as Michelangeo spontaneously created

it.” Verso: [A, D, and I] by Michelangelo, the remainder

copies by Mini. “It appears that Michelangelo drew the

exempla far apart and high on the page, leaving the rest of

the surface available for his pupil [Mini] to practice....In

whatever manner one reconstructs the sequence of draw-

ings and writing on recto and verso, it is evident that the

sheet passed back and forth between master and pupil.”).

Per rig, 1999 ,p. 282 (Mini.).

CATALOGUE 29

Recto: The Head of a Young Man in Profile

Ve r so: Hercules and the Erymanthian Boar?

184 6. 62 ;R. 9 ;P.II 316 ; Corpus 328

Dimensions: 282 × 198 mm

Watermark: Robinson Appendix no 3. Roberts

“Char” A.

Medium

Red chalk.

Condition

There is uneven pulp, ingrained dirt in creases and tears,

much edge damage, and some toned infills. Also visible are

minor loss infills with edge dirt, minor abrasion, skinning,

a long superficial diagonal surface scratch, and uneven

handling creases. A very unevenly discoloured sheet with

much local staining, some adhesive, some oil, and some

foxing.

Discussion

Although the recto drawing edges towards caricature, it is

probably an only slightly inflected portrait, one not par-

ticularly sympathetic to the sitter. Parker speaks of the

“disdainful expression,” and one senses that Michelan-

gelo has drawn a young man of equivocal character. He

experimented with a range of facial types at this period,

and it may be that some of the drawings were made for

the instruction – and the amusement – of his pupils. The

nature of this representation would provide a good les-

son in how a (presumably) slight exaggeration can affect

the viewer’s judgement of character. The nature of the

head gear is hard to determine; it seems at first sight to