THE DRAWINGS OF MICHEL ANGELO AND RAFFAELLO IN THE UNIVERSITY GALLERIES, OXFORD. Stontion MACMILLAN AND CO. PUBLISHERS TO THE UNIVERSITY OF <&xfottt A CRITICAL ACCOUNT OF THE DRAWINGS BY MICHEL ANGELO AND RAFFAELLO IN THE UNIVERSITY GALLERIES, OXFORD BY J. C. ROBINSON, F.S.A. Honorary Member of the Academies of the Fine Arts of St. Luke in Rome, Florence, Bologna, and Lisbon; Formerly Superintendent of the A rt Collections and Art Referee of the South Kensington Museum. BY AUTHORITY OF THE CURATORS OF THE UNIVERSITY GALLERIES AT THE CLARENDON PRESS M DCCC LXX [All rights reserved] IHfc J. PAUL GETTY UBRARY CONTENTS. Page Introduction Ix Chronological summaries of the principal events in the lives of Michel Angelo and RafFaello, and lists of their works . xxv Catalogue of the Drawings by Michel Angelo. Early period, to circa a.d. 1500. Nos. 1 to 14 1 Period of the Cartoon of Pisa, circa a.d. 1504. 15 to 22 i7 Period of Julius the Second's Tomb, circa a.d. 1506. 23 26 Period of the Sistine Chapel Ceiling, circa a.d. i 508-1 i ? 24 to 36 28 Period intermediate between the Sistine Ceiling and the Medici Tombs, circa a.d. 15 11-20 ? 37 to 39 46 Period of the Sepulchral Chapel and Tombs of the Medici Princes, circa a.d. 1520-34? 40 to 57 5o Period of the Last Judgment fresco, circa a.d. 1534-41 ? 58 to 69 7i Last period, circa a.d. 1541-63. 70 to 82 80 Drawings by various masters formerly ascribed to Michel Angelo. , 83 to 87 96 til-?** ifriMLrl 4 ,i .tm& tt" i vi CONTENTS. Works in painting and sculpture having reference to Michel ^ Angelo. Nos. 88 to 90 IOO Notice of drawings by Michel Angelo in the Guise Collection at Christ Church, Oxford. lto4 Drawings by Raffaello Santi (or Sanzio). Period of his youth whilst under the influence of Pietro Perugino, circa a.d. 1495-1504. Nos. 1 to 20 Florentine period, circa a.d. 1504-8. 21 to 50 109 137 Early Roman period, circa a.d. 1508-12. 51 to 59 I?5 Drawings by Raffaello having reference to the frescos in the 'stanze' of the Vatican. Introductory Notice . . .183 Camera della Segnatura, circa a.d. 1508-11. 60 to 75 l8 6 Intermediate Roman period, circa a.d. 15 10-12. 76 to 84 208 Chamber of the Heliodorus, circa A.D. 15 12-14. 85 to 97 218 Chamber of Charlemagne, circa a.d. 1514-17. 98 to 102 237 Drawings ascribed to Raffaello, having reference to the frescos of the Loggia of the Vatican, circa, a.d. 15 15-18. Introductory Notice, and Nos. 103 to 116 . . 244 Drawings having reference to the cartoons for tapestries executed for the Sistine Chapel, circa a.d. 15 15-16 Introductory Notice, and Nos. 117 to 127 . .257 Drawings for the Mosaics of the cupola of the Chigi Chapel in the Church of Santa Maria del Popolo in Rome, circa a.d. 1516. Introductory Notice, and Nos. 128 and 129 . . 265 Late Roman period, circa a.d. 1517-20. Nos. 130 to 133 270 Series of drawings prepared for a composition of the Resur- rection of our Saviour. Raffaello's latest period, circa a.d. 1519-20. Introductory Notice, and Nos. 134 to 136 . .275 CONTENTS. Vll Page Series of drawings made for the picture of the Transfiguration, circa a.d. 1519-20. Introductory Notice, and Nos. 137 to 142 . .285 Drawings having reference to the fresco decorations of the Chamber of Constantine, circa a.d. 1519-24. Nos. 143, 144 291 Drawings by various scholars of Raffaello. 145 to 165 294 Drawings by various masters formerly ascribed to Raffaello. 166 to 180 305 Notice of drawings by or having reference to Raffaello, in the Guise Collection at Christ Church, Oxford. ltolO 314 APPENDIX. Michel Angelo. Note 1. On Battista Franco in regard to his imitation of the style and works of Michel Angelo . .321 2. Marble group of the Madonna and Child at Bruges . .322 „ 3. The Cartoon of Pisa 324 „ 4. Sonnets by Michel Angelo 325 „ 5. Tomb of Julius II ....... 326 „ 6. The two destroyed Lunettes of the Sistine Chapel ceiling 327 „ 7. The Medal of Michel Angelo by Leo Leoni of Arezzo . . . •:.-„• • • • 328 „ 8. Michel Angelo's occupations, circa a.d. 15 1 1-20 . 330 „ 9. The Medici Tombs 330 „ 10. The projected group of Hercules and Cacus or Hercules and Antaeus 333 „ 11. The Medici Tombs 333 „ 12. Relic Chamber in San Lorenzo . . . .335 „ 13. Design for a group of Sampson killing a Philistine . 337 „ 14. The unfinished ' Pieta ' group 337 „ 15. The Crucifix executed for Vittoria Colonna . . 338 „ 16. Motto on an architectural design for a window . 339 vm CONTENTS. Raffaello. Page Note 17. The Antaldi Collection 340 „ 18. The lost picture of the Crowning of St. Nicholas of Tolentino 351 „ 19. Raftaello's drawings for the Siena frescos . . 356 „ 20. Sonnets written on the reverse of two sheets of studies for the ' Disputa ' 357 „ 21. Sonnet on a sheet of studies for the, ' Disputa,' &c . 358 „ 22. The Mass of Bolsena 359 „ 23. The Loggia frescos 360 „ 24. Paper-marks 361 INTRODUCTION. The Author was at first in some doubt whether a minute examination and description of the Oxford Drawings by Michel Angelo and Raffaello were really a desideratum ; being himself an amateur and collector of ancient drawings, he felt on his guard, lest his own special predilection should lead him to over-estimate the relative importance of such works of art, and he had misgivings as to being able, in any case, to render his undertaking sufficiently interesting to the general public. His original intention therefore was, whilst aiming at somewhat greater fulness, substantially to confine the work within the usual compass of a Catalogue. But it is difficult to treat of the drawings of the great masters in an expeditious or summary manner. Such works are, in fact, in a certain sense 'pieces justificatives/ analogous to the original records which form the foundations of the labours of the historian, and a full and complete way of dealing with such materials' is evidently the only allowable method. In the present instance it was essential to arrive at definite conclusions as to the authenticity of the several specimens; to determine, if possible, the approximate date, the intention "and ultimate destination of each drawing ; and also, in the case of preparatory studies for known works, to give some account of the finished productions. To do this thoroughly called for o careful and laborious research and comparison; and to have given, in a succinct and authoritative form, the results of such investigations, whilst withholding the evidence on which those results were founded, especially when it was necessary to modify or reverse the conclusions of previous authorities, would have been very unsatisfactory. In short, there seemed to be b X INTRODUCTION. only one of two courses open, — either to keep down the work to the level of a mere inventory, or else to treat the subject in a thoroughly comprehensive manner. The writer, having deter- mined on the latter course, soon found himself led away by his materials ; and, in spite of his desire to keep within the briefest limits, his projected ' Catalogue' gradually assumed the dimen- sions of a somewhat voluminous critical work. As the undertaking advanced, he was more and more im- pressed with the richness of the field of research before him. If he had at any time been inclined to underrate the rank of his heroes, and to doubt the validity of the constant worship which the world of art has accorded to Michel Angelo and Raffaello, the familiarity, as it were, with the daily thoughts and inspiration of those great men, impressed on the frail pieces of paper, which have engaged his close attention for so many months, would have removed all misgivings. The paramount excellence of those luminaries of art, indeed, appears to him such as to justify the most ample and minute critical illustration, and he cannot but think that, as in literature Dante and Shakespeare have justly merited and received the homage of innumerable critics and commentators, a similar devotion is the proper meed of Michel Angelo and Raffaello; moreover, that the works of these latter have even greater need of explanatory illustration, inasmuch as the precious monuments of their art are not patent to all, not fixed and enduring like the Writings of the poet. In former times, the study of the drawings by the great masters was attended with peculiar difficulties; and conse- quently, the labours of the most competent enquirers in that field, such as Ottley and Passavant, were scarcely of the same relative value as their investigations in other branches of art. Ancient drawings, widely dispersed in public and private collections all over Europe, were very little known, and, for the g most part, difficult of access. Facsimile engravings Were com- paratively few in number, and of these, the great majority were taken from drawings by inferior masters, selected by persons ignorant of the relative value and importance of such works. But the invention of photography has in our own time effected an entire revolution : the drawings of the ancient masters may now be multiplied virtually without limit : and thus, what was before a practical impossibility, namely, the actual com- parison of the numerous dispersed drawings of any particular master, has become quite practicable. INTRODUCTION. XI For the purpose of his present undertaking, the writer has been enabled to make use of photography in the most complete manner. Although the great works of Michel Angelo and Raffaello, especially those of a monumental character, were for the most part well known to him from frequent inspection and study on the spot, and although he had also, from time to time, seen and taken note of a great proportion of the authentic drawings of those masters preserved in public and private collections throughout Europe, it would have been altogether impossible to have made himself master of a great mass of essential facts and details without constant reference to the monuments themselves, as practically brought within his reach by photography. In the section relating to Raffaello, the materials at the writer's command were very abundant and complete. The comprehensive work of Passavant, though abounding in errors, a great proportion of which the art of photo- graphy, had it been available in that writer's time, would have enabled him to avoid, was of great service. Passavant's notices of the Raffaello drawings of the Oxford series, hasty and imperfect as they are, have undoubtedly saved the writer considerable labour; and although obliged in many instances to differ from the conclusions of his predecessor, he cannot but speak with the highest respect of the labours of that eminent man. But a debt of gratitude is due in another quarter. Not the least of the services rendered to art by the lamented Prince Consort, was the formation of a com- plete collection of illustrations, in every possible vehicle, of the works of Raffaello. To that unique and exhaustive gathering deposited in the Royal Library at Windsor Castle, the writer was on many occasions privileged to contribute; and of that collection he was, by Her Majesty's permission and the ever-ready kindness of the late Mr. B. B. Woodward, the Queen's Librarian at Windsor, able to make the fullest use. As respects Michel Angelo, the stock of illustrative matter was scantier ; as yet, no Passavant has arisen to chronicle and describe the works of that sublime genius in an adequate manner ; but for that reason, the writer had for many years paid a closer attention to the life and works of the great Florentine than to those of his more popular rival — and here, again, photography furnished copious additions to the other sources of b 2 INTRODUCTION. reference at hand in this country, and enabled him to revive his recollections of the original monuments in a manner that left little to be desired. It now remains to give some account of the important series of drawings in question, and of the circumstances under which the Collection found a permanent resting-place in Oxford. The taste for ancient drawings has been naturalised in this country for more than two centuries. The celebrated con- temporary patrons of art, King Charles I and the Earl of Arundel, were the undoubted originators of that refined branch of connoisseurship in England, and from their time to the present day a succession of zealous collectors have carried on the pursuit without a break. At times, this special branch of art has been a favourite one with wealthy amateurs, and ancient drawings have been the most coveted objects of research, whilst at other periods, such productions have been unduly depreciated ; but there has always been some one or other ardent and enlightened amateur ready to gar- ner up again dispersed and neglected treasures. As might be expected, artists, from their possession of special and technical knowledge, have always been amongst the warmest lovers of ancient drawings, and the list of collectors comprises many of the most eminent names in the roll of English art. To Sir Thomas Lawrence belongs the honour of having formed the unrivalled collection of which the Oxford drawings are a portion. A brief sketch of the development of this branch of connoisseurship in England from the seventeenth century down to the period of Sir Thomas Lawrence, will, perhaps, be the best method of illustrating the means and opportunities which led to the formation of his collection. The distinction of having succeeded Charles I and the Earl of Arundel, as the principal collector of ancient drawings in England, is due to an artist who, more than a hundred years earlier, occupied a position analogous to that of Lawrence. Sir Peter Lely was the most eminent portrait-painter of his day, and, like Lawrence, he was in the receipt of a large income from his profession. With him the pursuit in question was an engrossing passion; he not only acquired all that was most valuable in the Arundel Collection, but he also got together again a considerable proportion of the drawings which had belonged to King Charles I, to which he is known to have added largely from every available source. INTRODUCTION. Xlll Lely's collection was sold by auction after his death, which took place in 1680, and its dispersion, doubtless, gave a great stimulus to the amateurs of the period. It is certain, at all events, that the collecting of ancient drawings very soon became the fashion with wealthy and titled persons. Thence- forward commenced the systematic search for the original drawings of the great Italian masters in the land of their pro- duction, which, mainly carried on by a constant succession of wealthy English travellers and professional dealers for more than a century, ended in completely denuding Italy of such works. Perhaps the most important series acquired for this country in the earlier years of the eighteenth century was the celebrated collection originally formed by a great Italian connoisseur, the Padre Resta, for Monsignor Marchetti, Bishop of Arezzo. The Marchetti Collection, which is believed to have comprised the famous book of drawings formed by the painter and art historian, Georgio Vasari, was purchased by the Lord Somers of that day, but it seems to have been dispersed again before many years had elapsed. The mantle of Lely in due course fell upon Jonathan Richardson, another portrait-painter, who, together with his son, formed a collection of ancient draw- ings of paramount importance. The two Richardsons, as evidenced by their writings, were acute and judicious art critics; a great proportion of their gatherings was made on the Continent, and their professional knowledge probably enabled them to collect with more judgment and success than their wealthier competitors. After their death and the con- sequent sale of their gatherings, another and much greater professional portrait-painter took up the congenial pursuit, and the well-known stamp of Sir Joshua Reynolds, impressed as it is on a vast number of drawings, for the most part of high merit, remains a standing evidence of the taste and judgment of that great painter. Collections of more or less importance were also at different periods down to the end of the last century, formed by many other English artists, among whom may be specified Hudson, Pond, Talman, Rysbrack, Hone, Paul Sandby, Cosway, Metz, and Benjamin West ; and amongst the other principal collectors of the same period in this country, were King George III (who, through the assistance of Consul Smith at Venice, and Dalton the engraver, got together the splendid collection at Windsor Castle), Lord Hampton, Lord Spencer, the Duke of Devonshire, R. Holditch, xiv INTRODUCTION. Dr. Mead, J. Barnard, Uvedale Price, R. Udney, C. Rogers, Willett, and T. Dimsdale. The passion for ancient drawings which had been so greatly developed in England, prevailed also, though perhaps not quite to the same extent, in France; and the collections of Lord Arundel, Lely, and Richardson had been paralleled in that country by those of the banker Jabach, Crozat, and Pierre Mariette. The Jabach drawings, acquired by Louis XIV, formed the nucleus of the French national collection ; but the splendid acquisitions of Crozat and Mariette, and many other collections of minor importance, were dispersed by auction at various periods in the last century, and a large proportion of the finest specimens found their way to this country. But the great Revolution and the European War which ensued were the cause of an unprecedented influx of the highest class of works of art to England, and the harvest, as regards ancient drawings, was, in the long run, mainly reaped by Sir Thomas Lawrence. The general movement in matters of art at the beginning of the present century brought forward numerous active and sagacious professional dealers, and even the great war during its most critical periods did not entirely prevent their enterprising explorations on the Continent. Somewhat later, when the peace opened Europe again to travellers, English dealers scoured every country, and none were more in- defatigable than the brothers Woodburn*, who made the collecting of ancient drawings their speciality, and ultimately became Lawrence's chief purveyors. The Messrs. Woodburn have themselves left us an account of the formation of the Lawrence Collection, and it cannot be better told than in their words. They say t : — ' The troubles in Europe, arising from the French Revolution, and the invasion of Italy by the troops of that nation, were the principal causes of this surprising assemblage being brought together. It is well known that the invading army was accompanied, both in Italy and Spain, by competent persons, who selected all the * Of the four brothers Woodburn — William, Samuel, Allen, and Henry— the two former were the most active, William concerning himself more especially with pictures, and Samuel with ancient drawings and engravings. + ' Some account of the drawings of Raffaello Sanzio di Urbino in the Lawrence Gallery,' affixed to the ninth Exhibition Catalogue of the Lawrence Drawings, June 1836. INTRODUCTION. XV finest pictures for the Gallery of the Louvre. One of the best judges was the Chevalier Wicar, who availed himself of his situation to get access to all the royal palaces and private cabinets, in every city which the arms of France had occupied. He had thus an opportunity of selecting the most choice drawings; and these articles not being mentioned in his com- mission, he retained them for his own study. 'He had, however, entrusted a large and very valuable portion of them to a friend at Florence ; which were afterwards purchased by W. Y. Ottley, Esq., who for many years resided in Italy. Some of the principal drawings are copied in the " Italian School of Design," and now form part of this extra- ordinary assemblage, as Sir Thomas Lawrence purchased of Mr. Ottley his entire cabinet, for about £10,000. 'Monsieur Paignon Dijonval of Paris had, during the best part of the last century, formed one of the most extensive collections of prints and drawings ever made by an individual. This cabinet consisted of upwards of sixty thousand engravings, and six thousand drawings ; the bulk of them were indifferent, but there were a few of the most choice articles in art; the most precious were the superb drawing of St. Cecilia by Raffaello, which served Marc Antonio Raimondi to engrave from, differing from the painting, ****** * The St. Cecilia, and some others of Raffaello, were purchased by Thomas Dimsdale, Esq., immediately on Mr. W.'s return to London with this extensive collection, which he had acquired for upwards of £5000 of the Marquis Vinde', who had inherited them. ' The house of Zanetti of Venice had for several generations been renowned for their love of the arts; the first, however, of that family, who particularly distinguished himself, was the purchaser of many of the finest drawings, which the illustrious Earl of Arundel had collected in the time of Charles I. On the occupation of Venice by the French, the Baron de Non, who resided some time there, obtained possession of several very capital drawings from this family; which after his death were purchased by Sir Thomas Lawrence. 'In the year 1823, the late Thomas Dimsdale, Esq., being engaged in forming his splendid collection of drawings, Mr. S. Woodburn resolved to visit Italy, for the purpose of endeavouring to acquire the superb portion retained by the Chevalier Wicar in Rome. This he at length effected at the xvi INTRODUCTION. price of 11,000 scudi romani. Prince Gagarin wishing to obtain the collection for Russia, sent to know if Mr. Woodburn would accept a handsome profit for his purchase; but he, having written an account of his successful tour both to Mr. Dimsdale and Sir Thomas Lawrence, and also being ambitious of bringing into this country so valuable a treasure of art, declined entering into any treaty for the sale of them. ' The purchase of the entire cabinet of the Chevalier Wicar obtained for Mr. Woodburn the information that some valuable drawings, by the hand of the divine Raffaello, yet remained in the custody of the Marquis Antaldi of Pesaro, and that they had never been out of his family, the Marquis being a descendant of Timoteo della Vite, who was a scholar and executor of Raffaello. This intelligence induced Mr. Woodburn to return to England by that route, and, with some difficulty, he tempted the Marquis to part with this singularly interesting collection. 'The splendid portrait of Timoteo della Vite, which may be truly said to be the finest head ever produced in black chalk, and the two drawings (on the back of each of which are studies for sonnets), together with some others of the first quality, were, by this purchase, added to this collection. 'The Marquis Antaldi, after the purchase, presented Mr. Wood- burn with a most curious manuscript catalogue of pictures and drawings, by which it was discovered where that distinguished connoisseur Monsieur Crozat obtained many of the drawings by Raffaello, which are copied in the Cabinet du Roi. They are described in this Catalogue, and the word "venduto" written against them *. 'The Marquis mentioned their having been sold by his ancestor to Monsieur Crozat, about the year a.d. 1680. After the death of Crozat, these drawings came into the hands of a French nobleman of great taste, who was himself so able an artist, that he etched some very faithful imitations of them. 'A very singular and fortunate circumstance, however, occasioned these Raffaellos being again added to the col- lection. In the year 1820, a fine cabinet of Greek coins having been sent from Naples to Paris for sale, the Marquis * This interesting catalogue is printed for the first time, in the Appendix to this work, Note 17, p. 34°- INTRODUCTION. xvn Le Goy, the proprietor of the drawings, mentioned to Mr. Woodburn's agent his intention of disposing of his collection, in order to make the acquisition of the coins. This infor- mation M. Berthault communicated to Mr. Woodburn, who was at that time in Amsterdam, and he immediately pro- ceeded to Paris, in the depth of winter, and concluded the bargain before retiring to rest. Thus this important part Of the collection was in England, and, in fact, in the cabinet of Mr. Dimsdale, nearly two years before the purchase from the Marquis Antaldi, and contained some of the finest articles described in this Catalogue. The drawings in the Le Goy Col- lection were few in number, consisting of only one hundred and thirty-eight, but they were of the first quality, and nearly the whole were purchased by T. Dimsdale, Esq., the very day Mr. Woodburn arrived from Paris with them. ' Messrs. Woodburn cannot refrain from paying a tribute of respect to the memory of this liberal and distinguished amateur, whose love for the highest order of art was only extinguished with life. On Mr. S. Woodburn arriving in London with the Wicar Collection, he found his friend in the last stage of illness ; nevertheless, he desired to see such of the Raffaello and Michel Angelo drawings as would adorn his cabinet, and actually purchased and wrote a cheque for three thousand guineas, a few days before his lamented death. 'The death of this eminent amateur left the field open to Sir Thomas Lawrence ; and Mr. Woodburn, having purchased the entire collection left by his liberal friend, sold to Sir Thomas, for the sum of £5,500, all the fine Italian drawings it contained: this very important purchase, added to those which he had previously made, rendered the Lawrence Collec- tion the finest then existing. « The Count De Fries, of Vienna, had formed a very splendid collection of works of art, among which drawings formed a very prominent feature; owing, however, to the pressure of the times, he was obliged to sell them ; and being under pecuniary engagements with the late W. Mellish, Esq., he con- signed them to him in part payment. Sir Thomas Lawrence requested Mr. Woodburn to go through the collection with him, and they selected about 150 of the best, among which were five or six Raffaellos of the highest interest. 'During the visit which Sir Thomas Lawrence made to Paris, to paint the portrait of Charles X, he purchased of c XV111 INTRODUCTION. several of the amateurs whatever drawings they possessed by Raffaello. They were well known to Mr. Woodburn, but as a dealer he could not give the prices expected for them. In one instance, Sir Thomas Lawrence actually bought an entire collection for £2,200, on account of only six drawings which it contained; but these were of the first consequence, by Raffaello and Michel Angelo. 'It would be tedious to enumerate the various sales which have occurred in London, at which acquisitions were made for this splendid cabinet. Whenever a drawing of importance came to the hammer, from the time of Sir Joshua Reynolds to the death of Sir Thomas Lawrence, its possession was contested by this liberal collector, and mostly with success.' Sir Thomas Lawrence died in 1830, and it now remains to. relate an unedifying history of the dispersion of his unrivalled gatherings. Lawrence had ended by literally absorbing nearly all the finest drawings known to be extant other than those preserved in public collections; he had, in fact, extinguished rivalry by leaving scarcely anything of value for other collectors to acquire; consequently the taste for ancient drawings, which had formerly prevailed in England, had even during his lifetime greatly declined. In his will Sir Thomas showed himself solicitous in regard to the future fate of his much-loved treasures, his natural wish being that they should be kept together, and if possible become public property. Sir T. Lawrence had from first to last expended at least £40,000 upon the collection; in fact, the constant drain upon his resources caused by his zeal in collecting was to a considerable extent the cause of his pecuniary embarrassment; but although Lawrence well knew that his gatherings were unique and priceless, that is, immeasurable by any standard of mere money value, he was at the same time aware that it would be useless to expect that his estate would be recouped to the extent of his outlay, and it must have been with bitter feelings that that eminent and most unsordid man brought himself to pen the following directions in his will: — 'July 28, 1828. My collection of genuine drawings by the old masters, which, in number and value, I know to be unequalled in Europe, and which I am fully justified in estimating, as a collection, at twenty thousand pounds, I desire may be first offered to his most gracious Majesty King George IV, at the sum of eighteen thousand pounds ; and if his Majesty shall not be pleased to purchase INTRODUCTION. XIX the same at that price, then, that the collection be offered, at the same price, to the Trustees of the British Museum ; and afterwards successively, to the Right Honourable Robert Peel, and to the Right Honourable the Earl of Dudley; and if none of such offers shall be accepted, then I desire that the said collection may be forthwith advertised in the principal capitals of Europe and elsewhere ; and if, within two years, a purchaser shall not be found at the sum of twenty thousand pounds, then I desire that the same may be sold by public auction, or private contract, in London, either altogether or in separate lots, at such price or prices, and in such a manner, as my executor shall think best.' The personages in question successively refused the offer thus made when communicated to them in due course after Sir Thomas Lawrence's death, but a strong feeling soon arose that the collection ought in some way or other to be secured to the country. Although its paramount importance was, perhaps, realised only by a very few artists and connoisseurs, they were sufficiently influential to bring about continued and serious efforts towards that end. In the first instance, a public subscription was set on foot for the purchase of the col- lection for the then recently founded National Gallery, and it should be recorded to the credit of the Royal Academy that the list was headed with a subscription of <£i,ooo from that body * ; but the movement was not sufficiently supported, and the House of Commons, the Ministry of the day, the Governing bodies of the British Museum and the National Gallery, seem to have been unanimous in meeting its promoters with a perverse want of sympathy, more depressing even than overt opposition. On the failure of the scheme of a sub- scription, the Messrs. Woodburn, to whom a considerable debt was due from Sir Thomas Lawrence's estate, came forward with the offer of £16,000 for the collection, and the executors despairing of any better realisation, ultimately accepted that * The credit of this movement seems to have been in great part due to the late Sir Charles Eastlake (then Mr. Eastlake) and Sir John Soane. (See Lady Eastlake's Memoir of Sir Charles, London, 1870, pp. 151-156.) Dr. Wellesley and Richard Ford were also amongst the principal movers ; from the last-mentioned true connoisseur and gifted man the writer in former years heard frequent accounts of the earlier phases of the dispersion of the Lawrence collection, and he has now to record his obligations for further information to his friend Mr. W. Smith, who was enabled by his proiessional position at the period in question to follow every stage of the negotiations. C 2 XX .INTRODUCTION. offer. Then commenced fresh attempts to deal on the part of the Government and the Trustees of the National Gallery with the Messrs. Woodburn. No agreement, how- ever, could be arrived at, but in the course of the ne- gotiations the Woodburns were advised publicly to exhibit the collection or select portions of it. They forthwith organised a series of ten exhibitions of the works of the principal masters represented in the collection, each com- prising one hundred drawings. These exhibitions were carried out during two consecutive London seasons, and were very successful in attracting crowds of visitors and in obtaining the most ample illustrations from the press. Catalogues (often quoted in the present work) were issued of each series. Messrs. Woodburns' intention in these exhibitions was twofold — namely, to enlist public opinion in favour of the purchase of the entire collection by the Government, and failing that, to facilitate the sale of it in portions. A price was consequently put upon each of the sections exhibited, which either public or private purchasers were to be at liberty to acquire separately. Several sections were in consequence soon sold to private amateurs *. An interval * The following is a list of the masters whose drawings were from first to last thus exhibited, with a summary of the number of works and the prices separately asked for the same : — Drawings. Price asked. ist Exhibition. I50 .. 3OOO/. 2nd „ 50 .. IOOO/. 200 I500/. 3rd „ IOO I800Z. 74 •• 800/. 4th 175 •• I500/. 60 .. IOOO/. 5th 80 .. 80O /. 50 60O I. 75 •• 1500/. 85 300 /. 6th Ludovico, Annibale and Agostino 160 I500/. ?th 43° • • I20O/. 30 .. 300 7. 30 25O/. Taddeo and Federigo Zucchero 80 .. 4OO /. 8 th „ IOO 800/. 60 .. 600/. 9th . Raffaello 160 .. 15,000/. loth Michel Angelo, no number stated, 150 no price named. INTRODUCTION. XXI of two years then ensued, when in 1838 the Woodburns again endeavoured to dispose of the bulk of the collection which remained : and they undertook a second series of public exhibitions*, after which, failing the sale of the drawings in sections, they announced their intention to dispose of them in detail. Still no purchaser appeared for the Michel Angelo and Raffaello drawings, and the owners, wisely shrinking from their dispersion in detail, turned their attention towards the sale of those treasures on the Continent. At that time a royal amateur, the Prince of Orange, afterwards King William II of Holland, was actively engaged in the formation of a collection of works of art of the highest class, and the Wood- burns applied to His Royal Highness with the special view of inducing him to purchase the two series of drawings by Michel Angelo and Raffaello in their entirety. The amount expected for them was, however, more than the Prince was disposed to disburse, but he was not disinclined to purchase a portion of the drawings of both masters, and the owners ultimately consented to allow a selection to be made. It appears that the principal drawings of the Lawrence collection which remained, including the special series in question, were sent over to the Hague, where the Prince at his leisure made his choice from them. Fortunately for this country, the knowledge and experience of the Royal amateur were not on a par with his zeal. He evidently intended to select all the most important specimens; but his choice fell almost exclusively on the largest, most completely finished and showy drawings; and thus, in a great measure, he defeated his own object; for although it must be admitted that the final selection did comprise some of the finest gems of the Lawrence series, the great majority of the specimens chosen were copies and drawings by scholars and followers of the two great artists. The greater number of the really important authentic works both of Raffaello and Michel Angelo. on the other hand, especially the invaluable preliminary studies and designs, were unwittingly disregarded and sent back to England. The series thus returned was indeed found to be so important, whilst at the same time the patriotic and enlightened * Only two of these renewed exhibitions appear to have taken place, — namely, of the drawings of Rubens and Vandyck on the first occasion and of those of Raffaello on the second. XXll INTRODUCTION. amateurs who had interested themselves were so indefatigable, that again (in 1840) a fresh movement was set on foot for the purchase of the diminished Michel Angelo and Raffaello series by the Government, but once more without effect. Thanks, however, to the earnest band who kept public attention directed to these treasures, the matter was not allowed to drop, and at last (in 1842) by a fortunate inspiration, a movement was set on foot for the purchase of the Michel Angelo and Raffaello drawings then remaining in the possession of the Messrs. Woodburn, for the University of Oxford. The University Galleries were just then in course of erection, and advantage was taken of the interest naturally created by this provision of a seemly receptacle for works of art. A Committee was formed, the drawings were taken to Oxford and publicly exhibited, and a printed Catalogue was issued with an introductory address *. The subscription however languished when about £3000 only had been contributed, and, although the Messrs. Woodburn had consented to considerably reduce the price of the collection, it was only by the interposition of a single person, that a success- ful issue was at last arrived at. It is to the second Earl of Eldon, who, with the magnanimity of a true benefactor, himself supplied the sum wanting to complete the purchase (£4000), that the honour of having finally crowned with success the long-continued efforts of so many zealous lovers of art is mainly due. The negotiation which thus secured for the University of Oxford and the public at large, the most important series of the drawings of Michel Angelo and Raffaello now extant, was concluded in 1845, and the collec- tion was forthwith installed in its present locality f. * The following paragraph of the address embodies a fact which should be recorded, namely, the mention of the Harman Collection : — ' The sum required for the purchase of these drawings is ten thousand guineas. This will doubtless appear large to those who are not conversant with the prices demanded for first-rate works of art. But they have been valued (exclusively of those purchased by the King of Holland) by a most able and experienced judge, at not less than fourteen thousand pounds, since which valuation the whole of Mr. Harman's well-known and most important Collection of the same master has been added by the present proprietor. These Sir Thomas Lawrence was never able to procure.' t The present Lord Eldon recently placed the sum of £1,200 at the disposal of the Curators, to be applied, with the advice of Mr. George Richmond, R.A., to the purpose of providing any books, prints, photo- graphs, or any apparatus, that may assist in the study of the noble collection of drawings which the University owes mainly to the munificence of his father. The University acknowledged by a public vote of thanks this second act of generosity. INTRODUCTION. XX111 The foregoing account would be incomplete without some notice of the ultimate disposition of the remaining portions of the Lawrence Collection, and in particular of the Michel Angelo and Raffaello drawings purchased by the Prince of Orange. The number of drawings by or ascribed to Raffaello selected by the Prince amounted to eighty, but of these not more than about thirty were authentic, and the number of drawings of Michel Angelo was about sixty, and of these probably a somewhat larger proportion were genuine. The King of Holland was not destined to retain these treasures long in his possession, for on his death his splendid collection of works of art was sold by auction at the Hague (August 1850), when Samuel Woodburn, to whom the admirable drawings which formed so important a feature of the collection were better known than to any other person, attended the sale, and was the principal purchaser of the Michel Angelo and Raffaello drawings. Of the former he acquired thirty-three and of the latter thirty-four. The other chief purchasers were the Duke of Saxe Weimar for the Weimar Gallery (chiefly of the Michel Angelo's), the Museum of the Louvre, and the Frankfort Museum, the latter represented by M. Passavant. Altogether these three public Institutions secured five or six drawings of Michel Angelo, and about eighteen of Raffaello ; the rest passed into the hands of various private English and Continental collectors*. S. Woodburn on his return sold a few of the drawings to the Rev. Dr. Wellesley, but he reunited the great bulk of them to the residue of the Lawrence Collection still in his possession, and he retained the whole till his death in 1853, and in the fol- lowing year they were offered for sale at Christie and Manson's. The fatality, however, which seemed to attend every effort to dispose of the Lawrence drawings again prevailed, the sale was a failure, and it was stopped on the second day. The residue then remained in the possession of Miss Woodburn till i860, when the drawings were again sent to Christie and Manson's, and on that occasion the dispersion of the Lawrence Collection was consummated. Not till then were * The whereabouts of nearly all the authentic specimens acquired by foreign dealers and amateurs has been ever since carefully noted by the writer, and the greater number of them have been from time to time acquired for this country : so that in reality only a very few of the Lawrence drawings by these two great masters other than those above specified as having been purchased for Public Museums, have been permanently alienated; XXIV INTRODUCTION. any of the Lawrence drawings purchased by the Govern- ment, and even then, although a special grant of money was made by the Treasury to the British Museum for the purpose of acquiring the finest works in the sale, so little understanding was there of the paramount value and importance of the specimens on the part of those charged with the disposal of the grant, that a large proportion of incomparable drawings of Michel Angelo and RarTaello, (specimens equal if not superior in importance to those actually acquired), passed into the hands of private collectors at little more than nominal prices, whilst after the sale a sum of several hundred pounds, sufficient to have purchased them twice over, was actually returned to the Treasury as an unexpended balance. CHRONOLOGICAL SUMMARIES OF THE LIVES OF MICHEL ANGELO AND RAFFAELLO, AND LISTS OF THEIR PRINCIPAL WORKS. It would have been beyond the scope of this work to have prefaced it by methodic lives of Michel Angelo and Raffaello, and yet it seemed desirable to afford in a compendious form a ready means of verifying the principal events in their lives, and the dates and relative sequence of their works. The tabular summaries appended hereto will, it is thought, be sufficient for the requirements of the general observer in examining the drawings in the University Galleries. Critical students will doubtless refer to the numerous biographies and other illustrations of both the great artists in question which abound in every Library. Michel Angelo. A.D. 1475, March 6. Michel Angelo Buonarroti born in the Castle of Chiusi e Caprese in Casentino, near Florence. 1488, April. Placed with Domenico and David del Ghirlandaio, in Florence, to learn the art of painting. 1489. Went to study in the Medici Gardens in Florence, when Lorenzo dei Medici took him into his family, where he remained till the death of Lorenzo in 1492. Two works of sculpture are still extant, executed during that period; namely, the head of a Faun, in the Uffizj, and the bas-relief of Centaurs in the Casa Buonarroti, in Florence. d xxvi CHRONOLOGICAL SUMMARY. A.D. 1494, November. Remained till this period in the service of Piero dei Medici, Lorenzo's son, when, on the expulsion of Piero and his adherents from Florence, Michel Angelo fled to Bologna and from thence to Venice as an exile. 1495, Having returned to Florence he executed a marble Cupid, which was sold as an antique to the Cardinal di San Giorgio in Rome. 1496, June 25. Went to Rome for the first time. Circa. 1497-1498. Executed in Rome the statue of Bacchus now in the Uffizj, and about the same period a statue of Cupid in a kneeling attitude, now in the South Kensington Museum ; both for Jacopo Galli, a Roman banker. Circa 1499-1500. Executed the marble 'Pieta' for St. Peter's. Circa 1500-1501. Returned to Florence. About this time he executed the marble Madonna, now in the Cathedral at Bruges, and probably also the two bas-reliefs of the Holy Family, respectively in the Uffizj and the collection of the Royal Academy in London. 1 501, August. Commission from the 'Operai'of Santa Maria del Fiore for the colossal statue of David, now in the Piazza del Palazzo Vecchio in Florence. The statue was finished and erected in its place, June, 1504. 1502, August. Commission for a bronze statue of David intended to be given by the Signoria of Florence to the Mareschal de Gie. This figure was completed and sent to France in December, 1508. It is now lost sight of. 1503, Commission for twelve marble statues for Santa Maria del Fiore; one only of which was executed (an unfinished statue of St. Matthew), now in the Cortile of the Ac- cademia in Florence. 1504, October. Commenced the Cartoon of Pisa, and finished it in August, 1505. 1505, In the beginning of this year Michel Angelo was called to Rome by Pope Julius II, and probably received the com- mission for the Pope's tomb. MICHEL ANGELO. xxvii A.D. 505, November. Was at Carrara engaged in quarrying marble for the tomb of Julius II. 506, January. Was again in Rome. 506, May. Again at Carrara. Returned to Rome, quarrelled with the Pope, and thereupon in the same month of May suddenly left Rome and returned to Florence. 506, November. Michel Angelo, after much solicitation from Pope Julius II, rejoined him at Bologna, and undertook a colossal bronze statue of Julius, which was finished February, 1508, and erected over the door of the Cathedral of San Petronio ; but destroyed three years later. 1508. Early in the year he returned to Florence for a very short time, and then received the commission for the colossal group of Hercules and Cacus. 1508, May. Michel Angelo was again in Rome, when the Pope ordered him to undertake the decoration of the Sistine Chapel ceiling ; he began to paint the ceiling in May, 1 508, and concluded the work in 15 11. 1 512. Michel Angelo was in Florence and in correspondence with Sebastiano del Piombo in Rome, whose acquaintance he had probably made a year or two earlier in Rome. 15 1 3, February. Julius II died and left Michel Angelo occupied with his monument. He was probably almost exclusively engaged upon it for about three years after the above date. To this period doubtless belong the figures of Slaves in the Louvre and in the Boboli Gardens in Florence; and the Moses was then commenced, but not finished until long afterwards. 1 515, towards the end of the year. Undertook the Facade of San Lorenzo in Florence for the Pope Leo X. 1 5 16, November. Was at Carrara arranging to procure marble for the tomb of Julius II. 1 5 17, March. Again at Carrara, arranging for marble probably for the Pope's tomb. 15 18, October. Again in Carrara respecting marble for the San Lorenzo Facade. d 3 XXviii CHRONOLOGICAL SUMMARY. A.D. 1 518. December. In Rome. At this time he seems to have made designs for Sebastiano del Piombo, particularly for his pictures of the Scourging of Christ, in San Pietro in Montorio, and the Raising of Lazarus, now in the National Gallery in London. 1 5 19. Was in Florence. 1520. Commenced the new Sacristy at San Lorenzo and the Tombs of the Medici princes, under the Pontificate of Leo X. The Sacristy and Tombs occupied Michel Angelo, with many intervals, down to 1534, when he finally left the works unfinished. 152 1. The marble statue of Christ, in the Chiesa della Minerva in Rome, designed and partly executed by Michel Angelo, was finished under his direction by the Florentine sculptor Federigo Frizzi. 1522-1523. During the Pontificate of Adrian VI, Michel Angelo was chiefly occupied with the tomb of Julius II. 1523. Engaged in works at the Church of San Lorenzo and with the building of the Laurentian Library. 1524. At this time Michel Angelo made further designs for the long-projected colossal group of Hercules and Cacus, or Hercules and Antaeus (see before, 1508). 1528. The domination of the Medici family shaken off. Michel Angelo was in Florence and the ' Signoria ' commissioned him to again take in hand the execution of the Hercules and Cacus. 1529, April. Michel Angelo made Superintendent of the Fortifi- cations of Florence. 1529, July and August. Was sent to Ferrara to take note of the fortifications, artillery, and munitions of war of the Duke Alfonso. Executed a picture of Leda in tempera for the Duke, and also during this period worked secretly at the tombs of the Medici for San Lorenzo. 1529, September. During the siege of Florence, Michel Angelo, despairing of a successful defence, and fearing to be betrayed, suddenly fled from the city and took refuge in Venice. MICHEL ANGELO. xxix A.D. 1529, November. He returned again to Florence, at the solicitation of the Signoria. 1530, August. On the fall of the Republic, and the reinstatement of the Medici dynasty in Florence, Michel Angelo at first concealed himself, but was pardoned by Pope Clement VII, on condition of his devoting himself to the works in progress for him. 153 1. In this year Michel Angelo was residing in Rome, and was much annoyed by the efforts of the Duke of Urbino to push on prematurely the completion of the tomb of Julius II. 1532. He entered into a new contract for the tomb of Julius II, on a reduced scale. 1534. On the death of Clement VII, Michel Angelo, who since 1530 had apparently resided at alternate intervals in Rome and Florence, finally suspended his works in the Sacristy of San Lorenzo and at the Laurentian Library, and returned to Rome, where he resided permanently till his death. Circa 1533-1534. The fresco of the Last Judgment, in the Sistine Chapel, first projected by Pope Clement VII, but not actually commenced until a year or two later, under Paul III. Finally completed in 1541, and uncovered in December of that year. 1535. Brief of Pope Paul III, appointing Michel Angelo sole architect, sculptor, and painter for the Palace of the Vatican. Circa 1540-1547. The designs for the Crucifixion, for Vittoria Colonna, executed during this period. Circa 1541-1542. Michel Angelo probably commenced the smaller of the two unfinished groups of the Deposition, the group now in Rome (see text, p. 80). 1542. Final settlement of the tomb of Julius II in its present form, and arrangement for its completion by other masters, under Michel Angelo's direction, and for its erection in the Church of San Pietro in Vinculis. 1547. Appointed Architect of St. Peter's. 1 549-1 550. He completed the two frescos of the Cappella Paolina. XXX CHRONOLOGICAL SUMMARY. A.D. Circa 1550. The group of the Deposition now in the Duomo in Florence probably commenced about this time, and left unfinished at Michel Angelo's death. 1558. The wooden model of the Dome of St. Peter's constructed. 1564, February 18. Michel Angelo died in Rome, his body trans- ported to Florence, and publicly interred in the Church of Santa Croce. Raffaello. 1483, March 28. Raffaello Santi (or Sanzio), born at Urbino, son of Giovanni 'Santi, an eminent painter, patronised by the Dukes of Urbino of the Montefeltro and della Rovere dynasties. Circa 1495. About this time Raffaello became the pupil of Pietro Perugino in Perugia. Circa 1500. Two pictures executed for Churches at Citta di Castello ; one a processional banner painted on both sides, and still preserved in the Church for which it was executed, the other an altar-piece representing the Coronation of St. Nicholas of Tolentino — the latter now lost sight of. 1503. The Coronation of the Virgin, executed at Perugia for one of the Churches in that city, now in the gallery of the Vatican. 1503. About this time Raffaello assisted Pinturicchio in the pre- paration of the designs and studies for the frescos in the Piccolomini Library at Siena. He then probably resided for a short time at Siena, and also, for the first time, visited Florence. 1504. The picture of the Marriage of the Virgin, 1 II spozalizio,' executed for the Church of San Francesco in Citta di Castello. In the Museum of the Brera in Milan. 1504. Altar-piece for the Nuns of Sant-Antonio di Padua in Perugia, lately in the Royal Palace at Naples, now in the possession of Sehor Bermudez di Castro of Madrid. RAFFAELLO. XXXI A.D. 1504. In October of this year Raffaello went to Florence, where he studied the frescos of Masaccio, in the Brancacci Chapel, and the works of Leonardo da Vinci, and became intimately acquainted with Fra Bartolommeo. 1505. The Madonna of the Ansidei family, executed for the Church of San Fiorenzo in Perugia, probably on his return from Florence. This picture is now at Blenheim. 1505. Fresco in the conventual Church of San Severo in Perugia, left unfinished by Raffaello, completed after his death by Pietro Perugino (in 152 1). 1505-1506. Madonna of the Belvedere. In the Museum at Vienna. 1506. Raffaello returned for a short time to Urbino, and painted a picture of St. George and the Dragon, by order of the Duke Guidobaldo, as a present to King Henry VII of England. Now in the Palace of the Hermitage at St. Peters- burgh. 1506. Madonna of the Casa Canigiani, now at Munich. 1506. Apparently, during this same year, Raffaello again went to Florence, and also to Bologna, where he became the friend of Francesco Francia. 1507. The Entombment of our Saviour, painted for the Church of the Franciscans at Perugia ; the drawings and cartoon were executed in 1503 or 1504, probably in Florence, but the picture was painted in Perugia in 1507. It is now in the Borghese Palace in Rome. 1508. At this period Raffaello again returned to Florence. 1508. Madonna, in the possession of Earl Cowper, at Panshanger. 1508. The Virgin and Child, called 'La belle Jardiniere.' In the Museum of the Louvre. 1 508, towards the middle of the year. Raffaello went to Rome to enter the service of Pope Julius II. 1 508-15 1 3. The fresco paintings of the 'Camera della Segnatura,' in the Vatican ; the first picture (probably the earliest work undertaken after Raffaello's arrival in Rome) being the ' Dispute of the Sacrament.' XXXll CHRONOLOGICAL SUMMARY. A.D. Circa 1511. The Madonna di Fuligno. In the gallery of the Vatican. 1512. Fresco of the Isaiah, in the Church of Sant-Agostino in Rome, 1512-1514. The frescos of the Chamber of the Heliodorus in the Vatican. 1514. The fresco of the Galatea, in the Palace of the Farnesina, executed for Agostino Chigi. 1 5 14- 15 1 7. The frescos of the Chamber of Charlemagne in the Vatican. 15 1 5- 15 18. The frescos of the Loggia of the Vatican. 1515-1516. The cartoons for tapestries for the Sistine Chapel. 1 5 16. Mosaics of the cupola of the Chigi Chapel in Santa Maria del Popolo. 1 5 16. Altar-piece of Christ bearing his Cross, called 'Lo Spazimo di Sicilia.' In the Royal Museum at Madrid. 15 1 7. St. Michel the Archangel overcoming the Demon. In the Museum of the Louvre. 151 8. The Holy Family, executed for Francis I. In the Museum of the Louvre. Circa 15 18. Portrait of Leo X, attended by two Cardinals. In the Pitti Palace, Florence. Circa 1518. The Madonna di San Sisto. In the Royal Museum at Dresden. 1518- 1519. Cartoons for the frescos of the Farnesina, of the history of Cupid and Psyche. 1519- 1520. The Altar-piece of the Transfiguration. In the gallery of the Vatican. 1519-1520. Designs for frescos in the Chamber of Constantine in the Vatican. 1520, April 6. Death of Raffaello. CATALOGUE. DRAWINGS BY MICHEL ANGELO BUONARROTI". EARLY PERIOD, TO CIRCA A.D. 1 5 00. 1. MichelAngelo. BB./ST-fs* Group of three standing figures, apparently engaged in animated discussion or dispute. Pen drawing in bistre. Height, 15 inches. Width, 10 inches. Collections: Richardson, Lord Spencer, W. Y. Otiley, and Sir T. Lawrence. This well-known composition has the appearance of being a vivid reminiscence of some occurrence witnessed by the artist. The group seems to represent a soldier, with a sympathising companion leaning on his shoulder, disputing or arguing some knotty point with a civilian, whose cringing and obsequious attitude, at the same time expressive of feigned astonishment, is in almost ludicrous contrast with the erect bearing and earnest yet bewildered expression of the soldier. The latter stands on the left, in profile, clad in a fantastic semi-antique costume, with a cap or helmet on his head : he appears in the act of expounding with the aid of his fingers — the fore -finger of the right hand resting on the palm of the left: his opponent confronts him on the right, stooping or leaning forward with upraised hands: the third figure is only slightly indicated. The manner of design or B a DRAWINGS BY MICHEL ANGELO. manipulation is peculiar, yet in the highest degree masterly, and it seems to be characteristic of a distinct phase of Michel Angelo's style. The drawing is executed with a quill pen, with a firm, well-nourished, but somewhat thin and wiry line; the shadows simply massed or 'blocked in' with vertical and oblique lines, without any cross-hatchings. It may be compared with the drawing next to be described — two standing figures (No. 2), the studies from an antique female torso (No. 3), and the studies of hands (No. 4). All are probably of the same time — early in the career of the artist, perhaps before a.d. 1500. This drawing is engraved in facsimile in Ottley's ' Italian School of Design ; ' and a copy by Battista Franco is also reproduced in C. Rogers' work, and is de- scribed therein (vol. i. p. 27). Ottley, embodying an interesting notice previously put on record by Richardson, says of it : ' The high opinion that was entertained of this masterly and most spirited drawing amongst the pupils and immediate followers of Michel Angelo, may be collected from the many old copies still existing of it; Richardson possessed one by the hand of Battista Franco, and afterwards had the good fortune to meet with the original, which he purchased. In that part of his Treatise on painting where he treats of originals and copies, he thus expresses himself : " I have," says he, " perhaps one of the greatest curiosities of this kind that can be seen, because I have both the copy and the original: both are of great masters; the copyist was, more- over, the disciple of him he endeavoured to imitate, and had accustomed himself to do so, for I have several instances of this, which I am very certain of, though I have not seen the originals. Michel Angelo made that I am now speaking of, and which I joyfully purchased lately of one who had just brought it from abroad. It is a drawing with a pen upon a large half-sheet, and consists of three standing figures. The copy is of Battista Franco, and which I have had several years, and always judged it to be that it is. It is an amazing thing to see how exactly the measures are followed, for it does not appear to have been done by any other help than the correctness of the eye; — if it had been traced off and measured throughout, it is as strange that the liberty should be preserved that is seen in it. Battista has also been exact in following every stroke, even what is purely accidental and without any meaning, so that one would think he endeavoured to make as just a copy as possible, both as EARLY PERIOD, TO CIRCA A.D. 1500. 3 to the freedom and exactness. But himself is seen throughout most apparently; as great a master as he was, he could no more counterfeit the vigorous blunt pen of Michel Angelo, and that terrible fire that is always in him, than he could have managed the club of Hercules." ' (See Appendix, Note 1, for further notice of Battista Franco in regard to his imitation of the style and works of Michel Angelo.) On the reverse of the sheet are a few disjointed words, the beginnings only, of four or five lines of writing, in the autograph of the artist, apparently memoranda of accounts. 2. Michel Angelo. :\ S \$>f£ . Two standing draped figures, and on the other side of the sheet a head of a man wearing a cloth cap or turban. Pen drawings in bistre. Height, 1 of inches. Width, 7 inches. Collections : Ottley and Lawrence. The drawings on both sides of the sheet are reproduced in facsimile in Ottley's ' Italian School of Design.' Woodburn (Oxford Catalogue, No. 32) calls the standing figures 1 Two figures in large cloaks, one in an attitude of thought! One of them to the left, in a walking attitude, the head bent downwards, is enveloped in a voluminous cloak with a cowl covering the head ; it is apparently intended for a monk. The other standing figure, seen directly in front, has one arm ' a-kimbo,' the hand resting on the hip : this figure is clad in a mantle or antique toga. The admirable head on the reverse, seen in profile, is that of an austere, meagre-visaged, middle-aged man, with an aquiline nose and keen glancing eyes. It is probably either a somewhat idealised study from the life, or else a reminiscence of some striking countenance, the lineaments of which had strongly impressed themselves upon the artist's mind. The powerful and decisive lines and shading of these drawings have the characteristic wiry quality previously noted. They were probably executed before a.d. 1500. Ottley, who appears b 2 4 DRAWINGS BY MICHEL ANGELO. also to have considered them to be of Michel Angelo's early period, says of these studies, ' I shall only add concerning them that the intelligence and mastery apparent in both are such as may well justify the pithy remark somewhere made by my friend Mr. Fuseli, that "Michel Angelo as an artist had no infancy." ' In the Royal Library at Windsor Castle is a rare and curious facsimile print of the head, executed with the burin; it is inscribed, ' Bartholomei Coleoni effigies a M Ang Bonaroto delineata. G D eade lineameta secutus inc. 1610.' Bartolommeo Colleoni of Bergamo was a famous Condottiere, in the service of the Venetian republic, which power, in a.d. 1479, determined to erect an equestrian bronze statue to his memory. The commission was given to the Florentine sculptor Andrea Verrocchio, and the well-known colossal work still remains where it was originally placed, in one of the squares in Venice. The writer fails to perceive any direct resemblance betwixt the drawing and the head of the statue in question ; it is however within the limits of probability that Michel Angelo's drawing may have been based on some other portrait of Colleoni by Verrocchio, and that the fact may have been traditionally handed down, in connexion with the present drawing, to the period of the execution of the print. 3. Michel Angelo. Three separate studies, apparently from an antique statue of Venus, seen down to the knees, the arms wanting. Pen drawings in bistre. On the reverse a nude figure of a youth in red chalk. Width, 97- inches. Height, %\ inches. Collections : Ottley and Lawrence. The study in the centre of the leaf represents the figure as seen directly in front, whilst the other two are in profile. Of these the head of the one to the right is of the proper antique Venus type, but the other two are evidently ideal conceptions of the painter, inclining towards caricature. The head of the centre figure turned to the left, and planted on the neck in EARLY PERIOD, TO CIRCA A.D, T50O. 5 a very contorted attitude, resembles that of a youthful faun, similar, in fact, to the head in red chalk in this collection (No. 39), and its effect, placed on a female torso, is very whimsical. That on the left, is of a type characteristic of many of Michel Angelo's ideal female heads. The execution of these studies is very slight, and is distinguished by a certain 'abandon' or playfulness — the thin and rather wiry lines resembling those of the two previous drawings. The study on the reverse was hidden from view by a backing of paper, pasted over it at some former period, but was brought to light again by the writer on the occasion of his examination for the present Catalogue. It appears to be intended as a design for a statue of Narcissus, and it was probably studied from the living model ; it represents a graceful youth, the upper part of his body supported on his hands, which rest on the bank on which he is seated, the head bending downwards. The refined and simple contours of this figure, and its general style of design, give it a certain resemblance to the marble statue of the youthful Cupid, executed for Jacopo Galli (now in the South Kensington Museum) ; a work also executed early in his career (circa a.d. 1497). Ottley alludes to this sheet in his ' Italian School of Design ' (page 25, foot-note) as follows: 'I have lately had the good fortune to meet with a drawing, which I am strongly of opinion was made at this time (his youthful period) by Michel Angelo in the garden of Lorenzo de Medici. It represents an antique female torso, naked, drawn in three different points of view with a fine pen, and in a style of execution exactly resembling the drawing of two draped figures standing, which is copied in the first of the following plates.' In the British Museum collection is a sheet containing two other drawings by Michel Angelo, apparently from the same torso of Venus, but in black chalk ; the head is not represented in them, and it was doubtless wanting in the original marble. The style of execution agrees with that of the Oxford studies. 6 DRAWINGS BY MICHEL ANGELO, 4. Michel Angelo. A sheet of studies of hands, and of a seated figure, &c. Pen and bistre. Height, \d\ inches. Width, \o\ inches. Collections : Wicar and Lawrence. Both sides of this sheet are filled with studies : on the one are three drawings of a man's hand, of natural size, delineated nearly in the same position, i.e. held downwards, and resting on a mass of drapery ; also a torso of a man, back view, on a smaller scale. On the other side of the leaf are four more studies of the same hand, drawn in the same position, but seen from the opposite side, i.e. in the former the little finger is next the spectator, whereas in the latter the thumb is nearest. In one of these studies, the hand is seen resting on an apple or orange instead of the drapery. There are also, in the upper part of the sheet, two studies of a naked sitting figure of a man ; three sketches of legs on a larger scale for the same, and another study of the same figure, turned with its back to the spectator. At the bottom of the sheet are the initials in well formed Roman capitals 'M. B. F.,' doubtless the autograph signature of Michel Angelo. This hand appears to have been drawn from a cast or terra cotta model, and the seated figure from a bronze or wax model, probably from a renaissance imitation of an antique statuette of Mercury or Mars. The hand very closely resembles the well-known plaster cast of one still in use amongst artists, and known as ' Michel Angelo' s hand' — of which the original terra cotta model or type forms part of the Gherardini Collection, now in the South Kensington Museum ; but this model is of a left hand, whereas the present studies were made from a right hand; perhaps Michel Angelo may originally have modelled both a right and a left hand in the same attitude, the one from which the present drawings were made having been lost sight of and forgotten. The inimitable excellence and perfection of these studies denote them to have been made at the period (early in his career nevertheless) when Michel Angelo had attained to the fullest mastery of his art. In the opinion of the writer they were produced about (perhaps before) the year a. d. i 500. EARLY PERIOD, TO CIRCA A.D, 15OO. 7 It is impossible not to be reminded by these studies of hands, of the well-known anecdote recounted by Condivi. This is to the effect that an emissary of the Cardinal di San Giorgio was sent to Florence to find out the truth respecting a marble statue of Cupid which had been sold to the Cardinal as an antique, but which was really the work of Michel Angelo. On demanding of the artist some proof of his ability, this person was at once convinced and astonished by Michel Angelo making a rapid pen drawing of a hand, in his presence. This particular drawing has, ever since the beginning of the last century, been assumed to be recognisable in a bold pen study of a hand originally in the Crozat Collection, afterwards in that of Marie tte, and now in the Louvre, and which is well known from several facsimile engravings; there does not however seem to be sufficient evidence to justify this assumption, and the authenticity even of this particular drawing has of late years been brought in question by French connoisseurs.* Now the present sheet of drawings on the contrary, is incontestably the work of Michel Angelo ; it is certainly of his youthful period : the designs are academy studies or exercises of artistic skill, just such as would have sufficed for the purpose in question ; and that its author regarded the work in some sort as a notable achievement, seems to be indicated by the, for him, very unusual fact of the having placed his signature upon it. * The Louvre drawing represents a left band, but it is in the same position, and it is in other respects similar in design to the present right hand; it may therefore perhaps have been drawn from the model now at South Kensington. From the writer's recollection of the drawing, and from a recent inspec- tion of the coarse facsimile : given in della Valle's edition of Vasari, he is disposed to consider it authentic, notwithstanding that the execution is certainly heavier, and the pen lines and hatching stronger and blacker than those of the present studies, resembling in this respect the coarser manner of Bandinelli. Modern French critics however confidently ascribe it to Annibale Carracci. (See a long note on this drawing by the editors of the Abecedario of P. J. Mariette, Paris 1853, vol. i. p. 214.) 8 DRAWINGS BY MICHEL ANGELO. 5. Michel Angelo. >^7. Sheet of studies, from nature, of portions of the human figure — probably for the marble statue of David. Black Chalk. Height, io\ inches. Width, 6\ inches. Collections : Casa Buonarroti, Wicar, and Lawrence. This sheet contains studies on both sides : on the one is the upper part of a naked standing figure, the shoulders and chest only, and a left arm bent or flexed upwards in the same position as the arm of the David ; also a slight sketch of a thigh and knee : on this side also is inscribed in Michel Angelo's auto- graph ' di undid d'Agosto.' On the reverse are two studies of the upper part of a figure (the chest and shoulders only) as if for a Christ on the cross ; a smaller sketch of a left shoulder or deltoid ; also a study of the right knee of a standing figure. This and the other thigh and knee also appear to be studies for the David. The powerful and decisive style of drawing is cha- racteristic of the epoch (a.d. 1501), and the date 11 th August, doubtless indicates the precise day in that year when these studies were made. It appears that the ' Operai' of Santa Maria del Fiore definitively gave the commission for the David to Michel Angelo on the 16th of August, a.d. 1501 (see Notes to the Life in Vasari, ed. Lemonnier, vol. xii. p. 341), and it is reasonable to suppose that the sketches and models for the figure had been for some time previously in progress. 6. Michel Angelo. &6 T'tfS, Study of a recumbent male figure in black chalk, and on the reverse four studies of a bent right arm in red chalk. Length, 15^ inches. Height, \o\ inches. Collections : Casa Buonarroti, Wicar, and Lawrence. The recumbent figure is drawn in the same powerful style as the similar one next to be described, and apparently it belongs EARLY PERIOD, TO CIRCA A.D. 1500. 9 to the same period (circa a. d. 1501). The pose or action of the figure bears some resemblance to that of the man putting on his hose, in the Cartoon of Pisa, but it is turned in the contrary direction ; the head is not indicated. The studies of an arm, on the reverse, are four different views of the same limb, bent or flexed inwards, in the same attitude as the arm and hand of the David, which holds the stone ; the latter however is the left arm, whereas these studies represent a right arm. The water -mark on the paper is a spread eagle within a circle. See Appendix, Facsimiles of Paper Marks, No. 1. 7. Michel Angelo. Study of a recumbent male figure, the torso and thighs only. Black Chalk. Width, io\ inches. Height, 6f inches. Collections : Sir J. Reynolds and Sir T. Lawrence. It is not easy to decide whether this masterly study was made from nature, or from one of the master's own wax or clay models. Although a comparatively slight shaded drawing, the modelling of the forms is so perfectly expressed, as to render it almost certain that it was drawn from the round.* The figure has a considerable resemblance to one of the statues of the Medici tombs — that known as ' II Giorno,' or ' the Day,' but the ' technique' of the drawing seems to be of an earlier period ; in this respect, indeed, it closely resembles that of the previous figure, which is of the period of the David. The resemblance to the tomb statue therefore is perhaps only accidental. * Vasari informs us (see Introduction to the 'Lives,' chapter on Fore- shortening) that Michel Angelo's unrivalled power of drawing the nude figure, in difficult foreshortened positions, was mainly acquired through his practice of drawing from rough wax or clay models, made by himself for the purpose. This was also the well-known method of Correggio. C 10 DRAWINGS BY MICHEL ANGELO. 8. MichelAngelo. W.iW, Sheet of studies of details of the human figure, probably from nature. Red Chalk. Height, 8f- inches. Width, y inches. Collections : Reynolds and Lawrence. One of these studies is a side-view of a right leg, admirably drawn in a standing position. Another represents part of a torso, side-view, the right arm uplifted. This is probably in illustration of the muscles of the scapula and ribs, and the changes of form of the deltoid. On the reverse is another very slight sketch of a portion of a torso, also in illustration of the muscles which overlay and move the ribs. These drawings are apparently of the early period of the master, circa a.d. 1500. The water-mark in the paper is a pomegranate on a vertical stalk, with one leaf attached. See Appendix, Paper Marks, No. 2. 9. Michel Angelo. Sb.i^L Study of a man's head in profile, and on the reverse a standing figure of a man carrying a hog. Red Chalk. Height, 1 1 f inches. Width, 7 1 inches. Collections : Casa Buonarroti, Wicar, Ottley, and Lawrence. This admirable study was probably made from nature, addi- tional character and more powerful expression having been given to it by a slight exaggeration of details, bordering on caricature (observe the protruding lower lip, ' nez retrousseV and overhanging forehead). The head, in profile, turned to the right, is proudly planted on a massive neck and shoulders, and the short tufted hair stands up erect. The expression is that of fierce, insolent self-confidence and malevolence ; it is engraved EARLY PERIOD, TO CIRCA A.D: 15OO. II in facsimile in Ottley's 'Italian School of Design,' and it is described in that work p. 33, as 'Finely expressive of scorn- fulness and pride, and evidently a study from nature.' Michel Angelo has made use of the same ferocious-looking model on other occasions — see an instance in the well-known ' Head of Satan' engraved in Woodburn's Lawrence Gallery (No. 16), and now in the Malcolm Collection. The study on the reverse of the leaf is more slightly executed ; it represents a man of powerful frame, carrying a hog or boar in his arms before him, the upper part of his body thrown back to balance the weight, his head hidden by that of the animal, which rests on the man's right shoulder. The power displayed in every line and touch of these drawings is inimitable — the head was in truth one of the ' teste divine,' and the hand which executed it the ' mano terribile,' so enthusiastically alluded to by Vasari. The writer (from personal impression only) is disposed to refer this drawing to the early period of the master, circa a. d. 1500? it may however belong to a later period. The water-mark on the paper is a rude device of two small circles marked with slits or crosses, and two irregular triangular- shaped objects grouped together in the shape of a cross. (See Facsimiles in Appendix, No. 3). 10. Michel Angelo. 35.6. >t$2. Idealised head or bust in profile of a woman wearing a cap or turban. Red Chalk. Height, %\ inches. Width, 6| inches. Collections : Casa Buonarroti, Wicar, and Lawrence. The head is that of a young woman of majestic character marked by a certain expression of brooding melancholy. The back is towards the spectator, the head turned in the opposite direction, and looking slightly downwards over the right shoulder, the face being thus seen in profile (towards the right) ; a jewel hangs from the ear, and on the head is a fantastic cap or turban, with a visor-shaped peak. c 2 1 2 DRAWINGS BY MICHEL ANGELO. This admirably finished drawing should apparently be referred to the master's early period; it is similar in character to the celebrated idealised heads known as the ' Marchesa di Pescara' and the ' Conte di Canossa,' now in the Malcolm Collection, and which the writer has referred (Malcolm Catalogue, pp. 20, 21) ' to Michel Angelo's earliest and greatest epoch, shortly before a.d. 1500, i.e. prior to his first visit to Rome.' The further remark that these drawings were probably done in emulation of Leonardo da Vinci also applies to the present example. It is engraved in facsimile in Woodburn's Lawrence Gallery, No. 19. See the copy in black chalk ascribed to Battista Franco, in this collection (No. 54). There is also another copy of this head in the Collection of the Uffizj in Florence : in this latter example also, in spite of the obvious endeavours to make a deceptive copy, the peculiar mannered touch of Battista seems clearly revealed. 11. Michel Angelo. T>&. ■ Head in profile of a bearded man wearing a conical or 'Phrygian' cap, his mouth wide open, as if shouting or singing. Red Chalk. Height, 6\ inches. Width, 5 inches. Collections of the Duke of Modena, and Sir T. Lawrence. The obstreperously animated expression of this head is not more remarkable than the admirable power of drawing, manifested in every touch of the crayon. Over the shoulder the figure wears a thick cloak, and one of the hands, exquisitely designed, is seen clutching together its massive folds. The design of this head borders on caricature, and it recalls in some degree the well-known grotesque heads of Leonardo da Vinci. To all appearance the date of this drawing could scarcely be later than the period of the Sistine ceiling frescoes ; we shall probably not be wrong in assigning it to some time betwixt a.d. 1500 and a.d. 151 2. \ EARLY PERIOD, TO CIRCA A.D. 1500. 13 12. Michel Angelo. 3 6 t i Two studies mounted on the same sheet, the upper one a slight sketch of a naked sitting figure, the lower one a man's head in profile. Red Chalk. The figure, height, 3 inches; width, 2 inches. The head, height, \\ inches ; width, 3I inches. Collections : Reynolds and Lawrence. The sitting figure is drawn with red chalk of a deep vivid tint, like that with which the head of a Faun (No. 39) is executed, and the drawing probably belongs to the same period. The head, apparently a study from life, slightly caricatured, is perhaps of an earlier time, circa a.d. 1500? it is in profile and represents a middle-aged or old man, with a snub nose, high forehead, and thin scrubby hair and beard. The admirable execution and life-like expression place it on a level with the three heads previously described. 13. Michelangelo. 3B.ij£T. Sheet of studies drawn on both sides. On one side a dragon • pen drawing in bistre. On the other, various studies of heads in profile, eyes, locks of hair, &e. ; chiefly in red chalk. Length, 13^ inches. Height, 10 inches. Collections : Denon and Lawrence. These well-known studies are interesting, not only for their intrinsic excellence, but for the insight they afford into Michel Angelo's practice as a teacher of art. It would seem that the sheet of details of the figure was executed, in the first instance, as a drawing lesson to one of his scholars, in all probability a youthful beginner, and that the more important drawing of a dragon was done at an after period for the master's own purpose. The 14 DRAWINGS BY MICHEL ANGELO. side of the leaf, containing the detached studies, may there- fore be first described. This contains several original sketches or studies by Michel Angelo, and underneath and around them, copies of the same by a pupil, whose name appears to have been Andrea. On the right, at the top, is a head in profile of a young man, with long flowing hair, the features resembling in character those of the David; underneath this is Andrea's somewhat hard and scratchy copy. More to the left are three eyes, one in profile and the other two seen in front — these Andrea has copied several times over, both in red and black chalk (the original sketches are all in the former material). It seems that, at this stage, the sheet was submitted by the pupil to his master, and there are abundant indications of the instructive comments made thereupon by Michel Angelo. Some of the copies seem to have been forthwith retouched by him, and the most obvious faults corrected in the pupil's presence. Apparently being especially dissatisfied with the want of understanding and spirit, shown in Andrea's rendering of the flowing hair of the head in profile, Michel Angelo has taken the trouble to draw several of the locks of hair over again, in another place, doubtless also in presence of the pupil. Finally the sheet, as it would seem, was submitted to the master again and he has written on it (in the left hand lower corner) some words of encouragement, part of which inscription unfortunately, from the paper having been clipped all round, is wanting. What remains is as follows : 'Andrea abbi patientia Ame me Cosolatione assai.' The other side of the leaf contains a finished bistre pen drawing of a couchant dragon, carefully shaded with spirited cross hatching, the forms modelled with admirable truth- fulness and sculpturesque relief. The monster is huddled together, its tail folded betwixt its legs, and curled round its long snakelike neck ; the wide- opened jaws belching forth flames. Three or four slight outline sketches of heads in profile, in red chalk, may also be seen on this side; to all appearance they were drawn before the dragon, and perhaps at the same time as the studies on the opposite side. The style and 'technique' of all these studies appear to denote that the sheet was produced during the early period of the master, perhaps not later than a.d. 1500. EARLY PERIOD, TO CIRCA A.D. 1500. 1 5 Woodburn (Exhibition Catalogue, No. 22) states that these studies were ' drawn by Michel Angelo as a lesson for his scholar Andrea Mini, who has copied them very indifferently;' but Mini's name, as we learn from Vasari, and also from documents and autograph letters of Michel Angelo, was Antonio; the writer is not aware of there being any notice of an Andrea Mini, and there does not appear in reality to be any clue as to the particular Andrea indicated. Woodburn further alludes to a copy of this drawing by Annibale Carracci, but it seems to have been lost sight of. The dragon is engraved in facsimile in the 'Lawrence Gallery,' No. 30. 14. Michel Angelo. Sk.^t? 4 ") Stl>.- A ' replica ' of a drawing in the Accademia in Venice. The Virgin seated, with the Infant Saviour standing at her knee in an animated attitude, in the background three singing angels. Black chalk heightened with white chalk. Height, 13I inches. Width, \o\ inches. Collections : Bossi of Milan and Lawrence. The Virgin, represented as a majestic woman of middle age, sitting, seen in profile, with her back turned towards the spectator, looks downwards over her left shoulder, with an ex- pression of anxious melancholy towards the youthful Saviour. The child, unclothed, stands at her knee in a momentary attitude, with one leg bent and supported on a raised step or pedestal, his left arm extended and reaching upwards towards the Virgin's waist. In the background, more slightly executed, three youthful draped angels stand singing before a lectern. In these figures may be recognised an obvious imitation of the famous singing boys of Luca della Robbia, in the marble Cantoria from Santa Maria del Fiore, now in the Museum of the Uffizj in Florence. The composition, doubtless a finished design for a picture, should apparently be referred to the master's early time; in all probability it was executed during the interval after his first residence in Rome, a. d. 1499, and the execution of the 1 6 DRAWINGS BY MICHEL ANGELO. Cartoon of Pisa, a. d. 1504. It may be noted that Michel Angelo was then in the first enjoyment of the fame which the Pieta in St. Peter's had brought him, and probably the great success which attended that celebrated group caused an instant demand for similar works of a religious kind from his various patrons. In addition to the composition indicated in the drawing, the two circular pictures of Holy Families (Lord Taunton's and the one in the Florence Gallery painted for Agnolo Doni), the two marble relievi of the same subject, and the Madonna and Child at Bruges, may be specified as referable to this same period. Notwithstanding the masterly style of the present draw- ing, it is doubtful if it is actually by the hand of Michel Angelo; in other words, there is some reason to deem it a copy of another drawing. Two other 'repliche' of it are extant, one in the gallery of the 'Accademia' in Venice, and the other in the Louvre ; of these the last named is obviously a copy, but there cannot be any doubt of the authenticity of the one at Venice, and on comparing a photograph of it with the present drawing, although a marked difference in the ' tech- nique ' of the two is visible, the details in both are seen to be exactly similar. The difference in the manipulation is on the whole to the disadvantage of the Oxford drawing. PERIOD OF THE CARTOON OF PISA, CIRCA A. D. 1504. 15. Michel Angelo. An ancient tracing from several original studies by the master. A torso of a man, three sketches of amorini, &c. Pen and bistre. Height, 12 \ inches. Width, 7^ inches. Collections : King Charles I, Lord Hampden, and Lawrence. The principal drawing is that of the torso of a young man in an animated attitude, the left arm held up and extended. Above it are three studies of amorini. This sheet also con- tains a study of a right leg, and four naked figures of men sitting, on a smaller scale. A careful inspection of this drawing will show that it is only an ancient tracing, on thick oiled paper, from some other drawing or drawings of Michel Angelo, and not his actual handiwork. This is placed beyond doubt by the fact that the original sheet of studies, from which the principal motives were traced, is still in existence : this also was formerly in the Lawrence Collection, and is now in that of Henry Vaughan, Esq. It contains on one side the torso of the young man, and on the other a series of eight studies of amorini, three of which only are transferred by tracing to the sheet now under consideration. The study of a leg and the four small seated figures on the latter, were doubtless traced from some other drawings of Michel Angelo, perhaps no longer D 1 8 DRAWINGS BY MICHEL ANGELO. extant. Judging from the resemblance in style to authentic studies for the Cartoon of Pisa, these sketches seem to be of at least as early date as the period of that work, i. e. circa a. d. 1500-4. Woodburn described the principal figure as a study for the David, and repeated the assertion in his description of Mr. Vaughan's drawing ; but it has evidently nothing to do with that statue, and it might perhaps, with more likelihood, be thought to be a first sketch for one of the lost figures of a bathing soldier in the Cartoon of Pisa. An interesting circumstance in connection with the Vaughan drawing, however, seems to furnish a definite clue to the date, and at the same time to connect these studies with another celebrated work of the master. Near two of the sketches of amorini, in the Vaughan drawing, is repeated this same inscrip- tion, ' chossi de Bruges' ('like this (or thus) at Bruges'); and the sketches in question appear to be studies for the Infant Sa- viour in the celebrated marble group by Michel Angelo in the Church of Notre Dame at Bruges. (One of these inscribed studies has been traced and transferred to the sheet now under notice ; it is the amorino in the right-hand upper corner.) Now we know that the Bruges group was executed shortly after Michel Angelo's return to Florence, after his first visit to Rome, and before the Pisa Cartoon. (See Appendix, Note 2, for further notice of the Bruges Madonna and Child.) 16. Michel Angelo. 3.S Sketch of a battle subject, probably for the Cartoon of Pisa. Pen drawing in bistre. Width, 10 inches. Height, *\\ inches. Collections : Ottley and Lawrence. This vigorous but rather slight sketch represents a furious combat of cavalry and foot- soldiers. The group consists of a mounted soldier, the horse rushing forward, rearing and overthrowing three foot-soldiers in front. The horseman is in turn attacked by a soldier on the right, and others on the left, one of them armed with a lance. Woodburn (Oxford Catalogue, No. 1 o) calls this composition ' Warriors Fighting, PERIOD OF CARTOON OF PISA, CIRCA A.D. 1504. 1 9 for the Cartoon of the Battle of the Florentines against the Pisani on the Banks of the Arno;' also 'the Conversion of St. Paul.' In regard to the last-named composition, how- ever, there is certainly no resemblance whatever between the present sketch and any portion of it : the St. Paul, moreover, was executed in Michel Angelo's old age, whereas the present sketch is of his youthful time. But there is great probability, that it is a preliminary sketch for a portion of the Cartoon of Pisa. Ottley, in fact, believed that it was so, and has made some interesting observations in regard to that celebrated work, and to this drawing in particular (' Italian School of Design,' page 27). It should be premised, that this particular group is not to be found in any of the representations of the Cartoon of Pisa which have come down to us. Ottley says : ' The chief group represented a party of Florentine soldiers, who, hearing the signal of attack whilst bathing in the Arno, ap- peared hastening out of the river, buckling on their armour, and rushing to the assistance of their comrades, who were seen already engaged in combat with the enemy in the distance. ' There exists no doubt in my mind as to the introduction of these groups in the background, though I consider them to have been represented at a great distance, and consequently in figures of very small dimensions. I possess indeed two slight pen-sketches, which I have always been convinced were made by Michel Angelo for this part of the work — the one represents a combat betwixt two cavaliers, the other a skirmish between two small bodies of cavalry and infantry. It is true that the picture at Mr. Coke's, by Aristotele di Sangallo, has none of these figures; but then it is to be observed, that Vasari does not say he copied the entire work, but only the whole of the great group, and that in his description of the Cartoon in the life of Michel Angelo, he distinctly speaks of numerous combatants in the distance.' A comparison of this group with the smaller and still more rudimentary sketch of fighting soldiers, on the same sheet as the large study of a horse (No. 18), leaves little doubt that both were first essays for the same passage or episode in the background of the Pisa Cartoon, of which, in its ultimate shape, no record has come down to us. (See Appendix, Note 3, for further notice of the Cartoon of Pisa.) D 2 20 DRAWINGS BY MICHEL ANGELO. 17. Michel Angelo. Sheet of studies : a horse with its rider furiously gallop- ' ing (towards the right), the man with uplifted arm, as if in the act of striking with a sword; also a horse stumbling, and two other very slight sketches of details of the naked figure. Probably for the background of the Cartoon of Pisa. The horse and rider in pen and bistre, the other studies in black chalk. Length, io£ inches. Height, 7^ inches. Collections : Wicar and Lawrence. The style of drawing in these rapid outline studies resembles exactly that of the other Cartoon of Pisa studies, in this collection. The charging horseman is apparently one of the Pisan soldiers attacking the bathing Florentines. The stumbling horse is very similar to the horse in No. 20, but it is turned in the contrary direction. Lastly, the paper bears a water-mark of a cross ' botonn6' within a circle. (See Appendix, Paper-marks, No. 4.) The same mark occurs on No. 19, also a study for the Cartoon of Pisa. Woodburn (Oxford Catalogue, No. 67) calls this a study of horses, &c, for the horse in the great fresco of the Con- version of St. Paul. The galloping horse in that composi- tion is, however, in an entirely different position, and it is certain that the present study has no reference whatever to that fresco. }>fi 4rf13 MichelAngelo. Sheet of studies of horses and a slight sketch of a battle subject for the background of the Cartoon of Pisa. On the reverse are several drafts of sonnets and madrigals in the autograph of the artist. PERIOD OF CARTOON OF PISA, CIRCA A.D. 1504. 21 Pen drawings in bistre. Height, i6f inches. Width, \ \\ inches. Collections : Ottley and Lawrence. In the upper part of the sheet is a study of a horse seen standing sideways, and beneath it two other sketches of the hind-quarters of a horse, evidently from nature; (see the drawing next to be described, No. 19.) In the lower part is a slight sketch of a battle subject, a horseman attacking a group of foot-soldiers. Woodburn (Oxford Catalogue, No. 30) has rightly described this sheet of studies as having been made for the Cartoon of Pisa. The small fighting group is doubtless a sketch for a portion of the background of that composition, representing the attack of the Pisan horse- man on the unprepared Florentines; (see above, Nos. 15, 16, and 17.) The sonnets and madrigals on the reverse of this sheet are five in number; two of them respectively of seven and eleven lines have been published (see ' Rime di Michel Agnolo Buonarroti, &c.' ed. Barbera, Florence, 1858; pp. 221, 222; Madrigals, Nos. 3 and 4), and these have also been translated by Harford (' Life of Michel Angelo,' vol. ii. pp. no, in). They are love poems; but the three others are, in the writer's belief, unedited, — one of them, consisting of fourteen lines, appears also to be a first imperfect essay for a love sonnet ; it is hastily and badly written, full of erasures, emendations, and abbreviations ; it seems, in fact, to be a string of words, the meaning of which can be only vaguely guessed at. The writer has in any case failed to reduce it to either rhyme or reason. The other two poems are .more intelligible, and premising that several words, illegible in the original text, have been conjecturally supplied, they seem to read as follows* : — * Harford (' Life of Michel Angelo,' vol. ii. p. 107) quotes a passage from the life of Wordsworth, in which the latter enlarges on the exceeding difficulty of construing Michel Angelo's poetry. When in addition to innate obscurity of style, peculiar eccentricities both in orthography and calli- graphy have to be encountered, as in fact is nearly always the case in the inscriptions which so frequently occur on Michel Angelo's drawings, it is sometimes almost impossible to divine even the general tenor of the subject-matter. In all probability the three poems on the present sheet have remained unpublished from the simple fact that no sufficiently intelligible version could be made of them ; and the writer would not have attempted to transcribe 22 DRAWINGS BY MICHEL ANGELO. 'Colui che il tutto fe, fece ogni parte E poi del tutto la piu bella scelse Per mostrar quivi le sue cose eccelse Come ha fatto or colla sua divin arte.' 2 'Signor se vero e alcun proverbio antico questo b ben quel, che chi pub mai non vuole Tu hai creduto a favole e parole E premiato chi b del ver nemico Io sono e fui gia tuo buono servo antico A te son dato come i raggi al sole E del mio tempo non t' incresce o duoie E men ti piaccio se piu m' affatico Gia sperai ascender per la tua altezza E il giusto peso e la potente spada Fassi al bisogno e non la voce d' echo Ma al cielo b quel che ogni virtu disprezza Locarla al mondo si vuol ch' altri vada A prender frutto da un arbor ch' b secco.' 19. MichelAngelo. 5HMT*t) Group, of a man mounting on horseback, assisted by another man holding the stirrup. A study on a larger scale of the torso of the latter figure on the reverse. Prob- ably for the Cartoon of Pisa. The group in black chalk. The study in pen and bistre. Height, io| inches. Width, *}\ inches. Collections : Lely, Richardson, West, and Lawrence. The exact resemblance in the style of execution of the torso, which represents the back, the upper arms and thigh of the man bending forward to hold the stirrup-iron, with the fine the two given in the text, but from the fact that their intention seems to differ considerably from the usual tenor of Michel Angelo's poetry. (See Appendix, Note 4, for further remarks on these sonnets.) PERIOD OF CARTOON OF PISA, CIRCA A.D. 1504. 23 study for one of the Cartoon of Pisa figures, now in the possession of H. Vaughan, Esq., immediately suggested to the writer that this sheet was one of those prepared for that famous Cartoon ; moreover, on further consideration and comparison, it became evident that the large drawing of a horse standing sideways, previously described (No. 18), was no other than Michel Angelo's study from nature for the horse in this very composition. The group is obviously one of those prepared for, and in all probability actually introduced into, the background of the Cartoon: it represents a man-at-arms, assisted by his groom or esquire, hurriedly mounting his horse, naked as he had rushed out of the river, and hastening to repel the sudden onslaught of the Pisan forces. It is scarcely necessary to state, that the group is not one of those represented in the Holkham copy. There is, in fact, probably no other record of it. The study of the man's body was apparently drawn from nature ; it is executed in precisely the same admirable style of pen hatching as the horse (No. 18), on the same relative scale of proportion, and it was probably drawn at the same time. The paper bears a conspicuous water-mark, a cross ' botonn£' within a circle. See also the same mark on No. 17, also a study for the Cartoon of Pisa. (Appendix, Paper-marks, No. 4.) 20. Michel Angelo. • 7*1 A ' Sheet of sketches, drawn on both sides, — a horse, a trophy of arms, a head in profile, &c. Pen drawing in bistre, the slighter sketches in red chalk. Width, n| inches. Height, *\\ inches. Collections : Richardson and Lawrence. The front or principal side contains several disconnected studies, the one in the centre being a horse seen sideways, standing before a trophy of arms. On the left is a slighter sketch of a group of two horsemen fighting, one of whom has overthrown the other, and appears to be forcing both man and horse over the edge of a precipice, or the steep bank of a river; and on the right a young man's head in profile, strongly resembling that of the David. Some sketches 24 DRAWINGS BY MICHEL ANGELO. of mouldings apparently for a handrail, or the coping of a balustrade, and several unintelligible scraps of writing in the autograph of the artist are also scattered about. On the reverse is a sketch of a male standing figure very slightly drawn in outline in red chalk, the shadows indicated with a faint wash of bistre; and also a sketch on a smaller scale of a female draped standing figure. The equestrian group so much resembles other sketches for the Cartoon of Pisa, as to leave little doubt that it was a first thought for one of the groups of small figures in the background of that composition. (Compare the struggling horse with that sketched in black chalk in the sheet of studies, No. 17, also made for the Pisa Cartoon.) The water-mark on the paper is a star of six points within a circle; (see Appendix, Paper-marks, No. 5.) 21. Michel Angelo. J>i Sheet of studies — details of the naked figure, from nature, and on the reverse a seated female figure, and two sketches of heads. Pen drawings in bistre. Length, 9§ inches. Height, 7§ inches. Collections : Wicar and Lawrence. The detailed renderings of portions of the figure, evidently studied from the living model, are as follows : — A torso in a standing position, without head or arms, back view; a left arm raised and seen from beneath, so as to show the armpit, and the action of the pectoral and costal muscles. Beneath it, the left side of the upper part of the back, and the left arm uplifted and bent, apparently as a study illus- trating the movement of the scapula and shoulder-joint, and the changes of form of the deltoid; finally, on the extreme right, an exquisite study of the thigh and knee-joint of a right leg. The drawings on the reverse of the leaf are free sketches (i. e. not from nature) ; these represent the torso of a man sitting and wearing a winged Mercury's cap, the arms and legs PERIOD OF CARTOON OF PISA, CIRCA A.D. 1504. 25 terminating in scrolls. Two bearded heads of men, one of them bald. The vigorous execution and style of these draw- ings, especially in the sharp decided pen hatching, exactly resemble those of the Cartoon of Pisa studies. The date of production may therefore be assumed to be the same. 22. Michel Angelo. I The Virgin with the Infant Saviour seated on the lap of St. Elizabeth; — several studies of heads, the back of a naked figure &c, on the reverse. Pen drawing in bistre. Height, 10 inches. Width, 7 inches. Collections : Crozat, Lagoy, Dimsdale, and Lawrence. This design of the Virgin and St. Elizabeth, rapidly indi- cated with the pen, is probably the first idea of a marble group, which it may be presumed was never executed. Three of the beautiful heads on the reverse display so much indi- viduality, as to render it almost certain that they were sketched from nature. Two of them are of middle-aged men, and one is a youth or female, with long flowing hair. The torso of a standing figure (the back from the loins upwards) was obviously drawn from nature : the style of execution in vigorous pen hatching seems to be that of the Cartoon of Pisa period, circa a.d. 1504. a. a. if^J E PERIOD OF JULIUS THE SECOND'S TOMB, CIRCA A.D. 1506. 23. Michel Angelo. Sheet of studies and sketches for the tomb of Pope Julias II, circa a.d. 1506. Shaded drawings in red chalk and outline pen sketches in bistre. Height, iig inches. Width, 7I inches. Collections : Marietle, Zagqy, and Lawrence. The principal study is of the upper part of a naked male figure (to the waist only), the head turned away from the spectator, the right arm bent, and the hand resting on the breast; the left arm pendent, and the hand grasping some undefined object; this study is in red chalk, and was to all appearance drawn from the living model. Lower down, on the left, another study of a right hand, also in red chalk, and evidently from nature. In the lower part of the sheet are six different sketches, on a much smaller scale, of standing figures of slaves bound to columns (each figure about 2 \ inches high), which were probably a renaissance variation of the ancient Atlantes or Telamones, i.e. figures acting as columns to support entablatures. In the upper left- hand corner is a sketch of a cornice of many enriched members. These studies are in outline in bistre. Although not heretofore identified, there can be no doubt that this is one of the preparatory drawings for the tomb of Julius II. Two of the small sketches of slaves will be recog- nised, as being respectively the first thoughts for the two celebrated marble statues in the Louvre. The enriched cornice is most likely a project for the crowning member PERIOD OF THE TOMB OF JULIUS II, CIRCA 1506. 27 of the main body of the monument, then (i. e. in the first instance) designed as a great quadrangular isolated altar tomb. The Mausoleum was the first work commissioned by Pope Julius after Michel Angelo's arrival in Rome in a.d. 1505; and at the end of that year the artist was sent to Carrara to procure marble for the work. It would appear that he spent a considerable portion of the next year (a.d. 1506) at Carrara, and it therefore seems likely that the present studies were then executed. On the reverse of this sheet are two careful pen studies of a bent right leg and another of a thigh and knee. (See Appendix, Note 5, for further notice of the Julius II tomb.) E 2 PERIOD OF THE SISTINE CHAPEL, CIRCA A.D. 1508-15 I I ? 24. Michel Angelo. Bg> 170 V Four leaves from a small sketch-book, now joined together as a single sheet, containing first sketches for the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel- chiefly drawn with the pen in bistre. Size of the sheet in its present united state, 1 1 inches square. Size of each leaf of the book, 5§ inches square. Collections : Ottley and Lawrence. The original form was that of a small square book, probably intended to be carried about in the pocket ; it has been unsewn and taken to pieces at some time or other, the leaves opened out, and four of them pasted together, so that a composite leaf, four times the size of the original one, has been formed. The same process has been followed in the series next to be described ; and thus eight leaves of this book have come down to us, all of them filled with drawings on both sides. Before describing the sketches in detail, it may be as well to note some facts in regard to them, and with reference also to the great work for which they were prepared. It may safely be assumed that these sketches were made in the year a.d. 1508, Michel Angelo being then in his thirty- third year. He had just completed (21st February) and fixed in its place at Bologna the colossal bronze statue of Pope Julius II; and he appears to have thereupon returned for a very short time to Florence, and to have gone on to Rome some time during the ensuing month of March. SISTINE CHAPEL PERIOD, CIRCA A.D. 1508-II? 20, He expected then to have been able to proceed with the marble tomb, which he had begun three years previously for the Pope, and which had been necessarily in abeyance during his and the Pope's absence at Bologna; but Julius, in the interim, had formed other plans : and in spite of Michel Angelo's disinclination to burthen himself with so vast an additional undertaking, the Pope determined to set him to work at once to paint the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, and we know from a record in Michel Angelo's own hand, that he made a beginning on the 10th of May, a.d. 1508*. There is little doubt, therefore, that the present sketches were made some time betwixt the above period and the end of the same year; and the date '15th September,' which occurs on one of these sheets, probably indicates the exact day on which the drawings on that particular leaf were executed. Ottley (' Italian School of Design,' p. 29) makes the fol- lowing intelligent observations: 'The preliminaries being settled, it became the first duty of the artist to determine the general plan of his work, and to prepare a design on paper, dividing the extensive vault, by means of a feigned architectural arrange- ment, into spaces and compartments fitted to receive the various figures and historical representations. This he had probably done before the end of August, for it appears that in the month following he was already busily occupied in making sketches and studies for the figures with which these spaces and compartments were to be filled. This I learn from a fragment in my possession of four leaves of a small pocket sketch-book, used by him on this occasion, and con- taining the first thoughts for many of the figures which we admire on the vault of the Sistine Chapel, some of these hints taken hastily from nature in the streets of Rome.' * See autograph memorandum concerning a payment on account of trie ceiling, printed in ' Gualandi, Memorie di Belle Arti,' p. 176, in which Michel Angelo explicitly notes that he began the work on this day (10th May), ' Chomincio oggi allavorare,' &c. The annotators in the Lemonnier edition of Vasai i have assumed this to mean, that he actually began to work in fresco on the ceiling on the day in question ; very little reflection, however, would have shown this to be impossible ; it doubtless means that he then first put his hand to paper, probably in the preparation of a general sketch for the arrangement of the entire composition ; after which, before actually beginning the fresco, many busy months must have been occupied in making preparatory sketches, studies and cartoons, — months which any other man would probably have prolonged to as many years. DRAWINGS BY MICHEL ANGELO. Although it may be taken for granted, that the preparation of a general drawing, such as Ottley alludes to, must have been the first step taken, no such authentic drawing has come down to us*. Now the book of which these leaves formed part would seem to have been the vehicle in which Michel Angelo, having settled the general disposition of his design, proceeded with a certain amount of system and order to work out his ideas in detail; with this, in fact, he may be presumed to have entered on the second stage of his labours. These sketches are not, as Ottley intimates, jottings from nature, made in the streets of Rome ; but, on the contrary, rapid conceptions, some of them entirely momentary and original; others are perhaps further developments of thoughts and motives already shadowed out in the general design. The greater number of the sketches are for figures of patriarchs and holy women, the progenitors of our Saviour, painted in the lunettes, on each side of the circular-headed windows of the Chapel; and for the colossal figures of prophets and sibyls, occupying the large triangular spaces or spandrils of the coved ceiling, betwixt and rising above the lunettes. (Reference to the engravings of side com- partments in Landon's work will make these positions clearly understood.) It should be stated that, as a rule, the figures and groups in these pages are not mere disconnected jottings, but that for the most part they follow and hang on to each other with more or less of sequence; the larger figures of prophets in the spandrils being in some instances sketched at the same time, and placed in their proper position in relation to the flanking pair of figures beneath. Some of the figures and groups are recognisable as the direct prototypes of the well-known ones in the fresco ; indeed some have undergone but little change in the process of expansion from the present slight and diminutive sketches (about 2 inches high) to the ultimate colossal scale. Others bear only vague and remote resemblance to the conceptions of which they were the first germs ; whilst others, again, seem to have been abortive inventions only, i.e. motives ultimately * The one in this Collection (No. 36), assumed by Woodburn to be original, is probably a copy made by some other person from the finished ceiling. It displays no material variations from the work as executed ; whereas it may be presumed that the real first sketch for the general arrangement would have been little better than a vague foreshadowing of the ultimate reality. SISTINE CHAPEL PERIOD, CIRCA A.D. I508-I I ? 31 discarded and superseded by more beautiful and appropriate ones. In one or two instances the sketches seem to have been forthwith approved and decided upon ; and slight studies of details of the figure, evidently from the living model, placed near them, indicate that Michel Angelo's next process would be to expand and develope them on a larger scale, with the aid of the living model, and perhaps of the lay figure for the draperies. To this phase of the work belong the beautiful drawings (Nos. 26, 27, and 28), the first conceptions of which may be seen in these pages. In short, these leaves afford us a vivid illustration of the practical method by which the great work in question was, as it were, gradually built up, and they form a singularly interesting and important record of the workings of the mightiest mind which perhaps ever concerned itself with the plastic arts. In describing the studies it will perhaps be best to take each square page separately, noting both front and back; and not first the entire face of the composite sheet, and then its entire reverse. The following numbers begin from the upper page on the left hand. 1. This contains five small outline pen sketches, the figures about 2 inches high ; all are for the window lunettes ; they are not however to be identified with any certainty. On this sheet is written dl quidici di Setebre, and Ottley writes of it (' Italian School of Design,' p. 29), 'Upon the top of one of these pages is written, in Buonarroti's own hand, dl qwdici di Setebre, followed by a transverse stroke of the pen, which is intersected by three perpendicular strokes, followed by a fourth, which reaches only to the top of the horizontal line — a memoran- dum doubtless of the day specified, and perhaps relating to some small debt incurred by him for an article of housekeeping, &c.' 1 a. (Reverse.) Eight sketches of standing and sitting figures, some in pen and others in black chalk. The principal one of these is a man seen front-face, reading from a large opened book held before him, which conceals all the upper part of his body. This seems to have been designed for one of the colossal figures in the spandrils ; perhaps it may have been the first idea for the figure of the prophet Joel, who is represented reading from a scroll held in like manner before him. Two other slight sketches of the same figure seem to show that it was one intended to be further developed. 32 DRAWINGS BY MICHEL ANGELO. 2. This page contains two small sitting figures, and a study on a larger scale of an outstretched arm holding a staff, and also a sketch of a hand. One of the small figures represents an old man (holding out a staff) ; it is immediately recognisable as that of the lunette figure underneath and to the left of the ' Jeremiah,' probably intended for the Patriarch Boaz ; it is almost identical with the figure in the completed work, and the arm and hand are studies for it, evidently from nature. The other figure, seen directly in front, with his two hands crossed betwixt his knees, his shoulders covered with a short cloak or cape, is obviously for the 'Aminadab,' the corres- ponding figure on the right of the 'Jeremiah.' All these sketches are drawn with the pen in bistre. 2 a. (Reverse.) Contains sketches of five figures ; amongst them may apparently be recognised studies for the colossal figure called the Sibylla Persica, and the two lunette figures beneath (to the left and right of the spandril on which the Persian Sibyl is executed), representing 'Abias' and 'Obed.' The three are disposed in the sketch in the same positions relative to each other, which they occupy in the fresco — a fact which of itself indicates that a previous general design or plan of the ceiling had been made. The sketch for the Sibyl nevertheless differs greatly from the design as carried out: it represents a naked sitting figure, accompanied by two Amorini or Genii, standing one on each side. Beneath it the Abias,— the woman asleep with her head resting on her knees, with one arm hanging listlessly down; this, on the contrary, was but little altered in its final execution. A large study, apparently from nature, for the same figure, is seen in the left-hand upper corner. The female figure (Obed?) on the opposite side, with a 'bambino' in swaddling clothes on her knee, which she appears to be putting to sleep, is also easily recognisable in the fresco. 3. This page is engraved in facsimile in Ottley's book. He observes of it : 'A facsimile of another page is here given, in which the admirers of this great artist will recognise three sketches for the outline representation of the Almighty disen- tangling Chaos, and two designs for the admired figure of the female winding thread (one of them as executed in the fresco), which is painted in the compartment under the Prophet Daniel.' There are eight small sketches on -this page, the most SISTINE CHAPEL PERIOD, CIRCA A.D. 1508-II? 33 important being the foreshortened figure, seen ' di sotto in su ' (i. e. from beneath), of the Almighty with outstretched arms ' disentangling chaos', painted in one of the central compartments of the ceiling. This majestic impersonation was very little altered in the fresco, and the difference which exists is perhaps to the disadvantage of the latter ; for it was impossible to surpass, or even to retain, in a finished work, the fervent energy displayed in every touch or rather scratch of the pen in this admirable sketch. There are two other small jottings of the same figure on the sheet. Another is a beautiful first sketch for the woman with a winding- reel before her (in the lunette on the left side beneath the Daniel). (See the more advanced study for the same figure in this collection, No. 26.) In the upper part of the page are two lines of writing in minute characters, in Michel Angelo's hand, unfortunately now only partly legible, owing to contemporary erasures and to the fading of the ink. As far as can be made out — they read as follows : — ' M . . . . Silvio i Roma Falconi da Magliano.' ' Silvio d . . . . sfero .... a Magliano in Roma.' Another study on this page represents a slightly drawn nude figure. It is probably one of the Genii holding festoons of oak-leaves. 3 a. (Reverse.) Contains seven small pen sketches of figures, and one on a larger scale of a sleeping figure in black chalk. The last-named study is the first idea for one of the lunette figures painted by Michel Angelo on the wall underneath the Jonah ; it is now no longer in existence *. Two of the others seem to be very rudimentary sketches for the colossal figure of the prophet Jonah, in the triangular space at the end of the ceiling, adjoining the Last Judgment fresco ; and another may be specified, as being in all probability a sketch, equally * The end wall of the Sistine Chapel underneath the Jonah, is now occupied by the fresco of the Last Judgment. At the time when Michel Angelo executed the ceiling, it was pierced by two windows of the same design as those at the sides of the Chapel, and he executed figures in the lunettes over them, of the same kind and in sequence with the rest: but when many years later he undertook the Last Judgment, having deter- mined to fill the entire end wall with that stupendous work, he caused the windows in question to be blocked up, and effaced the frescoes over them ; and the figure of which the present sketch is the first idea represents one of those then destroyed. (See Appendix, Note 6, for further detads in reference to these destroyed lunettes.) F 34 DRAWINGS BY MICHEL ANGEL 0. slight, for the foreshortened flying figure of the Almighty dividing light from darkness, painted in one of the principal compart- ments in the centre of the ceiling. 4. This page displays two studies from the life, on the larger scale of size employed in these sketches; one is the back and upper part of the sleeping figure of 'Abias,' and the legs of the old man with the staff, (' Boaz/ see just above, 1). Both these studies were apparently rapidly drawn from nature. Another figure on the smaller scale on this side, reading from a book, is perhaps a first thought for the figure of the King Joram. See the larger study, No. 27. 4 a. (Reverse.) This side contains only three pen sketches of figures; they seem to be other and very slight essays for three figures already represented, viz. the Boaz, the King Joram, and the woman with a winding-reel. 25. J^6./7<5 3 Michel Angelo. Four more leaves from the sketch-book containing studies for the Sistine Chapel ceiling. Same size as the preceding specimens. 1. This leaf contains seven small sketches of figures and groups, only one of which appears to be recognisable; it is for the prophet ' Jonah.' 1 a. (Reverse.) Five pen studies of various small figures ; one of them seems to correspond with the Aminadab. (See the previous sheet, No. 24, 2, p. 32.) 2. A slight drawing in black chalk of a man, a blind mendicant, bent with age, and walking with the assist- ance of a staff ; a dog walks by his side. This sketch, prob- ably a reminiscence from nature, had apparently no con- nection with the Sistine ceiling studies. It has considerable resemblance to the well-known figure, on the reverse of the medal of Michel Angelo in his eighty-eighth year, executed by Leo Leoni of Arezzo, upwards of fifty years after the probable date of the present drawing. (See Appendix, Note 7.) 2 a. (Reverse.) Contains four slight sketches of figures: one a man seen directly in front and reading from a large opened book; another represents a woman with a child SISTINE CHAPEL PERIOD, CIRCA A.D. 1508-II? 35 on her knee; this latter is apparently the first sketch for the lunette figure on the right side, beneath the 'Sibylla Cumaea.' 3. A study of a man naked, of the full size of the page, drawn in black chalk. He is represented as if asleep, seated or semi-recumbent, the body turned to the left, and leaning against some object of support not indicated, the face turned downwards and partly buried in the folded arms. This is another and more advanced study for the destroyed lunette figure already alluded to (see No. 24, 3 a); (see also Appendix, Note 6.) 3 a. (Reverse.) Group very slightly indicated in black chalk, a woman (?) standing, bending forwards towards the right, some children near her. This figure although greatly changed in the working out, is evidently one of those ulti- mately executed in the lunette under the triangular space containing the 'brazen serpents;' the children are omitted in the fresco. 4. Study in black chalk of a seated figure, reading from a book, held out at arm's length, the body inclined towards the right. This is on the same scale as the figure on page No. 2. It is in fact the study for another figure in one of the lunettes destroyed to make room for the Last Judgment fresco. (See Appendix, Note 6.) 4 a. (Reverse.) Two very slight sketches in black chalk of seated figures not recognisable. 26. Michel Angelo. h Study for one of the seated figures in the lunettes of the Sistine Chapel. A woman with a winding- reel before her. Red chalk. Height, io\ inches. Width, 7| inches. Collections : Buonarroti, Wicar, and Lawrence. This majestic figure is one of those painted on the vertical wall of the Sistine Chapel, in the lunettes above the circular headed windows. Although an integral part of its general f 2 3* DRAWINGS BY MICHEL ANGELO. design and executed along with it, these figures are, strictly speaking, not upon the ceiling. The present study was in all probability made from nature ; i. e. though with great amplification and idealisa- tion, it was drawn from a Roman woman, probably one of the tall large -limbed Sibyls of the Trastevere, in whom advancing age was still struggling with the grace of per- fect womanhood. It is not however the first design for the figure; for on two of the small square leaves of the pocket sketch-book, in this collection, will be found other small pen sketches of it; doubtless slight jottings made in the open air from a woman, whom he casually saw thus occupied, with a winding-reel before her. (See No. 24, 3 and 4, pp. 33 and 34.) The present drawing is a further amplification of the same figure, also executed as it would seem with the aid of a living model. The figure is in profile, sitting, turned towards the right, draped in a simple costume of the period, and wearing the usual linen head-dress of an Italian peasant; one hand holds a ball of thread, the other stretched out in the act of turning the reel, which stands before her. It will be immediately recognised, as it was but little altered in the fresco ; its position in the work is on the left of the spandril, on which is painted the colossal figure of the prophet Daniel. The drawing is engraved in facsimile in Ottley's 'Italian School of Design.' 27. Michelangelo. Be. 15^3. Study for one of the sitting figures in the lunettes of the Sistine Chapel; a draped male figure with a cloak thrown over his shoulders, in the act of writing on a scroll or sheet of paper supported on his right uplifted knee. Red chalk. Height, 8| inches. Width, 8 inches. Collections : Prince Borghese and Lawrence. This figure faces that previously described, being divided from it by the spandril on which the Daniel is painted. It is sup- SIS TINE CHAPEL PERIOD, CIRCA A.D. 1508-II ? 37 posed to represent King Joram. It is executed in the same grand and simple style, and has undergone but little alteration, in passing through the cartoon stage, previous to its execution on the wall. For the first vague ideas of it see the two slight studies in the sketch-book (No. 24, 4, p. 34). The paper on which it is executed bears a peculiar mark, a kind of quatrefoil, with four intermediate points, and within it three monticules, with a bird perched on the summit. (See Appendix, Water-marks, No. 6.) Another study in black chalk for this same figure, formerly in the collection of the poet Rogers, is engraved in facsimile in Ottley's ' Italian School of Design.' 28. Michel Angelo. Study for one of the sitting figures in the lunettes of the Sistine Chapel ; a woman seated, supporting at arm's length a child standing with one foot resting on her knee. Black chalk heightened with white chalk. Height, 7 inches. Width, 5^ inches. Collections : Ottley and Lawrence. This figure belongs to the same series as the two already described, and the drawing is executed in the same broad and simple style: it is situated at that end of the Chapel in which is the chief entrance; in the lunette on the left side of the spandril containing the prophet Zechariah. This study has been more altered in execution than the two previous drawings, and in the fresco it is accompanied by a second seated figure in the background, no trace of which is seen in this drawing; it was doubtless a rapid study based on nature, the costume of the woman being that of Michel Angelo's day. Ottley, who has engraved this drawing in his ' Italian School of Design,' remarks of it : ' This admirable group ..... was like many others evidently taken hastily from nature during the artist's rambles through the streets of Rome ; much of its beauty is lost in the outline of Cunego, who, having mistaken the long accumulated dust that covers the lower part of the woman's DRAWINGS BY MICHEL ANGELO. face for a beard, has transformed her into an old man. In the set of engravings by Adam Mantuanus on the other hand, she is represented much younger than in the present design.' 'Italian School of Design/ p. 31. 29. Michel Angelo. • :-.t$ 6 °[\ Sheet containing two different compositions of many small figures, representing the Plague of Fiery Serpents, apparently executed for the Sistine Chapel ceiling. Red chalk. Height, 13! inches. Width, g± inches. Collections : Buonarroti, Wicar, and Lawrence. Although these admirable designs are entirely different from the well-known fresco on the ceiling, the agreement in the style of design renders it highly probable that they were executed at the same time with it ; and they seem to give evidence of an amazing fertility of invention, which manifested itself in a number of noble conceptions not really required for the matter in hand. Each of these compositions consists of a crowd of small figures (the tallest in the foreground being about 2% inches high); and perhaps never were crowds in violent motion, agitated by terror and passion, more wonderfully pourtrayed. In the composition occupying the upper part of the sheet, the fiery serpents are seen descending on the multitude, which is writhing and struggling in agony. On the left the frantic mass of human beings is seen rent asunder as if by the passage of a thunderbolt, and individual figures may be noticed in every variety of attitude, fighting with the serpents, encircled by their coils, or scorched by their fiery breath. The other composition, lower down on the sheet, represents a different episode : here the crowd is supposed to be eagerly striving to get sight of the brasen image (not indicated in the drawing); people are seen raising themselves on tiptoe, endeavouring to see over the heads of their neighbours ; and one conspicuous group in the centre represents two men lifting SISTINE CHAPEL PERIOD, CIRCA A.D. 1508-II ? up another on their shoulders for the same purpose. Although on so small a scale, the highly finished naked figure of the man thus raised is one of the noblest creations of Michel Angelo, and it directly recalls the Adam and others of the beautiful figures on the ceiling; like them it is rendered in a more naturalistic and less muscular style of development, than is usually displayed in his designs of the figure at a later period. Portions of these sketches are shaded and carefully elaborated with the chalk, whilst other passages are very slightly indicated ; but even the sligthest line or scumbled mass is instinct with the genius of the man: infinitely more is suggested than is definitely pourtrayed. The collection of drawings in the Uffizj in Florence con- tains a pen sketch of the two men lifting up a third; that sketch does not appear to be an exact replica or copy of the group in the present drawing ; it is of inferior merit, and of rather doubtful authenticity. 30. Michel Angelo. teft^jot Stk**i Draped sitting figure of a female in the style of the Sibyls of the Sistine Chapel ceiling. Pen drawing in bistre. Height, io\ inches. Width, 7 J inches. Collections : Denon and Lawrence. The figure is seated sideways towards the right, but the head is turned round full face and bears an expression of sudden alarm ; folds of drapery fall down and cover one half of the face; the left knee is raised higher than the other, % and the right arm is stretched out, the hand resting on the raised knee, the fingers extended, as if about to clutch some object. Whilst in its general character, style of design, and technical manipulation, this grandly designed figure closely resembles the Sibyls of the Sistine ceiling, it is not to be recognised amongst them. The Sibylla Delphica is perhaps the one to which it has the nearest resemblance, but it is turned in the contrary direction to that figure. Not improbably the present design was prepared for the Sistine, but was ultimately discarded and some other chosen in its place. 40 DRAWINGS BY MICHEL ANGELO. Engraved in facsimile in Woodbum's 'Lawrence Gallery,' No. 20. 31. Michel Angelo. %.6.iJ0 Standing figure of an old woman, massively draped in a voluminous cloak, a crook or staff" in her hand ; a youth standing at her knee on the right. Reed pen drawing in bistre. Height, 13 inches. Width, 7§ inches. Collections : Revil, Ottley, and Lawrence. This grandly draped figure is executed in the same powerful style as many of the pen studies for the Sistine ceiling, the shadows massed in with vigorous cross hatchings. It repre- sents an aged hag of querulous aspect, perhaps a witch ; her head seen in profile and slightly inclining to caricature. She appears to be walking feebly (towards the right), her body bent with age, and she is supporting herself by the aid of a massive staff: the left fore-arm and hand are extended in an attitude of expostulation. The youthful figure standing at her feet does not seem to be engaged in any definite action. This well-known drawing is engraved in facsimile in Wood- burn's 'Lawrence Gallery/ No. 25. 32. Michel Angelo. <-< fi .ytS A sheet of studies of heads, twelve in number. Red chalk. Height, 14% inches. Width, 10} inches. Collections : Jeremiah Harman and Woodburn. This splendid sheet of studies is probably one of the ' carte stupendissime di teste divine,' which Vasari says (Vita, p. 272) Michel Angelo executed, as presents or lessons for his artistic friends. Not improbably it is actually one of those made for his friend Tommaso dei Cavalieri, who when young was SISTINE CHAPEL PERIOD, CIRCA A.D. 1508-II ? 41 desirous of learning to draw. The approximate date is indicated by the fact that one at least of these heads is from a figure in the Sistine Chapel ceiling; and the writer supposes the sheet to have been produced shortly after the conclusion of that work (in a.d. 151 i or a.d. 1512). That these heads are not preliminary studies for after elaboration might in fact be inferred from their appearance, which in most instances is obviously that of masterly shaded drawings from the round, or from finished originals. Six or seven of these heads are of male personages, three appear to be of females, and two others are respectively of a young faun, and a satyr; they are distributed rather irregu- larly over the sheet, and are on different scales; the most conspicuous and important of all being that of a young man wearing a turban (on the left side of the paper towards the middle). This is an admirable finished drawing of the head of one of the male figures or Genii, holding up the orna- mental festoons of oak-leaves in the Sistine ceiling (the one placed over the Sibylla Libyca) ; it is the same of which another authentic drawing has come down to us (also in red chalk) on the reverse of the sheet containing the first design for the recumbent figure of Adam, in the composi- tion of the Almighty giving life to man. (See the facsimile engraving in Ottley's 'Italian School of Design*.') Just above it, on the present sheet, is a smaller foreshortened head in the same pose, and strongly resembling that of the Adam itself. Several other of the heads, notably that of the female in profile wearing a hood of massive drapery, are, if not directly reproduced, probably only slightly altered from those of figures to be found in the ceiling fresco. There should also be specially noticed a beautiful profile head of a young man with long falling ringlets, in the left- hand upper corner; this has somewhat of the characteristic typal expression of Leonardo da Vinci's youthful heads. Finally, the lifelike head of a laughing faun, in the lower part, is doubtless also from some previous work of the artist himself, whilst the outline sketch of a grinning Satyr's face in profile seems to have been inspired by a head in one of Andrea Mantegna's prints (the ' fighting Tritons '). The style of design of these heads is of inimitable power and * This magnificent drawing, formerly Lawrence's, is now in the collection of Frederick Locker, Esq. G 42 DRAWINGS BY MICHEL ANGELO. perfection ; the outlines are firmly drawn, without any appear- ance of that uncertainty which so often distinguishes Michel Angelo's drawings at a later period, and the shading is laid in in broad and simple masses of graduated tint, as if with a brush : in fact, they are modelled up in precisely the same style as the heads in his oil pictures and frescoes. The writer's belief is, that Michel Angelo, having been called upon for a sheet of studies to serve as drawing copies, selected various heads from his own works, previously executed; and copied them at once on this paper, on a reduced scale from the Cartoons in his studio. The peculiar flat or mat appearance of the red chalk lines and shading leads to the belief that an offtract or counter- proof was taken from the drawing, probably shortly after it was executed. The paper bears a conspicuous water-mark of crossed arrows within a circle. (See Appendix, Water-marks, No. 7.) 33. Michel Angelo (or Copy by Battista Franco?). jfjf U-j 3>K&ich fWe bU. *X C.U*,kwMk D ra p e cl figure of an aged woman or Sibyl in a walking [>f 1>V(/J attitude. Finished shaded drawing with a fine pen in bistre. Height, i if inches. Width, 5g inches. Collections : Cosway and Lawrence. She is walking in an upright attitude towards the left, her left arm and hand holding up the skirt of her dress, the other arm bent and uplifted towards the head, the hand holding down the square-shaped linen head-dress, as if endeavouring to shelter the face from the sun; a bandage or wimple is tied round and across the lower half of the face, concealing the mouth and chin. On the reverse of the sheet is a slight outline study of a standing Amorino. This figure is engraved in facsimile in Metz's work. The resemblance in character and expression, which it bears to the Sibyls and aged women of the Sistine Ceiling, is so striking as obviously to suggest its having been executed at the same period. No such figure is however to be found in the fresco ; SIS TINE CHAPEL PERIOD, CIRCA A.D. 1508-I i ? 43 but there is a difficulty in assigning any definite date to this drawing, from the fact that the general 4 technique,' manner of execution, hand-work or touch, are so unlike those of any other authentic drawing of Michel Angelo, (at all events to any known to the writer), as of itself to constitute an element of uncertainty. Beyond all doubt this noble and expressive figure was de- signed by Michel Angelo ; but the question arises as to whether this particular drawing is the original limning by his hand, or whether it is a copy from it by an able artist, who may be sup- posed to have in some degree vitiated his copy, by executing it in a style of hand-work peculiar to himself. It is true (so far as the writer is aware) that no other drawing of this figure is known: but in support of the last-mentioned hypo- thesis, it must be observed that the execution, though very able and masterly, is yet characterized by a certain tendency to clever dexterous mannerism, difficult to describe in words, but very perceptible to the educated eye. Moreover the execution has a resemblance to the style and touch of a well-known ancient imitator of the designs of Michel Angelo, — the Venetian Battista Franco. In fact, the resemblance to Battista's man- ner appears to the writer so distinct, as to suggest to him the almost certainty of one of two things, viz. either that Battista's peculiar style of pen drawing was founded on some phase of Michel Angelo's style, of which the present work may be supposed to be a typal example, or that the drawing is a copy 'more suo' by Battista, from an original design of Michel Angelo executed in some one of his usual methods. The Amorino, on the reverse, is drawn in too slight and vague a manner to be of much assistance in determining these points. It should be noted however, that the authoritative ascription *■ di mano di Michel Agnolo,' is written in an ancient Italian hand at the back of the drawing. In regard to Battista Franco, see Appendix, Note 1. g 2 44 DRAWINGS BY MICHEL ANGELO. 34. Copy from Michel Angelo. v- • 68 ' . Finished drawing of the recumbent figure of Adam, in the composition of the Creation of Eve, in the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. Black Chalk. Width, g\ inches. Height, 5^ inches. Collections : Reynolds and Lawrence. Obviously a study from the fresco, probably executed not long after its completion, but certainly not by the master himself. 35. Copy from Michel Angelo. Finished drawing of the Prophet Jonah, from the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. Black Chalk. Height, 15I inches. Width, 11 inches. Collections : Jeremiah Harman and Woodburn. This is evidently a copy from the fresco: the style of execution, though tamer and more precise, has nevertheless considerable resemblance to that of certain of Michel Angelo's original drawings, and it seems to reveal the hand of Giulio Clovio, who is well known to have imitated the precise touch and technical manner of the great master. As indirect evidence however that the drawing is a copy from the fresco, it may be observed that the draperies in various parts are marked with initial letters, doubtless memoranda by the copyist, indicative of the local colours of the several passages. 36. Copy from Michel Angelo. (Ascribed to Giulio Clovio.) The ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. Highly finished drawing on a minute scale, for the general arrangement of the composition. SISTINE CHAPEL PERIOD, CIRCA A.D. I508-II ? 45 Pen and bistre wash, heightened with white. Length, 22 inches. Height, \o\ inches. Collections : Richardson, Ottley, and Lawrence. Although ascribed by Woodburn, and probably also by previous possessors, to Giulio Clovio, there does not seem to be anything in this carefully finished copy, to render its attribution to Giulio other than conjectural. It may perhaps with more likelihood be supposed to be the work of some eminent engraver of the first half of the sixteenth century : both in respect to the general aspect and scale of the design, it . recalls small prints of the Last Judgment by Martin Rota, and other sixteenth-century artists. It is important to note that this drawing shows the two lunettes, originally painted on the end wall now occupied by the Last Judgment fresco, and which were effaced by Michel Angelo himself probably about the time of the accession of Paul III, circa a.d. 1534-5. (See p. 33 note, and Appendix, Note 6.) It was therefore in all probability made before the above-mentioned date. PERIOD INTERMEDIATE BETWEEN THE SISTINE CEILING AND THE MEDICI TOMBS, CIRCA A.D. 15 1 1-20? 37. I 8 A-^i Michel Angelo. The Descent from the Cross — a group of the disciples bearing away the dead body of our Saviour. Red Chalk. Height, 1 4^ inches. Width, 11 inches. Collections : Denon and Lawrence. This important composition of Michel Angelo is probably unique : i. e. no other representations of this particular rendering of the subject are known. If intended as the design for a finished work, the arrangement of the figures suggests that it must have been for a picture, and not for any work of sculpture. The composition comprises eight or nine figures, and its precise intention is to represent the removal of the dead body of our Saviour, at the instant of its having been detached from the Cross and lowered into the arms of the sorrowful crowd of disciples. The body is suspended in a foreshortened pose, the lower extremities foremost, supported by all the members of the eager group. In front, on the left, a male . disciple in a half kneeling attitude, holds up the right thigh, causing it to rest on his shoulder ; the other thigh is supported by a female, perhaps Mary Magdalen, who clasps it with her left arm ; a disciple on the right bears up the body, and holds the bent left arm of the Christ; two others behind are assisting, the heads only seen. INTERMEDIATE PERIOD, CIRCA A.D. 1 5 1 1-20 ? 47 On the left are two or three other figures more slightly sketched, one of them bending forward eager to assist, but only able to hold up the right fore arm of the Saviour. The striking countenance of this figure somewhat resembles that of Michel Angelo himself. On the opposite side and in the background, a female, evidently intended to be standing at some short distance from the group, is seen in an attitude of passionate grief, her arms thrown wildly above her head, her mouth open as if shrieking. This figure recalls a similar one in Donatello's famous bronze relievo of the Deposition, on the San Lorenzo pulpit ; a motive which seems to have been so highly appreciated by the Florentine artists his more immediate successors, as to have been adopted by them and reproduced as an orthodox conventional type. The execution of the drawing is unequal (i. e. as to the degree of elaboration), the body of our Saviour and the two figures in front being well defined, and finely modelled, whilst other parts are more vaguely indicated with rapid vigorous strokes and with many pentimenti. There is no evidence to fix the exact date of this drawing : it is however certainly rather of the early than the later time of the master. In the opinion of the write*, it may with great probability be referred to the period betwixt the conclusion of the Sistine ceiling and the execution of the Medici tombs (circa a.d. 151 1-20?), and it may possibly have been one of the designs intended to be carried out by Fra Sebastian del Piombo. (See Appendix, Note 8, in reference to Michel Angelo's artistic occupation, during the period in question.) 38. Michel Angelo. Study for a portion of a composition of the Crucifixion, the principal group being of the Virgin swooning. Red Chalk. Height, 1 of inches. Width, >j\ inches. This design was doubtless intended to assume the shape of a rather crowded pictorial composition of small figures, and to represent Christ crucified betwixt the two thieves, with the 48 DRAWINGS BY MICHEL ANGELO. sorrowing disciples and other attendant figures grouped around. It is probable that the foreshortened figure of one of the thieves, seen in side view on the left, and the beautiful group with the Virgin swooning on the opposite side, are disconnected studies; i.e. meant for the same composition, but not arranged in their proper relative position; otherwise the last-named group would have to be supposed to be placed in the rear of the crosses, which does not seem likely. The group represents the Virgin in a recumbent position, sup- ported by St. John, who bends over her, and at the same time conceals his face with his left hand. Another male figure, muffled in a mantle, sits by the Virgin's side on the left, arms folded, body bent forward, and face downcast as if in an agony of suppressed sorrow ; whilst behind the group of St. John and the Virgin (on the right), a female is seen, rushing forward in a paroxysm of grief, tearing her hair; and in this figure again a reminiscence of Donatello's wailing Magdalen (in the San Giovanni relievo) is perceptible. This drawing is executed in a highly finished manner, with unusual sharpness and precision of touch, peculiarities probably partly induced by the hardness of the red chalk employed. The writer thinks he perceives a certain analogy in style betwixt this drawing and others (see the design for the Flagellation in the Malcolm Collection, Catalogue, No. 60) made for Sebastian del Piombo : and he would suggest that it may have been done (circa a.d. 151 1-20) as a design to be painted either by Sebastian, or some of the copyists in small, illuminators and others, who seem to have eagerly reproduced the great artist's compositions whenever they could gain access to them. The Lawrence collection contained another and more com- plete red chalk drawing of the same subject (styled by Wood- burn ' the three crosses '), treated somewhat differently, but evidently made at the same time as the present one. (See the facsimile in the 'Lawrence Gallery,' No. 8.) It is now in the British Museum. PERIOD, CIRCA A.D. 15H-2O? 49 39. Michel Angelo. £>.£>. Head of a young laughing faun. A study from the antique. Red chalk. Height, 8g inches. Width, 6 inches. Collections : Casa Buonarroti, Wicar, and Lawrence. It is shaded or modelled in a highly finished manner, probably after an antique marble of indifferent Roman work. On the reverse is a study of drapery for a standing figure, drawn with the pen in bistre, and also three lines of writing in the handwriting of Michel Angelo, being apparently a memorandum of payments made to one of his workmen, a ' scarpellino ' or mason of Settignano. The beginning of the lines is cut off, so that the exact reading can only be con- jectured : — ' ch .... s ... . duro in chasa circha sei di inazi . . chati e un terzo allodovicho assetigniano di grossi di. . . . . . agniola sopra decta grossoni veti nove p choto di suo salario.' Michel Angelo seems to have been in the habit of employing 'scarpellini' from Settignano, a village three miles from Florence, where the stone quarries had given rise to a population of masons. These men appear to have been mainly employed by him at intervals, betwixt the years a.d. 1505 and 1 521, at Carrara, where he was superintending the quarrying of marble for the tombs of Julius II and of the Medici princes. See Vasari (ed. Lemonnier, ' Prospetto Chronologico/ &c. vol. xii. p. 356), autograph letter dated a.d. 151 8, in which two men from Settignano are mentioned as working for him in Carrara; and also manuscript memoranda of accounts in the Buonarroti Correspondence in the British Museum. The present drawing was in all probability executed at about the last-mentioned date. H PERIOD OF THE SEPULCHRAL CHAPEL AND TOMBS OF THE MEDICI PRINCES. CIRCA A.D. 1520-34? 40. Michelangelo. $>&.i£<&\ Sheet of architectural studies for the tombs of the Medici princes, in the sepulchral chapel attached to the church of San Lorenzo, Florence. Pen sketches in bistre. Height, 165 inches. Width, \o\ inches. Collections : Casa Buonarroti, Wicar, and Lawrence. The slightly executed sketches, scattered over this sheet, are essays for the general disposition and architectural arrangement of the Medici tombs; they represent both elevations and plans, and show the ground lines of the inner face of the walls of the chapel. In all probability this is one of the most rudimentary of the rather numerous series of preparatory studies for these great works which have come down to us. The main fabric of the chapel was com- menced in a.d. 1520, and the sculptures for the tombs appear to have been put in hand almost at the first; the present studies were perhaps made within a year or two afterwards; one of the principal sketches shows an entirely different arrange- ment from that ultimately executed. Two tombs with plain sloping or roof-shaped lids, are here seen placed side by side, and there are no indications of recumbent figures. We learn from Vasari (ed. Lemonnier, vol. xii. p. 205, text and note), that it was originally intended to place four tombs in the chapel, i.e. doubtless two side by side, against each of the opposite walls, as seen in the present drawing. Only two, however, were really executed, and were placed one in the PERIOD, CIRCA A.D. 1520-34? 5 1 centre of each wall, the lids or pediments supporting colossal recumbent figures, two on each tomb. (See Appendix, Note 9, for further memoranda on the preliminary drawings for the Medici tombs.) 41. Copy from Michel Angelo. Design for a portion of the wall facade of one of the Medici tombs. Outline in black chalk touched with the pen in sepia, also slightly shaded with the same pigment. Height, 9 1 inches. Width, 9! inches. Collections : Paignon-dijonval and Lawrence. This important drawing, although a copy, is doubtless an exact reproduction, and it will be perhaps allowable, as a matter of convenience, to allude to it as if it were the actual work of Michel Angelo. As compared with the sketches previously described, it represents a further step in advance in the design of the tombs, and it is a much more detailed and elaborate work. It belongs, nevertheless, to an early stage of the undertaking, and it was probably produced very shortly after the sketches alluded to, perhaps even as early as a.d. 1521. It should be premised that no less than three other 'repliche' of this same design are known to the writer : in his opinion all four (including the present one) are sixteenth century copies, by different hands, from a lost original by Michel Angelo ; they all, in fact, seem to have been mechanically reproduced by means of tracing from the same drawing. The present example is perhaps the earliest and best rendering ; but it is less complete than the others, inasmuch as it only shows the upper part of the composition, whereas the other three give the lower part of the wall also, with the tombs standing side by side in front of it, as in the previous slight sketch, and with the important addition of a recumbent figure on the top of each sarcophagus. The three other drawings are respectively in the Louvre, the Albertine collection at Vienna, and that of the UfBzj in Florence. That in the Louvre was engraved in facsimile by the Count de Caylus, more than a century ago. The design shows the elevation of the facade above the H 2 DRAWINGS BY MICHEL ANGELO. sarcophagi, and the composition altogether is richer and more elaborate than the work as ultimately executed. It is difficult adequately to characterise the design in words ; it may, how- ever, be described as a facade in three divisions, separated by stilted Ionic attached columns; the principal compartment in the centre contains a niche with a circular-headed pediment, the jambs or vertical architraves surmounted by masks or terminal heads ; in the niche is a seated statue of the Virgin and Child. The side compartments contain each two statues, placed one over the other; the lower figures are sitting, clear of the wall -plane, and evidently represent the two Florentine saints Cosmo and Damiano; those above are standing figures recessed in circular headed niches, and are apparently allegorical impersonations. A bold cornice runs across, which, in the centre compartment, is cut into and surmounted by a large circular medallion or ' iondo,' evidently meant to contain a relievo subject: this is flanked by two figures of amorini, standing on the cornice, and leaning on the medallion. Two seated allegorical statues are also seen surmounting the cornice, one over each of the side compartments. It should be noted that this group of the Madonna and Child differs in design from that actually executed. In the present drawing the infant Saviour is seen standing at the knees of the Virgin, in a position somewhat similar to that of the Bruges group; and this seems to confirm the supposition that this drawing was made before, or at least as early as a.d. 1521, in which year it would appear that the group of the Madonna and Child for the Medici Chapel was actually begun*. There is no similarity betwixt the two recumbent figures surmounting the tombs shown in the Louvre, Albertine, and Florence repliche and any of the four ultimately executed. The present drawing should be compared with the one in the Guise collection in Christ Church library (noticed further on in this work, No. 4 of the Christ Church drawings). The latter is a record of a distinct but perhaps almost simultaneous phase of the design, and it appears to be the work of the same able copyist who made the present drawing. (See Appendix, Note 9.) The water-mark on the paper is a circle enclosing five small six-pointed stars. (See Appendix, Facsimiles, No. 8.) * See Vasari, ed. Lemonnier, vol. xii. ' Prospetto Chronologico,' p. 359. PERIOD, CIRCA A.D. 1520-34 ? 53 42. Michel Angelo. B b.!/*c() Two drawings on the same mount — study of an amorino in black chalk, from the antique, and a sketch in the same vehicle for the architectural arrangement of one of the Medici tombs. The amorino drawing — Height, 6\ inches; width, 5 inches. The tomb sketch — Width, 8| inches; height, 5§ inches. The first -named is a shaded drawing apparently made from the well-known antique marble group of an amorino struggling with a goose ; but a flying drapery has been added, and instead of the bird a slight indication of what appears intended as the fore parts of a bounding panther is substituted. Something like a garland of ivy leaves seems to surround the head of the child, and the intention may perhaps have been to transform the antique figure into an infant Bacchus. The writer supposes the date of this drawing to be circa A.D. I5IO-20. The other design is of more importance; it is a slight sketch in black chalk for the entire composition of one of the Medici tombs, i.e. showing the sarcophagus itself, the seated statue above it, and the surrounding architectural details of the side-wall of the chapel. It was doubtless made after the drawing previously described (No. 41), and shows a nearer approximation to the design as executed. Three lines of in- scription in minute characters, in Michel Angelo's autograph, in all probability give us the exact date. It appears to read as follows : — ' A di 16 di gugnio porto monagniola vetuno soldi al fornaio e chomicio taglie nel i5 2 4~' Apparently this is a memorandum of some small payment made to his baker on the 16th of June, a.d. 1524, on which date also it seems to record that he commenced working or carving, ' comincio taglie' (sic) something or other. A careful inspection of this sketch will reveal several interesting facts. In the first place, although the general arrangement of the design is similar to the work as ultimately completed, all the details are different; three niches are shown as in the work, 54 DRAWINGS BY MICHEL ANGELO. but their architraves and pediments, as well as the panelling between them and the cornice across the wall, are quite different, and richer in detail; a semicircular pediment also, flanked by two vases is, in this sketch, shown rising above the cornice, over the central compartment, a motive not retained in the work itself. The figure of the Duke, indi- cated in a very slight manner, does not resemble either of the statues actually executed, and it may be inferred that at the time this sketch was made, the exact design of the two portrait statues had not been determined. The sarcophagus, too, has a plain coped or roof-shaped lid, quite unlike the circular moulded pediments ultimately executed, which support the two recumbent figures ; and of these figures there is no trace *. It should nevertheless be remarked, that the present sheet bears, in addition to the design described, two other small and slight sketches in red chalk, one of which seems to be for the head and shoulders of the recumbent figure of Aurora, and the other for the head of the Duke Lorenzo ; the prob- ability, however, is that these were added at a rather later period, when the plan had assumed a more settled shape. On the reverse of the drawing is a study in red chalk of a standing undraped female figure. 43. Michel Angelo. AWr Sheet of studies for the Medici tombs. Chiefly pen drawings in bistre. Length, 17 inches. Height, \\\ inches. Collections: • Crozat, Marieite, Lagoy, Dimsdale, and Lawrence. The sheet is drawn upon on both sides. The front or principal face contains, on the left, a complete design for the recumbent statue of Evening Twilight, ' II Crepuscolo,' which, as the companion to the Aurora, is placed on the pediment * It should be observed, however, as an important indication, that the original intention of placing two (necessarily small) sarcophagi side by side as shown in the present drawing, is here abandoned, and that a single large tomb has taken their place. (See Appendix, Note 9, for further remarks on the order of sequence or period of production of this design, in relation to the other Medici tomb studies known to the writer.) PERIOD, CIRCA A.D. 1520-34? 55 of the sarcophagus at the foot of the statue of the Duke Giuliano; this does not appear to have been deviated from, in any marked degree, in the ultimate execution of the statue. Near the centre of the sheet is a sketch for the statue of the Duke Lorenzo, a back view; in this the arms are disposed in a manner quite different from the position they ultimately assumed in the marble. There are also two other slighter studies from this same figure, one of them, the torso only, from a similar point of view, and the other a smaller study for the same, also entirely undraped. This side of the sheet also contains an anatomical study of the back and right arm of a standing figure, a mask of an aged man, and a head of a young man or female of majestic mien, in profile, — this last drawn in black chalk. On the reverse of the sheet are four pen studies, from different points of view, of the left leg of the statue of the Duke Lorenzo, and two others of the same leg in black chalk. The last- named detailed studies were, in the opinion of the writer, drawn from a preparatory wax or clay model on a small scale, and were essays in emendation of the contours and general pro- portions of the limb. There is also on this side a study made from an articulated skeleton. These drawings were probably executed about a.d. 1524. Michel Angelo was then verging upon his fiftieth year; and although the stupendous works which they foreshadowed show that his artistic power had really undergone no decline, yet the evidence of this sheet, and of others dating from about the same period, goes to prove that his hand no longer obeyed his mind with the unerring certainty of earlier years. Masterly and beautiful as is the technical style of these studies, there is indicated in them the first appearance of that comparatively vague and tremulous touch, which became with advancing age more and more apparent. A certain tendency to mannerism, rather in the mechanical execution than in the design, and which seems to have happily been only a passing phase at this particular period, may also be here perceived. This drawing is engraved in facsimile in Woodburn's 'Lawrence Gallery.' The paper bears a water-mark of crossed arrows. (See Appendix, Facsimiles, No. 9.) 5* DRAWINGS BY MICHEL ANGELO. 44. Michelangelo. **. »7" Sheet of anatomical studies of a right leg, for a seated figure, probably one of the Medici Dukes, for the San Lorenzo tombs. Black chalk, touched with the pen in bistre. Width, \\\ inches. Height, 7f inches. Collections : Richardson, Cosway, and Lawrence. The same drawing is repeated three times over, and it appears to have been intended mainly as a study of the knee joint, or rather of the development of the tendons and ligaments at that part in a given pose. On the left may be observed a portion of another study of the same leg, as in nature (i. e. without the removal of the integumentary covering). On the reverse there is another anatomical study of the same limb, and on this side also, are two very slight pen sketches of groups of nude figures, prostrate on the ground in various positions, as if dead or dying. It does not seem quite clear whether these studies were drawn from an actual dissection or from the living model; in the latter case, it must be supposed that Michel Angelo, following the outward indications, expressed the anatomical details, which he knew to exist beneath the surface. In either case, this record is valuable as evidence of the minute care and scientific accuracy with which his great works were gradually carried out. The date of this sheet is probably about a.t>. 1524. 45. Michel Angelo. I K 1 Sheet of miscellaneous studies drawn on both sides, the principal design being two sketches of a group of Hercules and Antaeus ; it also contains drafts of three sonnets or madrigals in the handwriting of the artist. PERIOD, CIRCA A.D. 1520-34? 57 Red Chalk. Length, l6| inches. Height, i\\ inches. Collections : Casa Buonarroti, Wicar, and Lawrence. This interesting sheet seems to have served as a vehicle for discursive jottings, both of a pictorial and a literary or poetical nature ; it was doubtless produced at the period when Michel Angelo was occupied, in Florence, with the tombs of the Medici princes. The sketches with which both sides are so thickly covered need not all be separately enumerated ; some are very trivial, and several of them are repeated by a weaker hand, probably that of a youthful scholar. The principal motives are the following : — Two sketches of a group, evidently for sculpture in the round, of Hercules strangling Antaeus, the design nearly similar, but seen from two rather different points of view; perhaps this is a sketch taken from a wax model by himself. This indeed seems rather to be indicated, from the fact that they are apparently connected with the lines of a diagram, which seems to illustrate some problem in perspective or optics. This design is very similar to a slight pen sketch of the same subject now in the Malcolm Collection, and engraved in facsimile in Ottley's 'Italian School of Design;' the principal difference being, that in the present sketches Hercules has lifted his antagonist entirely off the ground, and holds him writhing in agony aloft, whereas in the Malcolm . drawing the Antaeus has still one foot planted on the earth *. The date a.d. 1524 on the back of the latter, indicates the period of its production. On this same side of the sheet are a study of a standing left leg, with the bones in the same . position represented beside it, two slight sketches of an owl (this is probably for the one introduced as an accessory to the recumbent tomb statue 'La Notte'), and * Another sketch of this same group, also in red chalk, occurs in a sheet of studies, principally of grotesque masks, in the British Museum (No. 557); it also represents the Antaeus as lifted up entirely from the ground. In that sketch, however, the backs of the two figures are turned towards the spectator, but the composition is in every respect the same ; the diversity of position seen in the three sketches appears conclusive as to the fact that they were drawn from a model by the artist himself. The British Museum sheet was obviously executed at the same time as the present one ; the paper, nevertheless, bears a different water-mark (a pear with two leaves attached). See Table of Marks in Appendix, No. 10. I .5* DRAWINGS BY MICHEL ANGELO. two caricature heads, in profile, of an old woman with a protruding lower lip and chin. The other side of the sheet contains a great diversity of designs ; the principal motives are a female head in profile, of noble aspect; a head full face, somewhat resembling that of the tomb statue of the Duke Lorenzo, but here transformed into that of a Mercury by the addition of a cap with wings ; a skull, a man on a galloping horse, a giraffe, evidently a reminiscence, based directly on nature, of one of these rare animals, and a caricature sketch of the same beast represented with a huge gaping mouth full of sharp teeth. There are likewise sketches of an easel or pair of folding steps, an oval ewer, a crab, a grasshopper, &c. On this side also, written over some of the sketches, are thirty-four lines of poetry in the handwriting of the artist. These lines, although here written continuously without any break, as if they formed a single poem only, have been published as three separate madrigals (see Rime e Lettere di Michel Angelo Buonarroti, ed. Barbera, Florence, a.d. 1858); they are Nos. 51, 52, 53. The tenor of all three is the same, namely, regret at lost time, the vanity of multifarious occupation, and the slavery of the passions, although advancing age warns him of the approach of death. Of the various designs, those representing the group of Hercules and Antaeus are the most important. It seems very likely that these sketches were made with a view to the celebrated colossal marble group, projected as a companion to his great statue of David, a design which, owing mainly to the intrigues of Baccio Bandinelli, who finally succeeded in obtaining himself the great block of marble prepared for the work, Michel Angelo was not able to carry out. (For a succinct account of the circumstances relating to this projected work, see ' Italian Sculp- ture of the Middle Ages,' &c. by the Author, London 1862, p. 141.) See also Appendix, Note 10. The paper mark on this sheet is an anchor within a circle, with a six-pointed star above it. (See Facsimiles in Appendix, No. 11.) PERIOD, CIRCA A.D. X 520-34? 59 46. Copy from Michel Angelo. k * <; A study from the statue called e Il Crepuscolo' or Evening Twilight — one of the recumbent male figures on the tomb of Giuliano dei Medici, in the San Lorenzo Chapel. Drawing in Red Chalk. Height, inches. Width, 9! inches. Collections : Reynolds and Lawrence. This figure is represented as supported on a trestle, or sculptor's modelling-table with four legs. It is a study, probably by a contemporary scholar, most likely made from a plaster cast of the celebrated work. 47. Copy from Michel Angelo. Study from the Medici tomb statue known as c La Notte. 5 Red Chalk. Width, 14! inches. Height, 10 inches. Collections : Wicar and Lawrence. This masterly shaded drawing was evidently made from the finished statue, by some student of Michel Angelo's works, not long after the execution of the marble. The water-mark in the paper is a prelate's or cardinal's hat with interlaced pendent strings. (See Appendix Paper Marks, No. 12.) 48. Michel Angelo. Three separate sheets of studies on the same mount, a slight sketch apparently representing a < Pieta/ or a group of the dead Christ, supported on the knees of a disciple. Height, 3§ inches. Width, 3 inches. 1 2 6o DRAWINGS BY MICHEL ANGELO. A study of architecture. Width, 6j inches. Height, 6 inches. A naked standing figure. Height, 3f inches. Width, 3§ inches. All pen drawings in bistre. Collections : Casa Buonarroti, Wicar, Ottley, and Lawrence. The first-named of these slight sketches, although unimportant as a drawing, possesses some interest, inasmuch as it is drawn on the back of a portion of an autograph copy of a letter having reference to the Medici tombs. It will be observed that the lines of the sketch are confused, by the fact of the ink of the writing at the back, having penetrated through the substance of the coarse thin brown paper. The writer believes that the present small fragment originally formed part of a sheet, a larger portion of which is now in the Malcolm Collection (see Catalogue by the writer, No. 62, p. 27), the latter sheet having at some time or other been ruthlessly cut in two, regardless of the fact that the important letter at the back was thereby mutilated. The Malcolm letter dated 1 8th October, 1 524, is an urgent application, by Michel Angelo, to the Florentine agent of Pope Clement VII, for the payment of eight months' arrears of his salary for work at the Medici tombs. It is very unfortunate that the paper has been clipped or cut down in every part. In its present state, that letter consists of twenty portions of lines, but the top part is entirely wanting, and the beginnings and endings of every line are cut off. Perhaps the present fragment gives portions of these ; it does not, however, seem possible to fit them to any of the lines, so as to complete the sense of the letter; or, on the other hand, it may be a portion of the sheet containing the missing lines at the top of the Malcolm letter. Unfortunately, the present fragment has been pasted down upon another sheet of paper, so that the writing can only be read by holding the drawing up to the light. As far as can be made out, the words on it are as follows : — . . . quanta duchati decto e facto dir . . . d . . . . . Exmo . . . ne di darmela . . . ch la decta provigione m . . . . . . Papa ch io no fa senza . . . PERIOD, CIRCA A.D. 1520-34? 61 . . . Mini che sta mecho noi . . . ... mi daresti ceto e d . . . . . . . ni no sapiai qua .... a presa ata o . . c . . . m . . . io u . . . . . . Schrevessi arroma ... in . . . cesl ml A facsimile of the • Malcolm letter will be found in the atlas of plates to Duppa's life of Michel Angelo; and the drawing on the front of it, a slight pen outline, precisely similar in style to the sketch in the present sheet, is engraved in facsimile in Ottley's work. In any case, if the present fragment be not actually a portion of the Malcolm letter, it must be part of a letter written about the same time and on the same subject. The paper is of a very peculiar quality, the same as that of the Malcolm portion, and it is a curious fact that Michel Angelo seems to have taken note of this very peculiarity, inasmuch as the last lines of the Malcolm fragment are a memorandum to the effect that he had sent the original letter by the hand of his pupil Antonio Mini, and that it was written on the same kind of paper as the copy. (See also Appendix, Note 11.) The architectural sketches appear to be rudimentary designs for a small isolated structure, perhaps the lower stage of a tomb; one of them is a ground plan, an oblong octagon, with detached columns at the angles. There is also a slight sketch of a naked sitting figure. It does not seem possible to determine for what work they were prepared, but it may be noted that there is a similar sheet of sketches, apparently for the same subject, in the British Museum; in it, the octagonal structure assumes the shape of a small portico, connected with a flanking or curtain wall, somewhat in the manner of an English bay-window. On the reverse of this sheet are seven lines of inscription in the autograph of Michel Angelo, forming a portion of a letter or paper of directions relative to some thread or wire, and payment for the same. It is without date or record of place, otherwise imperfect, and it seems to be devoid of interest. The third sketch is a slight and unimportant pen study of an undraped standing figure, with outstretched arms. Neither the period of its execution nor its intention can be determined, 'ft ft t-r/7 . DRAWINGS BY MICHEL ANGELO. 49. Michel Angelo. 2> 8 V»3 MtfYvh Architectural drawing. A ground plan of a small chamber for the preservation of relics, probably for the church of San Lorenzo in Florence. Pen drawing in bistre, with a slight study of a standing male figure on the reverse, in black chalk. Length, iof inches. Height, 6\ inches. Collections : Wicar and Lawrence. Although the use and intention of the curious construc- tion here sketched are sufficiently obvious, it is not very easy to give a clear idea of it by written description. The design represents a long narrow chamber in the thickness of a wall, approached by a staircase also within the same; this opens into two long balconies projecting from the wall, one on each side, and therefore placed respectively inside and outside the building. This disposition is moreover indicated by inscriptions in the handwriting of the artist, one within the church itself, 1 II vano nella grossezza de le mure p le reliquie ;' others on the balconies respectively '77 vano del pergamo de fuora,' and 1 II vano del pergamo de detro;' whilst the word 1 balaustri,' placed near certain points running round the margin of the balconies indicates that they were to be fenced by an open balustrade. These balconies would, in fact, resemble the marble singing galleries ('Cantorie') still to be seen in several of the Florentine churches. The entire construction was doubtless to be situated at a con- siderable height, in the wall of the church, and the balconies were intended for the exhibition of the relics to the faithful, on high occasions, and to worshippers either within the church or in the street outside, as the case might require. The standing figure on the reverse of the sheet holds a spear or staff in the right hand, the left arm uplifted, the right leg bent, the foot resting on a raised step. See Appendix (Note 12) for a further account of this relic chamber, which it appears was constructed by Michel Angelo over the principal door at the west end of the Basilica of San PERIOD, CIRCA A.D. 152O-34? 63 Lorenzo, during the Pontificate of Clement VII (a.d. 1523-34), for the safe keeping of a collection of relics contained in forty- five precious vases ('Vasi preziosi') with which the Pope had solemnly endowed that church. The water-mark in the paper is a lamb and flag within a circle. (See Appendix, Table of Marks, No. 13.) 50. Michel Angelo. Two men engaged in anatomical demonstrations — the body of a man lying on a long table betwixt them. Pen drawing in bistre. Length, 10 inches. Height, 6| inches. Collections : Crozat, Mariette, Lagoy, Dims dale, and Lawrence. This celebrated drawing was described by Woodburn as Michel Angelo and his friend Ant. della Torre, dissecting a human figure, which lies extended on a table, the arms hang- ing to the ground, and a lighted candle fixed in the stomach of the body, &c. The corpse appears as if it had been dissected with the view of displaying the superficial muscles, the skin and enveloping fat only having been removed. Of the two individuals, who appear to be intently studying some point of especial interest, one of them, the figure kneeling near the head of the corpse, is evidently Michel Angelo himself; for his characteristic austere visage is recognisable even in this comparatively slight sketch. The other is doubtless a medical professor: he is seated at the opposite end of the table, his right arm extended, the forefinger touching the corpse near the right hip, as if in the act of pointing out some particular fact to his companion. The ghastly truthfulness of the scene is even heightened by the touch of grim humour displayed in the position of the lighted candle, which, by a studentlike caprice, is stuck into a hole in the chest of the corpse, the body itself and the two figures being thus illuminated with a concentrated effect worthy of Rembrandt. Michel Angelo seems to have carried on the study of artistic anatomy at intervals all through his life. Vasari informs us that in his early youth, i. e. before he 6 4 DRAWINGS BY MICHEL ANGELO. left Florence for the first time, he was assisted in the practical study of anatomy by the Prior of Santo Spirito, who gave him the use of a room within the convent, and furnished him with subjects; and he enlarges, more than once in the course of his work, on the profound nature of Michel Angelo's anatomical exercises. Condivi, moreover, expressly records the fact of having been himself practically instructed by Michel Angelo and a common friend, ' Messer Realdo Colombo,' a celebrated surgeon and anatomist, who procured for the purpose the dead body of a young Moor. This must have occurred in Rome in the later period of Michel Angelo's career. From both these writers, moreover, we learn that it had been Michel Angelo's intention to prepare a work on anatomy for the use of artists ; and there is ample confirmatory evidence of this intention in his many anatomical studies, both drawings and models, which have come down to us. In regard to the period when this particular drawing was executed, the writer perceives so strong a resemblance betwixt its general style and technique and some of the drawings, made about the period of the execution of the Medici tombs in San Lorenzo (compare in particular this drawing with the sheet of studies for the tombs, No. 43), as to leave no doubt on his mind that it was made at that epoch. Engraved in facsimile in Woodburn's ' Lawrence Gallery.' 51. Michel Angelo. W.i7f^ Wl< f' Sheet drawn on both sides. Various sketches, ana- tomical studies of legs, the bust of a man resembling Michel Angelo himself, caricature heads, &c. Pen drawing in bistre. Height, \ inches. Width, 8| inches. Collections : Crozat, Mariette, Comte de Fries, and Lawrence. The principal side contains, on the left, a study of the bones of the left leg and thigh in a standing pose, evidently drawn from the skeleton, over it the superficial muscles sketched in outline in red chalk. In the middle of the sheet a head or bust of an old man with a long flowing beard; PERIOD, CIRCA A.D. 1520-34. 65 underneath this is written in an ancient Italian hand, but apparently not that of the artist, 1 Al suo quanio fratello' This head in everything but the long flowing beard, bears great resemblance to that of Michel Angelo himself; the in- scription may have reference to this likeness, and may be construed to mean ' as like him as a brother.' Above this again are two caricature heads, one of an aged woman in profile, and lower down are some slight sketches of small naked figures. On the reverse are two other studies of a right leg in red chalk, one of which has the bones drawn within it in bistre, and also a study of an eye, carefully drawn with the pen. Probably this sheet was intended as a lesson for some pupil. Notwithstanding their truthfulness and general excellence, a slight tendency to mannerism in execution seems to shew that these studies belong to a phase of Michel Angelo's style, previously noticed as characteristic of the period of the Medici tombs. 52. Michel Angelo. $£?'$.\?iS (SiUtti} Sampson and Delilah. Finished design, probably for a portion of a pictorial composition. Red Chalk. Width, 15I inches. Height, iof- inches. Collections : Casa Buonarroti, Wicar, and Lawrence. It is evident from the difference in the scale of proportion of the two figures, that it was Michel Angelo's intention to represent Sampson as a giant. The hero, recumbent, his head shorn, is represented at the moment of awakening, about to start up in alarm, and suddenly finding that his strength has departed. Behind him Delilah is seen rising, turning herself round, her head uplifted, and right arm extended as if beckoning to the Philistines to approach. This design is a masterpiece of dramatic expression and verisimilitude; and, as a drawing, it is one of those perfectly finished works, without any appearance of labour, which Michel Angelo alone could achieve. This group has all the roundness of a sculptured model. The juxtaposition of a woman of ordinary stature with a giant of twice her proportions at first sight conveys a rather incongruous expression; but the naturalistic style, in which both the figures are designed, exerts a counteracting influence. There is here, in fact, no trace of the excessive muscular development, which ultimately charac- terised Michel Angelo's productions; both the figures were probably drawn with the assistance of the living model. The drawing is in red chalk, the shading or modelling skilfully graduated, with a slight tendency to stippling, the resultant effect being a breadth and gradation of light and shade, which recalls the style of Correggio. The design appears to be essentially pictorial, and to have been intended as the principal group for a composition of many figures. Judging from the general style and manipulation, the writer thinks it was produced some time betwixt the Medici tombs period and that of the Last Judgment fresco, circa a.d. 1530-40. PERIOD, CIRCA A.D. 1520-34. 69 On the reverse of a beautiful red chalk drawing, in the Royal collection at Windsor Castle, which represents a gro- tesque architectural mask, is a portion of a slighter drawing for this same composition, also in red chalk ; but it presents the lower extremities of the Sampson only, the upper part of the group having been ruthlessly cut away. The paper-mark on the present drawing, is the well-known anchor within a circle, with a six-pointed star above. (See Facsimiles in Appendix, No. 11.) 56. Michel Angelo (ascribed to). B.3.'^ l Head of a female, probably for the Virgin. Finished study in red chalk. Height, 12 inches. Width, 8f inches. Collections : Harman and Woodburn. This head, of 'small life size' proportions, has some re- semblance to the head of the Virgin, in the well-known Holy Family, known as ' II Silenzio di Michel Angelo/ in which the Virgin, with St. Joseph on the one hand and the infant St. John on the other, the latter with his finger placed on his lips, contemplates the Infant Saviour lying at full length. (See the small oil picture in this collection, No. 88, and the outline in Landon.) The present drawing is doubtless an original study by a masterly hand ; but after careful consideration and comparison the writer cannot satisfy himself that it is the work of Michel Angelo, and he feels constrained to leave the question of its authorship for further consideration and for the appreciation of others. The paper-mark is a cross bow within a circle. It should be noticed that this same mark occurs in letters of the Buonarroti correspondence, and also in an authentic drawing in the British Museum. (See Appendix, Table of Water- marks, No. 14.) 7° DRAWINGS BY MICHEL ANGELO. 57. Michel Angelo (ascribed to). Jupiter and Ganymede. /wtru<|»f Study for a foreshortened figure rising from the tomb, in the lower part of the Last Judgment fresco ; and on the reverse, the legs of a naked figure in a foreshortened position. Black Chalk. Length, io§ inches. Height, 8f inches. Collections : Casa Buonarroti, Wicar, and Lawrence. This figure, drawn with consummate mastery and power, will be recognised as one issuing, head and shoulders foremost, from a tomb (in the extreme left hand corner of the composition) ; the massive stone lid of the tomb is being forced open by the act of emergence, and by the hand of another figure, which is pushing it upwards. The figure is changed in the fresco by the addition of drapery on the lower part, probably made by Daniele da Volterra. On the reverse of the sheet is seen the lower part (the two foreshortened legs only) of a recumbent figure, drawn feet foremost. The paper bears the well-known water-mark of a circle containing an anchor, with a small six -pointed star above it. (See Appendix, Facsimiles of Marks, No. 11.) 7 2 DRAWINGS BY MICHEL ANGELO. 59. Michel Angelo. Fragment of a cartoon, probably for the fresco of the Last Judgment; the head and shoulders of a figure of colossal proportions. Drawn in charcoal and black chalk, and heightened with white chalk. Height, 25 inches. Width, 22^ inches. Collections : Wicar and Lawrence. Woodburn (Oxford Catalogue, No. 51) calls this 'a man rising from the tomb for the Last Judgment.' Whilst there seems no room for doubt, that this drawing is actually from the hand of Michel Angelo and is a fragment from a finished cartoon, it does not seem quite certain that it was intended for the Last Judgment fresco. At first sight, it seems allowable to rush to the conclusion, as Woodburn seems to have done, that it represents the head and shoulders, and part of the body of one of the figures rising from the ground, in the lower part of the fresco (on the left). The energetic action of the foreshortened figure, the head in profile, uplifted, with earnest gaze and opened mouth, expressive of sudden surprise and eager desire to rise, the extended arms struggling to shake off the swathing grave- clothes, all point to this conclusion; whilst the general style of design completely resembles that of the Last Judgment; yet the writer, after careful examination of the numerous engravings of that composition, is unable to connect this fragment directly with any one of the figures therein; and as it seems unlikely that Michel Angelo would deviate to any great extent from so finished a study, in the course of its transfer to the wall, he must leave the point in doubt. That this noble fragment, however, is actually from the hand of Michel Angelo, seems to be almost certain. It is executed on several sheets of paper roughly pasted together, and in this respect, and also in the style of execution, it agrees exactly with the Casa Buonarroti cartoon of the Holy Family, now in the Malcolm Collection. PERIOD, CIRCA A.D. 1 534-4 1 ? 73 60. Michel Angelo. Mount containing five separate drawings, portions of larger sheets of studies, mostly slight sketches of single figures, and also a study of a skull, the head of a flesh- less figure for the Last Judgment fresco. Collections : Casa Buonarroti, Wicar, and Lawrence. 1. Beginning at the top of the mount. This drawing contains a sketch of a standing draped figure, in the attitude of one descending steps, and on the reverse a female draped figure in a momentary pose, leaning towards the right. Both are in black chalk. Height, 8 inches. Width, 4f inches. 2. A slight outline study in black chalk of a naked male figure, the upper part of the body leaning forwards. Height, 7 1 inches. Width, 3§ inches. 3. Two sketches in black chalk, one of a figure in the same pose as that last-named but draped, and the other of a small naked figure. The last appears to be a study, undraped, for the descending figure, represented on sheet 1. Height, 8 inches. Width, 4 J inches. All the foregoing sketches appear to be of the later time of the Master, i.e. after the Last Judgment period; they are apparently all studies for the same work, of which nothing is known. 4. Small study of the head of a skeleton enveloped in a shroud, as if rising from the tomb, for one of the figures in the left hand side of the lower part of the Last Judgment: this is a fragment cut from a larger sheet, and it bears the collection stamp of the Comte de Fries. Height, 2 1 inches. Width, 2^ inches. 5. At the bottom of the mount. On the left of the sheet a recumbent male figure, evidently done from a cast or wax model, slightly drawn, but in a broad and masterly style. More towards the right, an outline sketch of a naked figure 74 DRAWINGS BY MICHEL ANGELO. in the attitude of one discharging an arrow from a bow. On the reverse of the sheet is another slight sketch of the shooting figure, and a pen drawing of a Corinthian column in bistre. All the other studies are in red chalk ; in a corner of the paper, above the recumbent figure, is written in an old Italian hand, 1 di mano di Antonio Mini! Evidently therefore some former possessor of the drawing ascribed it to that scholar of Michel Angelo. If it be really the work of Mini, it shows how completely he had mastered Michel Angelo's style, even in the manner of his slightest sketches. 6L Copy from Michel Angelo. tA '< Group of a Demon carrying off one of the damned, from the Last Judgment fresco. Red Chalk. Height, \o\ inches. Width, 8f inches. Collections : Harman and Woodburn. This is obviously a study from the fresco, by a follower of Michel Angelo ; the touch and general style of drawing, indeed, seem to reveal the hand of Daniele da Volterra. The group will be recognised as one of the most conspicuous of those in the lower part of the composition on the right: the Demon is carrying the condemned soul on his shoulders, and is fastening his teeth in one of the legs of the figure. 62. Copy from Michel Angelo. aB < Drawing from one of the groups in the Last Judgment, representing a Demon carrying off a condemned soul. Red Chalk. Height, 5f inches. Width, 4 inches. Collections : Harman and Woodburn. A highly-finished and careful copy from the fresco by an able hand, but not that of Michel Angelo : it is perhaps of contemporary date. The group in the fresco is an isolated one, just above the figure of Charon in the boat. PERIOD, CIRCA A.D. T534-4I ? 75 63. Copy from Michel Angelo. - & f '* • A figure in the Last Judgment fresco, representing one of the blessed souls soaring upwards. Black Chalk. Height, 13 inches. Width, 5§ inches. Collections : Ottley and Lawrence. Like the previous one, this highly-finished shaded drawing, is a copy by a good hand from the fresco. The figure will be easily recognised as one of those on the left side of the composition. That it is of almost contemporary date is shown by the fact that it is represented entirely naked, whereas the figure in the fresco now has a piece of drapery thrown across the loins. This copy was therefore doubtless made before the time (during the pontificate of Paul IV) when the figures throughout the composition were embellished with draperies by Daniele da Volterra. 64. Copy from Michel Angelo. Drawing of a portion of the Last Judgment fresco: the group of souls rising from the grave in the lower left hand corner of the composition. Red Chalk. Width, 14 inches. Height, 9% inches. Collections : Cosway and Lawrence. This is obviously only an old sixteenth century copy from the fresco ; it is not of much merit, and is probably the work of an engraver. L 2 7 6 DRAWINGS BY MICHEL ANGELO. 65. Copy from Michel Angelo. The Last Judgment — finished drawing of the entire composition, taken from the fresco. Pen drawing washed and shaded in sepia. Height, 22 inches. Width, \d\ inches. Collections: {Casa Buonarroti P) Ottley, and Lawrence. This drawing, although not by Michel Angelo, is yet a very masterly performance, and it was probably made shortly after the completion of the fresco. It is unfortunately much injured by the fading of the pigment employed, and the having, at some time or other, been exposed to damp. A portion of the design however (comprising the Charon in the boat, and other adjoining figures) is comparatively well preserved; this passage is executed in black or neutral grey tint (doubtless indian ink, or some similar carbonaceous colour), not liable to degradation from exposure to light ; all the rest of the com- position having greatly waned and faded away, this passage now appears as an isolated spot. There can be no doubt, however, that the entire composition was originally completely in harmony, and the present discordance is an instructive evidence of the deterioration to which water-colour drawings, executed with certain pigments of organic animal or vegetable origin, are liable when continuously exposed to the light. 66. MichelAngelo. •=■■ " • - ■' Torso of a male figure in a pose somewhat resembling that of the antique marble fragment, known as the c Torso Belvedere.' Pen drawing over a previous sketch in red chalk. Height, 8^ inches. Width, 5f inches. Collections : Reynolds and Lawrence. PERIOD, CIRCA A.D. 1534-41 ? 77 Sir Joshua Reynolds, to whom this drawing formerly belonged, has written on the back of it — ' Michel Angelo Study for restoring the Torso! Although there is a certain general resemblance to the well- known antique fragment, the violent action or movement of this figure is, on the whole, different from that of its supposed prototype. The exaggerated muscular development, or rather the precise manner in which the superficial muscles are denned, suggests, on the contrary, the idea that this was a sketch for a projected anatomical model for the use of artists, the antique statue having been merely selected by Michel Angelo as a sort of theme or basis; or it may be only unconsciously imitated by him in its general aspect. This drawing is probably of the Last Judgment period. The water-mark in the paper is a spread eagle. (See Appendix, Table of Marks, No. 15.) 67. Michel Angelo. Sheet of studies of arms and legs. Black Chalk. Height, 10 inches. Width, 6 inches. Collections : Wicar and Lawrence. These studies occupy both sides of the sheet : on one side are two outstretched right arms drawn in outline, and on the other an uplifted right arm, a kneeling left leg, also a left thigh and knee in a bent attitude. The writer is not able to identify them as for any particular work; in the general style of design, however, they seem to resemble the Last Judgment study, No. 58. DRAWINGS BY MICHEL ANGELO. 68. Michel Angelo (ascribed to). Sheet of studies. An anatomical study of a right leg, the head of a female, &c. Black Chalk. Height, 8| inches. Width, 6 inches. Collections : Sir Peter Lely, Richardson, R. Holditch, Sir J. Reynolds, and Sir T. Lawrence. The leg is bent and seen from behind; the female head has a great resemblance to that of a kneeling woman in the foreground of Raphael's Transfiguration, the plaited hair, in particular, being similarly disposed ; the head is in profile, and looks over the shoulder towards the same side, but downwards, whilst that of the woman in the Transfiguration is erect, with a straightforward gaze. Although this head was evidently not directly copied from Raffaelle, its entire character both in expression and physiognomic type so greatly resembles the style of that Master, and is so unlike that of Michel Angelo, that it is somewhat difficult to ascribe it to the latter. At the back of the sheet is a shaded chalk study of the torso of an amorino in a walking attitude : in this also it is difficult to recognise the powerful hand of Michel Angelo. The drawing has, however, lost much of its pristine spirit by long-continued abrasion. The writer on the whole feels constrained to leave the authenticity of this not very important study in doubt. 69. Michel Angelo. Sheet of studies for a group of Sampson slaying a Philistine, &c. Black Chalk. Width, 9I inches. Height, 8| inches. Collections : Casa Buonarroti, Wicar, and Lawrence. The sheet contains five several studies for this composition, no other representation or record of which seems to be known. Two of these are highly-finished shaded drawings, PERIOD, CIRCA A.D. I534-41 ? 79 the rest slighter sketches ; all display variations and progressive emendations of the same design. It represents Sampson bending over the Philistine, pressing down the head of his prostrate foe with the left hand, his right arm uplifted in the act of striking him with the jaw-bone of the ass. On the same side of the sheet, on the right, another small square leaf measuring 5 inches by 4 inches has been pasted down: this contains slight sketches of three or four naked figures in energetic attitudes. This leaf has no connection with the sheet to which it is attached, the juxtaposition of the two being merely accidental. The last-named sketches were for a composition of Christ driving the money-changers out of the Temple, of which other drawings are extant (see No. 71 in this collection, and others in the British Museum), and which seems to have been repeated as a picture by the copyists in small, Marcello Venusti and his compeers. On the reverse of the principal sheet is an anatomical study of a leg. The small size of the Sampson group (the figures are about 2 1 inches only in height), and its compact well-balanced dis- position, suggest to the writer the idea that it may have been intended as a design for a medal, or small circular relievo to be carried out in goldsmith's work *. The execution of the two beautiful and highly-finished groups in the present sheet, seems to approach the style of some of the preliminary sketches for the general arrangement of the Last Judgment fresco, which may be supposed to have been made about a.d. 1534. The other sketches, supposed to be for the expulsion of the money-changers, belong perhaps to a period later than the Last Judgment (in a.d. 1541). (See Appendix, Note 13, in reference to the subject of Sampson killing a Philistine.) * That the great Master did occasionally make designs for his friends for objects of 'bijouterie' we incidentally learn from Cellini's autobiography. He recounts that Michel Angelo (circa a.d. 1527), came from time to time to his studio to inspect the progress of a chasing of Hercules and the Lion, intended as a medallion for the hat, and that the great artist after- wards made a design representing Atlas bearing the world on his shoulders, for Federigo Ginori, a young Florentine nobleman, to be executed by Cellini for the same purpose. LAST PERIOD, CIRCA A.D. 1541-63- 70. Hfo-isj'z c Michel Angelo. Three separate sheets of studies on the same mount. 1. Sketch for a Pieta, and for a group of two disciples carrying off the dead body of our Saviour. 2. Studies for a group of the sleeping disciples in a composition of Christ's agony in the Garden of Geth- semane. 3. Studies for a seated male figure. Black Chalk. 1 . Length, 1 1 inches. Height, \\ inches. 2. Length, 1 2% inches. Height, \\ inches. 3. Height, 4 § inches. Width, \\ inches. Collections : Ottley and Lawrence. The first named of these sheets contains two distinct designs, evidently for sculpture groups; they are first sketches, the figures being of small size (2 or 3 inches high only). That on the left represents a Pieta, or group of the Virgin sup- porting the dead body of our Saviour, and it has a striking feature of originality, in that the Virgin is standing up, endeavouring to sustain the body, which is also in an erect position in front of her. The other is a symmetrically disposed group of three figures, being two male disciples carrying betwixt them the dead body of the Saviour, also in an erect position, and appearing as if in the act of walking forwards with their burthen. This group is drawn a second time, more slightly, on the right. The former of these designs is very important, from the fact, that it is evidently the first idea of a marble group, by Michel Angelo, still extant in an unfinished state ; of the other probably nothing more is known. LAST PERIOD, CIRCA A.D. 1 541-63. 8 1 The writer immediately recognised it as a sketch, little if at all deviated from in the ultimate execution for a life-sized group of a ' Pieta ; ' a ' Sbozzo ' or first blocking out in marble, which is, or was when he saw it a few years ago, standing in the courtyard of a palace in the Corso in Rome, then occupied by the Russian Legation. This interesting marble, but little known in Rome, seems to have stood in the before- named position apparently for about two centuries, and an inscription on the pedestal rightly describes it as one of the last works of Michel Angelo ; probably it was left in his studio at his death, not being thought worth the expense of transport to Florence with the rest of his effects, and was afterwards regarded as a mere curiosity or thing of little value. There can be no doubt, however, that it is the work alluded to by Vasari (Vita, &c, ed. Lemonnier, p. 249) when, after having described the colossal Pieta or ' Deposition ' of four figures, undertaken by Michel Angelo for his own monument (the group now in the Duomo at Florence), and which, from having encountered some difficulties in the manipulation of the block of marble, he determined to lay aside, the biographer says, 1 it was necessary for him to undertake some other work in marble, in order that he might, for his health's sake, every day pass some of his time working with the chisel, and consequently he took in hand again another piece of marble, wherein was already blocked out another Pieta different from the former one and much smaller' *. Judging from the style of the present sketch it appears to belong to about the time of the completion of the Last Judgment, probably circa a.d. 154 1-2, and the marble group now in question was perhaps first taken in hand not long afterwards ; but like so many of Michel Angelo's undertakings it evidently lingered unachieved and was after a time laid aside. Now it is clear from Vasari's account that the removal of the larger group from Michel Angelo's studio, and the recommencement of work on the smaller one must have been quite in the latest years of his life — cer- tainly after a.d. 1556. (He died a.d. 1563.) The writer * ' E tornando a Michel Angelo, fu necessario trovassi qualcosa poi di marmo, perchfe ei potesse ogni giorno passar tempo scarpellando, e fu messo un altro pezzo di marmo dove era stato gik abbozzato un altra pietk, varia da quella molto minore.' And in a footnote to this the editor of the Lemonnier edition remarks ' di questo ^ruppo minore non si sa niente.' M 82 DRAWINGS BY MICHEL ANGELO. believes, in fact, that this small Pieta was originally projected before the larger group, which latter work Vasari expressly states (Vita, p. 226) was, after the completion of the Cappella Paolina frescoes (in Michel Angelo's seventy-fifth year) circa a.d. 1549-50, mainly undertaken in order to fill up his time, and for the sake of manual exercise with the mallet and chisel. To sum up in a few words, the supposition is that the first sketch for the small group (the present design) was made circa a.d. 1 54 1-2, and that the marble was undertaken perhaps forthwith, but soon laid aside ; then afterwards (circa a.d. 1550 ?) the larger work was commenced, and in turn abandoned, and that finally the earlier group was taken up again, towards the end of the artist's life, as a work of mere pastime, rather than with any serious intention of ever bringing it to perfection. Now the group in Rome affords striking confirmation of Vasari's account: the resumption of the work upon it is indicated by the fact, that a complete reduction in the scale of size of the figures seems then to have been determined on. Probably some defect in the block, or accident to the marble such as Michel Angelo's impetuous method of working often exposed him to, may have caused him in this case also to suspend the execution of it in the first instance, deterring him, when he resumed the work again, from thinking of finishing it on the scale originally projected*. The intention of the composition, as may be well seen even in the present small sketch, is to represent the Virgin as a ' Mater Dolorosa ' holding up to the gaze of mankind the stiffening corpse of the Redeemer. She is striving with failing strength to sustain the inert mass, her body quivering and bent in an agony of grief. Even as it is, portions of this half-formed marble are of great beauty, and it is replete with sublime and touching expression. (See Appendix, Note 14, for further notice of the group.) * His method of effecting the reduction in size was characteristic : he seems to have begun at the top and to have worked downwards, diminish- ing the size of the figures by boldly chiselling away the marble all round, guided by the eye alone. He has not, however, carried out this process uniformly, for he seems first to have reduced the figure of the Virgin to the required smaller dimensions nearly all over, before meddling with that of the Christ, and he then began to work on the latter figure in a very erratic manner, diminishing portions of it irregularly and leaving other parts entirely untouched ; the. limbs, especially one arm, being finally left as they were, consequently immensely too large for the head and body. The general effect is thus most bizarre, and at first sight inexplicable ; the Virgin, in fact, seems to be supporting a giant. LAST PERIOD, CIRCA A.D. 1541-63. 83 The sheet of studies for the composition of Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane contains, on the left, four or five separate sketches for sleeping figures of disciples in fore- shortened attitudes, and two slighter sketches of a figure in action, just arising as if awakened in surprise ; and on the right a group of three disciples asleep. All are of small size. Vasari (Vita, p. 273, ed. Lemonnier) mentions a drawing of Christ praying in the Garden, as being in the possession of Duke Cosimo dei Medici; and there is also an ancient print of the same subject, to all appearance representing an authentic composition of the master. (See the outline in Landon, pi. 39.) This last may have been taken from Duke Cosimo's drawing. The present studies, however, were evidently not for the engraved composition, none of the figures having any re- semblance to those represented in it. Ottley ('Italian School of Design,' p. 31) specifies the design of Christ praying in the Garden as amongst the New Testament subjects, which he supposes Michel Angelo had prepared for a series intended to be executed on the side walls of the Sistine Chapel; this however seems to be a merely gratuitous supposition. From the style of these studies they may apparently be referred to about the same period as the previous drawing. The third sheet on the mount represents two sketches of the same nude figure, a man seated on a bank reaching down- wards with his right hand as if to get water from a stream with a cup : it is perhaps of somewhat earlier date than the other two drawings. 71. Michel Angelo. S . 8 . IffS . Slight sketch of a group of three figures, probably for the composition of Christ driving the money-changers out of the Temple. Pen outline in bistre. Height, 4f inches. Width, 4g inches. Collections : Ottley and Lawrence. The principal figure (our Saviour) in the centre, in an energetic attitude, is striking at another on the right, who is stooping forward to avoid the blow; on the opposite side m 2 8 4 DRAWINGS BY MICHEL ANGELO. is a man endeavouring to escape, holding up his hands to protect his head. (See before, No. 60 in this collection, for another slight sketch of the same composition.) The Lawrence collection contained three black chalk draw- ings of this subject, differing but little from each other, and probably representing the design as it was finally settled. The composition is essentially pictorial, and would have been very suitable for reproduction as an oil picture by the 'little' copyists. These drawings are, however, the only representations of the design known to the writer; they would seem to be of the later period of the master, perhaps circa a.d. 1540-50. The three Lawrence drawings alluded to were amongst those selected in the first instance by the King of Holland, but they were purchased again at the king's sale by Woodburn, and brought back to this country : they are now in the British Museum. Two of them are engraved in facsimile on the same sheet in Woodburn's ' Lawrence Gallery.' 72. Michel Angelo. I$7t The Crucifixion ; Christ on the cross, with the Virgin and St. John. Black and white chalk. Height, 11 inches. Width, q\ inches. Collections : Casa, Buonarroti, Wicar, and Lawrence. This drawing is one of a series of various renderings of the subject by Michel Angelo, still preserved in different public and private collections. They are nearly all executed in the same manner, and are apparently of the same period (late in the career of the artist). The writer has made the following observations on two other drawings of this series (Malcolm Catalogue, Nos. 73 and 74, pp. 33, 34), and they apply in equal measure to the present specimen. ' The famous composition, one phase or preliminary stage of which appears to be represented by this drawing, is known to have been undertaken by Michel Angelo for the celebrated Vittoria Colonna, Marchioness of Pescara. It does not seem very certain what shape the work was intended finally to assume, but it is probable that Michel Angelo himself carried LAST PERIOD, CIRCA A.D. 1 54 1 -63. 85 it no further than a finished drawing. (See on this point, Letters from Vittoria Colonna to Michel Angelo, published for the first time in Campori "Lettere artistiche inedite," Modena 1866.) 'The composition, however, as finally carried out, is well known from the great number of repetitions, in different vehicles, by his contemporary scholars and imitators. One of the best known is a small oil picture, now or formerly in the Palace of Capo di Monti at Naples, probably executed by Marcello Venusti, from the designs of the great master. Numberless reproductions of the Christ however exist, carved in ivory and other materials, and from the general appearance of the several original studies now extant, it seems more likely that it was originally designed to be embodied in the round, as sculpture, than to be reproduced in painting. This work belongs to the later period of the great artist's career circa a.d. 1540-7. . . . ' See also in regard to the drawings executed for Vittoria Colonna, Condivi (Vita, ed. Barbera a.d. 1858, p. 157). An autograph letter from Vittoria Colonna to Michel Angelo also exists amongst the Buonarroti correspondence in the British Museum, in which the Marchesa thanks Michel Angelo for the drawing of the Crucifixion, which he had sent her *.' All these designs represent the rood, the conventional representation of the Crucifixion. Michel Angelo's intention seems to have been to invest each separate essay with some special and novel feature, and whilst confining himself strictly to the orthodox symmetrical ordonnance of three prin- cipal figures only, to give to each composition a distinctive character of dramatic action and expression. In the present design, it may be inferred from the drooping head of our Saviour that He has just expired, and the Virgin, seen directly in front and standing rigidly erect, her head bowed down and the palms of her hands pressed convulsively against her temples, may be supposed to be uttering a wail of anguish. St. John on the opposite side (viz. on the right of our Saviour, but the left side of the sheet), standing somewhat behind the cross, steps forward on the instant and with the upper part of his body bent forward, hands outspread, and eager * Already printed in Grimm's ' Leben Michel Angelos,' Appendix, Note 57. 86 DRAWINGS BY MICHEL ANGELO. sympathetic countenance, directs his gaze across towards the stricken mother of our Lord. This is probably the most naturalistic and touching of the several designs; and if the composition as ultimately carried out by Marcello Venusti and other followers (see the drawing next to be described, No. 73) may be taken as the great master's finally selected and approved rendering, there can be no doubt that, although it may be distinguished by greater abstract grandeur of design, it is very inferior to the present composition in point of human interest and expression. Like some of the others, this drawing is distinguished by numerous ' pentimenti ' and by the peculiar vague and tentative method of execution so often adopted in Michel Angelo's later years. The rendering of the forms is, in this example never- theless very complete, and it is distinguished by a sculpturesque relief and breadth of style which give strength to the sup- position that these compositions were destined by Michel Angelo to be carried out in the round. The habit, peculiar to Michel Angelo in his later time, of effecting changes of detail and making 'pentimenti' by effacing the work in black chalk with a white pigment — either white chalk rubbed or scumbled over, or lead white applied with a brush — is especially to be seen in the lower part of the figure of our Saviour, where the position of the legs seems to have been, by this means, several times varied. Besides trie present one, the next drawing (No. 73), and another in the Guise collection at Christ Church (noted further on in this work), six other drawings of this subject are known to the writer, viz. In the British Museum i Museum of the Louvre Paris i Royal Collection at Windsor Castle . 2 Malcolm Collection 2 The water-mark on the present sheet is crossed arrows with a six-pointed star above (see Table of Marks, No. 16): and it may be noted that the same device occurs on the paper of the Windsor drawing of this subject. (See Appendix, Note 15, for further memoranda on these compositions.) LAST PERIOD, CIRCA A.D. 1541-63. 87 73. Copy from Michel Angelo. 5 7&*' The Crucifixion; our Saviour on the cross, with two sorrowing angels in the sky. Shaded drawing in black chalk. Height, 14^ inches. Width, 10 inches. Collections : Wicar and Lawrence. This drawing is an old and careful copy from an original highly wrought drawing by Michel Angelo. This particular rendering of the subject is well known from many repetitions of it in the form of oil pictures by the ' little masters ' of the Giulio Clovio and Venusti following, and also from several Italian cinque-cento engravings. ( See, as a convenient means of reference, the outline in Landon, pi. 43.) It is the rendering of the Christ seen in the Capo di Monti picture previously alluded to. The Virgin and St. John are not in the present study but are introduced in the complete design standing (as usual) one on each side of the cross. The two small draped angels in sorrowing attitudes, one on each side of the Crucifixion in the upper part, represented as foreshortened figures surrounded by clouds, probably suggested themselves to Michel Angelo as an improvement on the old hierarchic precedent, in which the sun and moon are introduced in the same places. Condivi (' Vita di Michel Angelo/ ed. Barbera, Florence a.d. 1858, p. 137) clearly describes this particular design, which the writer (see previous page) has assumed to be the finally approved one. Condivi says : ' Besides this he made out of regard for her (Vittoria Colonna) a drawing of a Christ on the Cross, not as if dead, as in the usual representations, but in the supreme moment of His agony, with His head raised towards the Almighty, as if in the act of saying Heli, Heli, and in which the body is seen writhing in the acute pangs of suffering, and not hanging lifeless on the cross.' (See also Appendix, Note 15.) 88 DRAWINGS BY MICHEL ANGELO. 74. Michel Angelo. & & . Iff?, The Salutation of the Virgin. Black Chalk. Width, S~ inches. Height, 8 inches. Collections : Casa Buonarroti, Wicar, and Lawrence. The Virgin sitting, on the left of the composition, has one hand resting on a table, the other held up in a gesture of momentary surprise ; the angel standing, or just in the act of alighting, has his left hand placed on his breast and the right arm and hand extended in the announcing attitude. Both the figures are executed with a somewhat loose or uncertain touch ; and the figure of the angel, less finished than that of the Virgin, displays many 'pentimenti' or changes of motive. In the! upper left-hand corner of the drawing is an inscription arranged in four parallel lines, placed obliquely and proceeding from the corner downwards towards the Virgin; this is in the artist's own hand, but unfortunately faintly written in chalk, and part of it seems to have been purposely effaced. At first sight this might be supposed to be some religious text, dis-| posed as if in the midst of a burst of light projected from on high towards the Virgin, but as far as can be made out il appears to be a memorandum of secular import : the following is all that is legible, and it should be noted that the beginning of the lines were cut off when the sheet was reduced in size — ' .... vei .... al pictore p. dio dro a pasquino p (mandare?) a Chastel durate (legnio ?) ' In the Malcolm Collection is another design for an Annunj ciation, executed in precisely the same manner though still more slightly: both appear to have been produced in thi artist's old age. (See also the drawing engraved in facsimila in Woodburn's ' Lawrence Gallery.') In regard to this subject we learn from Vasari (ed. Lemonnier, p. 273) that Michel Angelo made a design for the Cardinal de Cesis, whica was carried out in colours by Marcello Venusti, and placed in the Chiesa della Pace in Rome ; and another also executed by Marcello placed in San Giovanni Laterano, Michel Angelo'a LAST PERIOD, CIRCA A.D. 154I-63. 89 drawing of which came into the possession of Duke Cosimo II. The well-known composition engraved by Beatrici (copied in Landon, pi. 34) was probably taken from one of the two pictures executed by Marcello. It represents an entirely different composition from the present one: probably this drawing may have been a first thought for one of the two pictures in question, but there seems to be no means of ascertaining the fact with certainty. The paper-mark in this sheet is a cross-bow within a circle. (See Marks, in Appendix No. 17). 75. Michel Angelo. ity-4 Slight study of a head looking downwards ; on the reverse, studies of architectural details. Black Chalk. Height, 95 inches. Width, 8 inches. Collections : Casa Buonarroti, Wicar, and Lawrence. This drawing seems to be of Michel Angelo's late time, the style of execution coinciding exactly with that of the studies for several compositions of the Salutation of the Virgin. The head, which is that of a young man or perhaps a female, may indeed have been intended either for the Virgin or the announcing angel in one of these designs : it is of small life- size proportion. On the reverse are a profile of a cornice moulding and an elegant design for a pilaster capital, the principal motive in the latter being a skull with large ears from which a festoon of pearls is hanging. The water-mark in the paper in this specimen is a rosette of seven leaves. (See Facsimiles, No. 18.) 76. Michel Angelo. c The Return of the Holy Family from Egypt ? ' Chiaroscuro drawing in bistre on a wooden panel. Height, 26 inches. Width, 21 inches. ' From the Collection of the King of Naples at Capo di Monte?' Oltley and Lawrence. 9 o DRAWINGS BY MICHEL ANGELO. The composition entitled as above by Ottley and Woodburn consists of four figures, all of which appear to be in the act of moving forward towards the spectator. In the centre the Virgin, seen directly in front and as if walking out of the picture, holds by the left-hand a naked youth, and with the other hand the infant Saviour, whom as a young child she sustains by a girdle round his body. Joseph following behind (on the left of the composition), leans forward and appears in the act of guiding the tottering steps of the infant. On the opposite side an ass, the head only faintly indicated in the background, is following the group. This original and unusual design might perhaps with equal reason be supposed to represent the flight into Egypt, in which case the youthful figure on the right might represent a guiding angel. The Virgin is clad in a close-fitting tunic, with a girdle round her waist ; and her figure like the others was originally drawn in the nude, the first outlines being everywhere apparent. The design is executed on a chestnut wood panel thickly primed over with a ground of dull green gesso, in a manner customary with the Florentine artists of the fifteenth and early part of the sixteenth centuries. The outlines are boldly drawn on this ground with the point of a brush in ordinary sepia water-colour tint, and the shadows were afterwards laid in with the same flowing pigment. Successive coats of varnish applied to the surface have since given to the work somewhat the aspect of a grisaille sketch in oil-colours. This work is obviously the com- mencement of a picture, designed . to be executed either in distemper or oil-colours, but which was never carried beyond the first 'lay in.' In the opinion of the writer it should be ascribed to the later period of Michel Angelo's career. Ottley ('Italian School of Design,' p. 31) specifies this composition as one of those which he supposes were designed to be executed by Michel Angelo on the side walls of the Sistine; there are, however, no special indications of any such desti- nation in the work itself. LAST PERIOD, CIRCA A.D. 1541-63. 91 77. Michel Angelo. Study of four naked figures of soldiers with lances, perhaps for the fresco of the crucifixion of St. Peter in the Cappella Paolina. Black Chalk. Height, 6 inches. Width, \\ inches. Collections : Richardson, Reynolds, and Lawrence. On the left side of the sheet two men with their backs towards the spectator, with lances in their hands, are in the act of ascending a staircase, and at a higher level on the same side are two others, one of them leaning on his lance. Although the firm vigorous style of drawing might perhaps be thought to denote an earlier epoch than that of the execution of the Cappella Paolina frescoes (circa a.d. 1549-50), the great resemblance of these figures to some of those intro- duced into the composition of the Crucifixion of St. Peter seems to denote that they were preliminary sketches for that design; the exact figures, however, cannot be identified, and there is a further difficulty in the fact that the soldiers with lances ascending the staircase in the fresco are turned in the contrary direction from those in this sketch (they occupy the right of the composition). There is, it is true, a similar staircase on the opposite side of the fresco (the left) but the figures on it represent friends of the martyred saint sorrowfully descend- ing. It is possible that Michel Angelo may during the progress of the composition have changed his mind, and reversed, perhaps interchanged, the respective groups of figures on the two staircases. 78. Copy from Michel Angelo. >v> . : . Drawing from a portion of the fresco of the Conversion of St. Paul in the Cappella Paolina. Black chalk shaded with bistre. Width, 14 inches. Height, 13! inches. Collections : Buonarroti, Wicar, and Laivrence, N 2 9 2 DRAWINGS BY MICHEL ANGELO. This fragment of a drawing, it need scarcely be said, is not by the hand of Michel Angelo ; it is an old but indifferent copy of a part of the design, comprising the soldiers on the left side of the frightened horse. 79. Michel Angelo. Nude figure of a drunken Faun, and another undraped figure on a smaller scale. Red Chalk. Height, 13! inches. Width, 9^ inches. Collections : Ottley and Lawrence. The Faun is staggering along, with legs planted wide apart, his arms hanging weakly down and extended as if to steady himself, the head drooping, with features expressive of drunken imbecility. The other figure, of smaller proportions and of slighter execution, stands in a rather contorted attitude as if holding up some weighty object, the head and left arm being only vaguely indicated. On the reverse of the sheet are two studies of legs, a pendent arm, and sketches of portions of hands. It has been remarked in the Woodburn Catalogue that these studies seem to have been executed in the old age of Michel Angelo, and that they were apparently made from antique bronzes. The writer concurs in the former opinion; but in regard to the latter supposition he thinks, on the contrary, that both the figures are original inven- tions of Michel Angelo and that the principal motive illustrated, that of the action or movement of the drunken Faun, admirably true to nature as it is, was probably put on paper as a reminiscence of the eccentric attempt at locomotion of some drunken man who casually came under the artist's notice. This figure, though probably executed more than fifty years later, shows the same leaning towards novel and somewhat gross naturalistic treatments of impersonations belonging to the classical Bacchanalian cycle, displayed in the famous statue of Bacchus executed for Jacopo Galli. Technically considered, this sheet furnishes a good typal example of the style of drawing and handwork of Michel Angelo's latest period; LAST PERIOD, CIRCA A.D. 1541-63. 93 it sjiould be remarked however, that at that time he seems but rarely to have made use of red chalk, perhaps because that material did not readily lend itself to the erasures and ' pentimenti ' which had then become so frequent with him. It will be observed of the figure of the Faun that whilst it is instinct with life and movement and the various details of the figure taken separately are admirably drawn, yet the general proportions are altogether wrong; the arms for instance are too small and weak for the size of the body, and the legs on the contrary much too bulky. These short- comings in regard to proportion are characteristic indications of senility: precisely the same defects, for instance, are observed in the works of the extreme old age of Titian (see his pictures at Madrid and elsewhere). The tremulous touch and frequent reinforcements and emendations of the contours seen in these studies of Michel Angelo are also in the strongest possible contrast with the prompt decisive creations of his early years. 80. ' f"* i~ &\£~IJ Ok* Michel Angelo. Architectural drawing ; design for a window. Black and while chalk, also washed with sepia. Height, 16% inches. Width, 10 inches. Collections : Casa Buonarroti, Wicar, and Lawrence. This beautiful design represents an elaborate window with rich moulded architrave and a complicated system of frieze, cornice and pediment work above. A square decorative tablet, or 'cartouche,' inserted betwixt the upper part of the archi- trave moulding and the cornice, bears some words of inscription in the handwriting of Michel Angelo : they appear to read — ' chi no vuol delle foglie' followed by some further words which have been erased and are now illegible *. The water-mark in the paper is a ladder within a circle. (See Table of Marks, No. 19.) * See Appendix, Note 16. 94 DRAWINGS BY MICHEL ANGELO. 81. Michel Angelo. Architectural drawing ; design for a window. Black and while chalk also slightly washed with sepia. Height, i6| inches. Width, n inches. Collections : Casa Buonarroti, Wicar, and Lawrence. This design, although evidently executed at the same period as the previous one, represents a more ornate window, the architraves having consoles in the upper parts, the frieze and entablature above being also enriched ; the whole is surmounted by a semi-circular pediment, the centre of the tympanum of which is decorated with a horned mask from which falls a double pendent festoon of leaves. Numerous ' pentimenti,' or changes of design, effected by means of erasures with white chalk, seen also in the previous drawing, show the great care and study bestowed on the details of these windows. This particular habit of erasing with white chalk has been already alluded to (see before, No. 72), as characteristic of the later 'technique' of the master. It does not seem possible to determine with certainty for what particular work these designs of windows were prepared; there are in them certain features of resemblance with some details of the Campidoglio architecture, but there is perhaps more direct analogy with some of the windows of St. Peter's. In their general aspect they resemble those of the tambour of the dome, but it is evident that the delicate mouldings and ornamentations shown in both the designs would have been quite out of place for windows placed at so great a height from the ground ; in any case it would seem that these drawings were produced during Michel Angelo's later years, doubtless after a.d. 1549, in which year he became architect of St. Peter's. On the reverse of the present sheet are some vague archi- tectural jottings of plans, &c, and a slight study of the pendent right arm and shoulder of a naked figure. LAST PERIOD, CIRCA A:D. 1541-63. 9.5 82. Michel Angelo. " Sheet of architectural studies ; apparently sketches of details for the wooden model of the Dome of St. Peter's. Black Chalk. Height, I5f inches. Width, 9 J inches. Collections : Casa Buonarroti, Wicar, and Lawrence. This sheet contains studies on both sides. The front or principal one, has a slight sketch of the ribs of a dome sup- porting at the upper part a lantern ; this is only very slightly indicated and it is apparently for the carpentry work of a model. At the top of the sheet, written in large square characters in Michel Angelo's own hand, is the following inscription : — ' Messer Francesco Signior mio caro, circa al modello che sia a fare e mi pare che col Cardinale si sia facto una figura seza capo.' On the other side of the paper are several sketches of a vague character, apparently of plans and elevations for the lantern. Vasari (ed. Lemonnier, vol. xii. p. 252) gives a detailed account of the circumstances attending the preparation of the wooden model of the cupola of St. Peter's in a.d. 1558 *. The 'Messer Francesco' alluded to in the inscription (the exact purport of which is not evident) was probably his friend Francesco Bandini, and the ' Cardinale ' may perhaps have been the Cardinal di Carpi. * ' Era ridotto Michel Agnolo in un termine, che, vedendo che in San Piero si trattava poco, ed avendo gia tirato innanzi gran parte del fregio delle finestre di dentro e delle colonne doppie di mora, che girano sopra il cornicione, tondo, dove se ha poi a posare la cupola, come si dira, che confortato da' maggiori amici suoi, come dal Cardinale di Carpi, da Messer Donato Giannotti. e da Francesco Bandini, e da Tomaso de Cavalieri, e dal Lottino, lo stringevano che, poiche vedeva il ritardare del volgere la cupola ne dovessi fare almeno un modello. Stette molti mesi di cosl senza risolversi — alia fine vi diede piincipio, e ne condusse a poco a poco un piccolo modello di terra, per potervi poi, con l'esemplo di quello, e con le piante e profili che aveva disegnati fame fare un maggiore di legno. II quale, datoli principio, in poco piii d'uno anno lo fece condune a Maestro Giovanni Franzese, con molto suo studio e fatica; e lo fe di grandezza tale che le misure e proporzioni piccole tornassino parimenti col palmo antico romano nelP opera grande all' intera perfezione,' Sec. DRAWINGS BY VARIOUS MASTERS FORMERLY ASCRIBED TO MICHEL ANGELO. 83. - Michel Angelo (formerly ascribed to). The Descent from the Cross. Red Chalk. Height, \o\ inches. Width, 6± inches. Collections : Richardson, J. Hudson, Reynolds, and Lawrence. Neither in the execution nor the invention of this design is there any resemblance to'' any phase of Michel Angelo's style, and it is obviously the work of another artist. The composition consists of ten figures and it represents the process of detaching the body of the crucified Saviour from the cross, and lowering it into the arms of the sorrowing dis- ciples who stand around. Two ladders are placed against the arms of the cross, and four men are standing upon them in various attitudes assisting to lower the body. The writer believes that this drawing is really from the hand of Jacopo Sansovino, and that not improbably it is a first thought (though very different from the finished work) for a celebrated composition executed by him in the shape of a wax model (see Vasari, Life of Sansovino, vol. xiii. p. 73). It is true that no authentic drawings of Jacopo Sansovino are known to the writer — probably none can now be identified with cer- tainty — but the model alluded to still exists, forming part of the Italian Sculpture Collection of the South Kensington Museum. (See description with engraving in the Descriptive Catalogue of the Italian Sculpture Collection by the author, DRAWINGS BY VARIOUS MASTERS, 8fC. 97 p. 189). The model in question, was executed by Sansovino, then a very young man, during the pontificate of Julius II, circa a.d. 1503-13, for the painter Pietro Perugino, to assist him in painting a picture of the same subject; and at the time it was considered a work of extraordinary novelty and merit. There is, it is true, also considerable general likeness betwixt this design and two other celebrated compositions of the same subject : one, that of Daniele da Volterra, embodied in the picture in La Trinita- da Monte; the other, the great altar-piece by Baroccio in the Duomo at Perugia; these, however, were executed at a later date, and as the writer has remarked (Sculpture Catalogue, p. 159, foot- note) were probably in like manner inspired by Sansovino' s previous work. On the reverse of the sheet is a repetition, with considerable variations, of the upper part of the drawing. s 84. Michel Angelo (formerly ascribed to). Sheet of studies of hands in various positions. Reed pen drawing in bistre. Height, \d\ inches. Width, \x\ inches. Collections : Wicar and Lawrence. Although vigorous and masterly these drawings are infinitely inferior to the similar studies by Michel Angelo previously described (No. 4) ; they are in fact without any doubt from the pen of Baccio Bandinelli in imitation of Michel Angelo, and may be regarded as an evidence of the restless vanity which is known to have continually prompted Baccio to measure himself with the great master. 85. Michel Angelo (formerly ascribed to). Study of a standing naked figure of a man, in a posture resembling that of the David. 9 8 DRAWINGS BY VARIOUS MASTERS Finished drawing in red chalk. Height, i2§ inches. Width, 6 inches. Collections : Otiley and Lawrence. This study, probably based directly on nature, is obviously not by the hand of Michel Angelo. The hard, precise outline, and the smooth, comparatively spiritless, style of shading or modelling displayed in it, are characteristics noticeable in some of the chalk drawings of Baccio Bandinelli; and not improbably this drawing is by that artist. 86. Michel Angelo (formerly ascribed to). Seated figure of a river god, with one foot resting on an urn. Reed pen drawing washed with bistre. Height, 7 inches. Width, \% inches. Collections : Richardson, Ottley, and Lawrence. The upper part of the figure has some resemblance (perhaps only accidental) to the mutilated antique marble statue known as 'The Torso.' The drawing is certainly not by Michel Angelo, and has no relation to any of his known works ; never- theless it has been received as authentic for more than a century past, doubtless on account of its having been engraved as such in C. Rogers' facsimiles, and also on the authority of the younger Richardson, who has written the following inscription on the reverse of the old mount. 'The great Duke (Grand Duke of Tuscany) has a model in wax, about the size of this figure, made by Michel Angelo to restore the Torso, as this drawing was without doubt made for that model. That was a present to the great Duke by Franceschino Vellazzano, when he was very old, and that it might be preserved for ever as a jewel. He had it from Vasari. — J. R., junior.' It is of course possible that this drawing may have been made from a wax model ascribed to Michel Angelo. The writer, however, has no knowledge of the existence at present of any such model at Florence. FORMERLY ASCRIBED TO MICHEL ANGELO. 87. Michel Angelo (ascribed to). ^ A sheet of studies of undraped recumbent figures. Pen drawing washed in bistre over previous outlines in black and red chalk. Length, 16 inches. Height, iof inches. Collections : Mariette, Lagoy, Dimsdale, and Lawrence. This sheet is filled on both sides ; on the one with a single large recumbent figure, somewhat in the pose of the St. Paul in the Cappella Paolina fresco ; on the other with a group of three large recumbent figures. Although executed with a sweeping pen, with great vivacity and assurance of hand, the mannered execution and absence of any real understanding or refinement in the drawing of the naked figure seem to render it impossible that these drawings can be the genuine work of Michel Angelo. They have, it is true, a general resemblance to some of his more mannered studies, and are very similar in style to the doubtful Jupiter and Ganymede in this collection; but the offensive bravura flourish, suggestive rather of the writing-master than of the great artist, is here carried so much further that it seems impossible that Michel Angelo's genius can ever, even for the shortest period, have suffered so complete an eclipse. In the writer's opinion they are old pasticci; in reality a kind of caricature of" Michel Angelo's style. o 2 'works in painting and sculpture having REFERENCE TO MICHEL ANGELO. 88. Ascribed to Marcello Venusti, after Michel Angelo. Holy Family ; a small oil-picture on panel. Height, 21 inches. Width, i6\ inches. Bequeathed to the Gallery by George Fairholme, Esq. This is one of the numerous sixteenth-century repetitions of a well-known composition by Michel Angelo, of which also there are several engravings (see outline in Landon, and previous notice in this work, No. 56, p. 69). It repre- sents the Virgin sitting, with an open book in her right hand; the infant Saviour naked and asleep by her side, his head resting on her knees; in the background, Joseph and the infant St. John, the latter with his finger placed on his lips in an attitude expressive of silence. 89. After Michel Angelo. Model in red wax of the recumbent statue in the Medici Chapel, known as the Aurora. Length about 10 inches. Bequeathed by the late Chambers Hall, Esq. This is a small mutilated reduction of the marble statue, probably executed as a model for a bronze by a good Florentine^ artist during the first half of the sixteenth century. WORKS HAVING REFERENCE TO MICHEL ANGELO. IOI 90. Portrait head of Michel Angelo in bronze, the lower part (the draped bust) added in plaster at a recent period. Presented by the late W. Woodburn, Esq. More than one repetition of this excellent contemporary head is known: the present is a fine wax casting, and it is doubtless the work of a great sculptor. It represents Michel Angelo in his extreme old age, and it seems to have been modelled from nature ; not improbably it is the bust by Daniele da. Volterra alluded to by Vasari, or a contemporary repetition iof it. (Vita, p. 260, ed. Lemonnier.) NOTICE OF DRAWINGS BY MICHEL ANGELO IN THE GUISE COLLECTION AT CHRIST CHURCH, OXFORD. On a careful inspection of the collection of ancient drawings formed during the first half of the last century by General Guise and bequeathed by him to the Library of Christ Church, the writer identified the following four drawings, three of which are undoubtedly original works by the hand of Michel Angelo; whilst the fourth, although apparently a copy, has reference to one of the most important under- takings of the master. 1. Michel Angelo. Sheet of studies; three legs and an arm, drawn from nature. Shaded pen drawing in bistre. Length, \o\ inches. Height, 7 inches. One of the legs somewhat resembles one of those of the Dead Christ in St. Peter's, and the arm is in the same position as that of the David which holds the stone (the left arm of the statue). These drawings were probably executed during the master's early period, perhaps circa a.d. 1500. Unfor- tunately they have been at some time or other coarsely retouched or redrawn, nearly all over, by a feeble hand, DRAWINGS BY MICHEL ANGELO. IO3 doubtless on account of the partial obliteration of the original lines from exposure to the light and to damp ; but, although thus wantonly degraded and defaced, the main lines remain, and enough is left to show that these studies were originally executed in Michel Angelo's most beautiful and masterly style. 2. Michel Angelo. Study for a domestic subject; probably a Holy Family. Red Chalk. Length, n\ inches. Height, 8| inches. This important and beautiful composition is probably unique, i. e. no other rendering of it is known. In the general aspect, arrangement and sentiment of the composition, a certain resemblance is visible to the domestic subjects painted in the triangular 'soffits' of the Sistine Chapel ceiling (the spaces above the window lunettes), and there can be little doubt that the drawing is of the period of that work (circa a.d. 1508-11). The design represents, on the left, a woman, doubtless the Virgin, seated on the ground, with a distaff and spindle, and on the opposite side Joseph asleep, his head resting on a raised pedestal or table; betwixt the two are standing figures of the infant Saviour, and another child, probably St. John or an infant angel; lower down in the foreground a third infant is seen lying asleep on a small bed or cradle, and a cat is introduced near it in a playful attitude, as if about to make a spring. The drawing is executed with admirable power and breadth of style, with a rapid but firm and well-defined touch. The water-mark on the paper is the frequently recurring one of a double anchor within a circle. (See Table of Marks, No. 11.) 104 DRAWINGS BY MICHEL ANGELO 3. Michel Angelo. Study for a Christ on the Cross. Black chalk, the shadows washed in bistre. Height, b\ inches. Width, 4 inches. The Christ in this slight but masterly drawing is represented with the head upturned, as if still alive ; the outstretched arms are not completed. Above the head of the figure are two lines in the autograph of Michel Angelo, evidently part of a sonnet, and also eleven more lines on the right-hand side of the sheet; these latter scored over and rendered illegible, apparently by the artist himself. This design does not appear to be one of those made for the composition executed for Vittoria Colonna, and to all appearance it should be referred to a period at least as early as that of the Medici tombs. (See Appendix, Note 15.) 4. Copy from Michel Angelo. Architectural design for the general arrangement of one of the Medici tomb facades. Black chalk washed with bistre. Length, 10 inches. Height, 7f inches. This interesting drawing is by the same hand as No. 41, above described. It is a careful copy, probably by a contemporary follower, from an original design by Michel Angelo, representing an undescribed phase in the progress of the designs for the tombs ; apparently it was made shortly before the other drawing, and it differs still more widely from the design as finally carried out. Like the other it represents the upper part only of the facade, doubtless at the time when it was intended to place two tombs in the base- ment stage beneath. The elevation shows three compartments in width, separated by coupled Ionic pilasters, but it is also divided into two IN THE GUISE COLLECTION AT CHRIST CHURCH. 105 stages or heights by a bold cornice running quite across the facade, the upper part forming as it were an attic story. The central division in the lower part, as in the former design, contains a group of the Virgin and Child, recessed in a niche, different in design from the other, but in like manner showing the infant Saviour standing at the knees of the Virgin ; seated figures of Saints Cosmo and Damiano also occupy the two side compartments. The upper stage in the centre is filled by a large oblong panel, containing a slight sketch of a bas-relief subject, and the side divisions with circular medallions, also containing relievi : the subjects of all three panels appear to be allegorical. The summit of the work is crowned by another cornice on which are placed statues of amorini or genii, standing clear over efach of the divisional piers of the facade, holding betwixt them a con- tinuous festoon of hanging garlands, whilst a candelabrum rises from the centre of the composition. In the introduction of the genii with festoons may be discerned an imitation of the similar figures by Donatello, which crown the summits of the presses in the old sacristy of Santa Maria del Fiore, Florence. (See Appendix, Note 9, for further mention of this drawing in connection with others for the Medici tombs.) DRAWINGS BY RAFFAELLO SANTI (or SANZIO). P 2 CATALOGUE. DRAWINGS BY RAFFAELLO SANTI (or SANZIO). PERIOD OF HIS YOUTH WHILST UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF PIETRO PERUGINO, CIRCA A.D. I495-1504. L Raffaello. Standing figure of a young man playing a guitar. Pen drawing in bistre. Height, 5 1 inches. Width, \\ inches. Collections: Antaldi* and Lawrence. The figure is dressed in the tight- fitting doublet and hose of the artist's own period; and wears a cap with a wide border turned up into three peaks, the one in front rolled up at the summit as a scroll. The beautiful head, with long flowing hair, somewhat resembles that of Raffaello himself. On the reverse of the sheet is a careful study from a bronze two-handled vessel, a kind of jug or cenochoe of well-known type, doubtless drawn from an actual antique original. This latter study is executed in a formal style of cross hatching, closely resembling that of Perugino, whereas the standing figure is drawn with more freedom and with a * The statement that this and many other drawings came from the Antaldi Collection, rests on the authority of Woodburn ; see the Oxford Exhibition Catalogue. The present drawing, however, is not mentioned in the manuscript Antaldi Catalogue reproduced in the Appendix (Note 17). When any of" the drawings said to have come from that source can be identified as being described in the Catalogue in question the fact will be noted in the text. I IO DRAWINGS BY RAFFAELLO. touch or handling distinctly characteristic of Raffaello in his earliest period. The leaf probably formed part of a sketch-book similar to that preserved in the Accademia in Venice, and the date may be estimated to be about the year a.d. 1500. In the Royal Library at Turin is a similar study, but drawn by the silver point on a prepared ground. Passavant (Catalogue des dessins, No. 536, vol. ii., p. 509) thinks it doubtful if this drawing is by Raffaello ; the writer, however, after careful examination, is convinced of its authenticity. 2. Raffaello. /£. A shepherd walking, playing bagpipes. Pen drawing in bistre on brown tinted paper. Height, 7t inches. Width, 4 inches. Collections: Duke of Alva, and Lawrence. This figure is probably a reminiscence from nature, intended to be introduced into a composition of the Adoration of the Shepherds. He is walking towards the left, playing the bag- pipes with both hands, but at the same time he carries a staff or crook over his shoulder. This drawing may be referred to circa a.d. 1500. The same figure also occurs in one of the pages of Raffaello's sketch-book in the Accademia at Venice. The two drawings are identical, except that in addition to the pen outlines and hatching, the one at Venice is washed or shaded with sepia and heightened with white. The writer believes that both are by the hand of Raffaello. Passavant however (Catalogue, No. 560 y) includes the present drawing amongst those of the Oxford Collection, which he describes as of the ' School of Raffaello,' evidently regardless of the fact that it is identical with the Venice drawing, which he had previously noticed as authentic. 3. Raffaello. C U**Hp/)i» >y St. Joseph leaning on his staff; study of a draped figure, probably for a composition of the Nativity. EARLY PERIOD, CIRCA A.D. I495-1504. Ill Pen drawing in bistre on brown tinted paper. Height, 7f- inches. Width, 3! inches. Collections : Duke of Alva, and Lawrence. The Saint is leaning forward on his staff with an air of reverence. Although an isolated study, the action and expression of the figure seem to suggest that he is con- templating the newly-born Saviour, who in the finished design may be supposed to have been represented as lying before him on a straw pallet. This drawing is very Peruginesque in style, but a greater elegance and freedom of design reveal the hand of Raffaello. Passavant nevertheless (No. 560 kk) classes it amongst the drawings of 'different pupils of Perugino,' and he makes the additional remark that the left foot is very ill drawn. The author is unable to concur with the eminent German critic in either of these opinions. 4. Raffaello. Sheet of studies, drawn on both sides, for the destroyed. Hi'sch* 1 £ >J- picture of the Coronation of St. Nicholas of Tolentino, executed circa a.d. 1500. Italian chalk drawing. Height, 14! inches. Width, 95 inches. Collections : Duke 0/ Alva, and Lawrence. This seems to have been regarded as one of the least valuable of the Lawrence drawings; it was in consequence withdrawn from the rest of the series, and has never been exhibited in Oxford ; it is not noticed by Passavant, and he was evidently unaware of its existence. It is nevertheless especially interesting, inasmuch as this and another study (in the Wicar Collection at Lille) form probably the only graphic records now known to be extant of one of the capital works of Raffaello's earliest period. The connection of the present sheet with the Lille drawing and with the picture above named was first noticed by the writer in the course of his examination of the Oxford Collection for this work. The St. Nicholas of Tolentino picture was an altar- I I 2 DRAWINGS BY RAFFAELLO. piece of large dimensions, doubtless on panel. It was executed for the Augustinian Church at Citta di Castello, where it remained till a.d. 1789, in which year the church and the picture within it were damaged by an earthquake, which destroyed a great part of the city. The ecclesiastical authori- ties thereupon sold the injured panel to the reigning Pope, Pius VI, who was so ill advised as to cut it up and to make out of it several distinct devotional pictures; these he is said to have placed in his own private apartments in the Vatican. Finally, during the French occupation of the Roman States, at the beginning of the century, these fragments disappeared, and nothing seems to have been heard of them since. No copies or engravings are known to have been made of the picture, previous to its dismemberment ; and the two separate written accounts we have of it, the one by Lanzi, written towards the end of the last century, and the other by Pungileone in 1829, are meagre and not entirely in harmony; but with the help of the preliminary drawings in question, a tolerably just description of the work can now be furnished. Judging from the Lille sketch, which shows the entire arrangement of the picture, and if, as seems to have been the case, the principal figures were of life size, it must have been one of the largest works on panel ever executed by RafFaello; probably it was upwards of 12 feet high, by 8 or 9 feet wide. The style of the picture was completely Peruginesque, but the composition seems to have been in some respects novel; it was divided into two parts, an upper and a lower division. In the latter, St. Nicholas of Tolentino, holding a processional cross in his right hand and an open book in the other, stood with both feet planted on a prostrate figure of the Devil represented as a negro, and on each side of this central group were two standing angels holding scrolls bearing inscriptions in honour of the Saint; another St. Nicholas (of Bari) seems also to have found a place somewhere in this part of the picture. In the upper division the principal figure in the centre was that of the Almighty, represented in half length, enclosed within an oval nimbus, surrounded by heads of Cherubim, holding with both hands a crown over the head of the Saint beneath. Rather lower (on the right), were St. Augustine wearing a mitre and cope and bearing a pastoral staff, and opposite to him on the other side, the Virgin in a similar EARLY PERIODj CIRCA A.D. 1495-1504. 113 attitude; both were holding out crowns, which they also seemed to be about to place on the head of Saint Nicholas. The two latter were half-length figures only, their lower extremities being hidden in clouds. The Lille drawing was apparently a first draught of the entire arrangement of the composition, all the figures being represented in the costume of the period; and they were apparently studies from the life from friends or companions of the artist. Of the flanking figures of angels, which according to Lanzi's description stood two on each side in the lower part, one only is represented (on the left), the other side of the sheet being left blank. The Oxford drawing now in question contains on one side a standing figure of a draped angel, holding a label scroll. This is a more advanced study on a larger scale for the angel represented in the Lille drawing. Opposite to this is another figure of a saint or ecclesiastic clad in ample drapery, apparently a cope, probably sketched with the aid of a model. This figure is not represented in the Lille study ; it was, however, apparently designed for the right-hand side of the picture, and the author supposes that it represented the St. Nicholas of Bari (Appendix, Note 18). There is on this side also a study of a left hand and arm, most likely for the figure of the Almighty holding a crown. The other side of the sheet contains four different studies of hands and arms from nature, one being for the St. Augustine holding out a crown. Another, holding an opened book, was probably for the principal figure, the St. Nicholas of Tolentino. There is also a study for the head of the angel represented on the other side of the sheet, and two small and slight sketches of standing figures, not recognisable. For further memoranda on the picture of St. Nicholas of Tolentino, see Appendix, Note 18. The paper-mark is a device of crossed arrows; it is apparently the same as that on the Michel Angelo drawing, No. 32. (Table of Marks, No. 7.) Q ii4 DRAWINGS BY RAFFAELLO. 5. Raffaello. Sheet of studies drawn on both sides of the leaf. Three different designs for a Holy Family, and a slight sketch of a Church or Convent. On the reverse a young man in an attitude as if shooting with a crossbow, and a kneeling draped figure. Pen drawings in bistre, except the kneeling figure, which is in black chalk. Height, i of inches. Width, 8f inches. Collections : Antaldi and Lawrence. The studies on the front or principal side are jotted irregularly over the sheet; they are all on a small scale, the figures being only about two inches high. The two figures on the reverse are of larger size, being seven or eight inches high. The most conspicuous of the three designs for the Holy Family, that near the centre on the right, represents the Infant Saviour sitting on the top of a pack-saddle, held in his place by the young St. John, who stands behind; in front of this group is a slight outline of an adult male undraped figure kneeling in adoration. Higher up another sketch shows the St. John holding a reed-cross, kneeling on one knee, and contemplating the Infant Jesus, who lies on the ground before him. Towards the bottom of the sheet on the right, the third group displays the Virgin seated, adoring the naked Child lying in her lap: the infant St. John stands in front, and holds out in his right hand some small object, probably an apple or a flower. Two slight sketches of a standing male figure with hands in the attitude of prayer, and a third sketch for the head of the same figure are seen towards the top of the leaf. A church or convent with a lofty campanile surrounded by crenelated walls, flanked with circular towers, is sketched towards the top of the sheet on the left. Lastly, nearly at the bottom of the page are some words in the handwriting of Raffaello ; they are ' Carissimo,' and again, 'Carissimo quanlo fratelo .-' these are written with great EARLY PERIOD, CIRCA A.D. 1495-1504. 115 neatness and precision, perhaps, as Passavant has suggested, in order to try a new pen before commencing a letter. Of the two studies on the reverse, the draped figure in a kneeling attitude, looking down, was probably intended for a St. Joseph adoring the Infant Jesus; the other, on the left, represents a young man in tight-fitting clothes, with his back to the spectator, as if in the act of shooting with a crossbow, which however is not indicated. In the Wicar Collection at Lille is a more finished drawing of this same figure, in which the crossbow is shown. It forms one of a group of two soldiers, apparently supposed to be assisting in the attack of a fortress. To all appearance this sheet was executed circa a.d. i 500, or perhaps earlier. Noticed by Passavant (Catalogue, No. 491). 6. Raffaello. Study for a Virgin and Child and St. John. Silver point drawing on grey or pale lavender coloured prepared ground. Width, 9 inches. Height, 7§ inches. Collections : Antaldi and Lawrence. This study is a further development of the sketch with the pack-saddle on the sheet last described. It is on an increased scale (as large as the paper will allow), and it displays various alterations and improvements on the first idea. The two children are seen nearly in the same position, the Infant Christ sitting on the top of the high saddle as before ; but in this drawing his head is turned towards the young St. John, who stands behind leaning against the saddle, and who, instead of supporting the Saviour as in the former design, here seems to be adoring him. The Infant Saviour is held in his place on the saddle by the Virgin, who, undiaped, kneels in front in the position occupied by a male figure in the first design. Noticed by Passavant (Catalogue, No. 489). The water-mark on the paper is a pair of scales within a circle. (See Facsimiles of Marks, No. 70.) Q 2 n6 DRAWINGS BY RAFFAELLO. 7. Raffaello. The Adoration of the Shepherds. Pen dratving in bistre. Length, \o\ inches. Height, *\\ inches. Bequeathed by the late Chambers Hall, Esq. Collections: Ottley, Lawrence, King of Holland, and Chambers Hall. A finished drawing or cartoon for a small picture of the same size. This is denoted by the fact, that all the outlines are pricked through with a needle, for the purpose of transferring the outlines of the drawing to the panel on which the picture is to be painted. There can be little doubt that this composition was actually executed, probably as one division of a predella. The drawing, though undoubtedly by the hand of Raffaello, is in the style of his master Perugino. At first sight it might be taken for the ultimate realisation of a composition shadowed out in the two previous drawings (Nos. 5 and 6); but, although it agrees with them in one conspicuous motive, the introduction of the pack-saddle, it is in other respects so different as to render it doubtful if it be really the work for which the former sketches were succes- sive preparatory steps; however, the main idea of the com- position is analogous, and the drawing appears to belong to about the same period. In the centre the Infant Christ, undraped, is seated on the top of a pack-saddle; but he is here held in his place by a draped angel with flowing hair and large wings, who is kneeling behind. The other figures are symmetrically disposed on each side of this central group. On the right, the Virgin kneels in an attitude of adoration, behind her in the back- ground are two cows; and on the opposite side the figure of the Virgin is balanced by that of Joseph similarly kneeling in prayer, behind whom are two kneeling shepherds, one carrying a lamb on his shoulders. The vertical posts of a shed cutting the composition in two (towards the right) seem to indicate that the scene is placed under its roof. The EARLY PERIOD, CIRCA A.D. 1495-1504. 1 1 7 background is a landscape with undulating hills. Ottley (' Italian School of Design') has engraved this drawing in facsimile ; and he says of it (page 45), ' we may conjecture that the interesting drawing representing The Nativity — fine pen, which is imitated in the annexed plate, was executed about the same time as the above picture of the Marriage of the Virgin *, as although it is, on the whole, much in the manner of Perugino, there are parts of it, especially the head of the angel and the figure of the Infant, in which the young artist has evinced a decided determination to excel his master.' The group of the angel holding the Child and the Virgin kneeling has been substantially reproduced by Pietro Perugino in one of the compartments of the altar-piece executed by him for the Certosa near Pavia. The picture is now in the National Gallery. In it the Virgin is represented, seen only down to the knees, and the top of the pack-saddle can just be dis- cerned; in the sky above, the group of three angels holding scrolls is an addition of Pietro's own. But the relative proportions of the figures are altered ; there is a slight difference in the action of the Child (to the dis- advantage of Pietro's rendering), and the draperies have been recast and considerably varied. The main features of the design in both are however identical. Obviously Raffaello's design was the original invention, and Perugino must have had it before him in some shape or other when he made the cartoon for his picture. This drawing passed into the Lawrence Collection with the rest of Ottley's drawings, but it was one of those selected by the King of Holland from the Lawrence series when in Woodburn's hands. At the King of Holland's sale it was purchased by an eminent dealer, M. Weber of Bonn, and the late Mr. Chambers Hall got it from him. Noticed by Passavant (Catalogue, No. 455). * The ' Sposalizio * now at Milan. That celebrated picture was painted in 1504, but the writer is disposed to refer the present drawing to a some- what earlier date. u8 DRAWINGS BY RAFFAELLO. 8. Raffaello. Standing figure of St. John the Baptist. Black chalk drawing. Height, 1 2 1 inches. Width, 7J inches. Collections : Duke 0/ Alva, and Lazvrence. Passavant (Catalogue, No. 495) calls this 'a study after nature, recalling the manner of Perugino.' It was obviously intended to be introduced into a composition of St. John baptizing our Saviour. The saint is represented as an adult figure clad in the tight-fitting costume of the fifteenth century, but with a cloak or mantle of more ample drapery super- added. The right arm is extended, and the hand appears to hold a cup containing the baptismal water, whilst the entire gesture of the figure indicates the act of performing the ceremony. The other hand holds the conventional reed-cross of the Precursor. The date of this drawing may be supposed to be about a.d. 1500; probably it was pre- pared for a predella picture now lost sight of. 9. Raffaello. la , Two studies, from the life, of young men playing musical instruments. Prepared for the picture of the Coronation of the Virgin, now in the Gallery of the Vatican. Silver point drawing on pale citron or olive coloured prepared ground, and heightened with white. Two separate sheets mounted side by side. Height 0/ each, *]\ inches; width, 4 J inches. Collections : Ottley and Lawrence. These exquisite drawings probably formed two leaves of a sketch-book; they were the preliminary studies from the life for two standing angels introduced in the upper part of EARLY PERIOD, CIRCA A.D. 1495-1504. 119 one of the most important works of Raffaello's early period, namely, the large altar-piece painted for Maddalena degli Oddi in 1502 or 1503 *, and originally placed in the Church of the Franciscans at Perugia. The picture represents, in the upper part, the Virgin in the clouds, and our Saviour placing a crown upon her head; these figures are flanked by standing angels, two on each side, playing musical instruments, whilst higher up are other angels and cherubim contemplating the scene. The lower part of the composition shows the empty tomb of the Virgin filled with lilies, surrounded by the Apostles, one of whom, St. Thomas, holds the girdle ('la cintola') left to him by the Virgin on her ascension to Heaven. (See engraving in Pistolesi, ' II Vaticano illustrato/ &c, vol. vi.) Ottley, ' Italian School of Design/ p. 44, notices these drawings in the following terms: — 'For the above work I have the good fortune to possess three drawings. Two of them are correct studies for the figures of the two angels with musical instruments, on the right and left, at the top of the large picture, done with a silver point upon a prepared tinted paper, and heightened with white. They were evidently done by Raffaello from some young man of his acquaintance, dressed in the costume of the time; for, as the figures were afterwards to be clothed in ample draperies, he did not consider it necessary to go into any detail of the naked limbs, except in the extremities. The other represents the finished cartoon for the small compartment of the Annuncia- tion f.' The figure holding a tambourine is almost identical with the one in the picture (it is on the left side of the composition) ; in the finished work the tight- fitting costume of Raffaello's time has been replaced by flowing draperies. * See Passavant, vol. i., p. 56, and vol. ii., pp. 13 and 502. The proba- bility is that the picture was ordered in 1502, and completed in the following year; the preliminary studies were doubtless made in 1502, when Raffaello was in his nineteenth year. + The finished cartoon of the Annunciation here alluded to passed, along with the present drawings, from the Ottley into the Lawrence Collection, but it was unfortunately one of those selected by the King of Holland from the Lawrence Raffaello series, before the purchase of the bulk of the collection for Oxford, and at the King's sale, some years afterwards, it was acquired for the Museum of the Louvre ; it is the design for one of the compartments of the predella of the Vatican picture. See also the drawing afterwards described (No. 11), which is a cartoon for another compartment of the same predella. ■ 120 DRAWINGS BY RAFFAELLO. Beneath this figure the hands are drawn a second time separately, with admirable grace and perfection of design. The other study, intended for the corresponding angel on the opposite side of the picture, bears scarcely any resem- blance to the one ultimately adopted; it was, in fact, virtually superseded by another in a different pose. A considerable number of preliminary studies for this celebrated picture are still extant (see the list in Passavant, vol. ii., p. 13); in addi- tion to the two drawings in this collection, to be described next in order, two others are preserved in this country, viz. a silver point study, in the British Museum, representing the head and right hand of the angel playing the violin (the one on the right), and a drawing of the head of the Apostle St. James, now in the collection of John Malcolm, Esq. of Poltalloch. 10. Raffaello. Five separate studies grouped together on the same mount. , I 11 1. The head of the Apostle St. James, in the picture of the Coronation of the Virgin; in the Vatican, circa a.d. 1502-3 * Pen drawing in bistre. Height, 3 1 inches. Width, 2% inches. 2. Study of the head and outstretched right arm of the angel chasing away Heliodorus ; for the fresco in the Vatican, circa a.d. 1512-13. £^x~u ( >y..?a c«. Iti*. m~ y p i*h>. /w Red chalk drawing on light red tinted ground. - Each 2 1 inches wide, by z\ inches high. Collections : Prince Borghese, and Lawrence. It was not until quite recently that the three authentic sketches by Raffaello were recognised as preliminary studies for known works of the master. The series is curtly described in the Oxford Exhibition Catalogue, No. 97, as, 'Five studies on one mount; hands, arms, &c. and Passavant dismisses them as follows (Catalogue, No. 555): 'Diverses Etudes— reunies sur la meme feuille; seule la t6te de jeune homme, tournee vers la gauche, et regardant vers le haut, est de la main, de Raphael.' Passavant thus not only failed to perceive the relation which the three studies in question bear to well- known works of Raffaello, but he has also erroneously included two of them in the category of doubtful or spurious drawings. The recognition of the head of the young man as that of the St. James in the Coronation of the Virgin, (the picture previously described), is due to Mr. Ruland (Windsor Catalogue, p. 95, 1, No. 20) ; the same accomplished art critic was also the first to identify the studies for the Heliodorus and the Farnesina subject (Windsor Catalogue, pp. 186 and 260). 1. The study of the head of the St. James is a spirited pen outline ; it is identical in design with a larger and more finished study in black chalk, for the same head, now in the collection of John Malcolm, Esq. of Poltalloch * 2. The study for the Heliodorus is a powerful shaded drawing in red chalk, and it corresponds in style of drawing * This last-named drawing was also formerly in the possession of W. Y. Ottley and Lawrence; the former eminent connoisseur, however, faiied to recognise it as a study for the composition in question, and has engraved it in facsimile in his ' Italian School of Design,' under the erroneous title of 'A head of an angel for the Disputa.' (Malcolm Catalogue, No. 162.) R 122 DRAWINGS BY RAFFAELLO. with the three others for the same composition in this col- lection, hereafter to be described. It represents the head and the undraped upper portion of the bust, and the outstretched right arm of the angel, in the foreground of the fresco, in the act of chasing Heliodorus and his band out of the Temple. 3. The small sketch for one of the spandrils of the Farnesina ceiling is a vigorous drawing with the pen in bistre over a previous slight marking in red chalk; it is probably the first thought for the composition (see engraving in Landon). The Farnesina frescoes were executed from the designs of Raffaello mainly by his scholars, probably not long before his death; it seems, however, that the undertaking had been a long time in hand; the preparatory drawings, therefore, may have been made some years earlier. Perhaps the present sketch may be referred to the period betwixt a.d. 1515-19. 4, 5. There is nothing in the two studies of hands in silver point to connect them with Raffaello, but on the contrary they closely resemble many well-known studies from nature by the Florentine painter, Filippino Lippi; in any case, they are unimportant. 11. Raffaello. The Presentation in the Temple. Finished drawing or cartoon for a portion of one compartment of the 6 predella ' of the picture representing the Coronation of the Virgin, now in the Vatican, a.d. T502-3. Bequeathed by the late Chambers Hall, Esq. Pen drawing in bistre. Height, 8 inches. Width, 7f inches. Collections: Lawrence, Woodburn, King of Holland, and Chambers Hall. The outlines of this drawing are pricked through with a needle, indicating that it served for transferring the design to the panel. It is therefore, properly speaking, a cartoon; but it is not the whole of the composition as executed. A reference to an engraving of the entire design of this particular compartment of the predella, the centre one (see outline in Landon, pi. 475), shows that the scene passes EARLY PERIOD, CIRCA A.D. 1495-1504. 123 within a kind of portico forming three divisions separated by columns. The present group is the principal one and it fills the middle division. It represents the High Priest Simeon, wearing a conical tiara and standing behind an altar or table; he is receiving the Infant Saviour from the Virgin, who stands on the right, while Joseph, on the opposite side, his left hand resting on the table, looks on with reverential interest. The side divisions contain, on the right four male, and on the left three female figures; doubtless the drawings for these divisions were made on separate sheets of paper, which have not come down to us. See above (p. 119) for mention of a cartoon for another compartment of the same predella (the Annunciation formerly possessed by Ottley and now in the Louvre) ; that cartoon comprises the entire subject, and is of course a much larger drawing (about 17 inches in width). The present drawing is noticed by Passavant (Catalogue, No. 456). It was one of those chosen from the Lawrence Collection by the King of Holland, and Mr. Chambers Hall purchased it either at the King's sale or shortly afterwards. 12. Raffaello. Sheet of studies of two soldiers, apparently designed for a picture of the Resurrection. Silver point drawings on greenish grey or olive coloured prepared ground, heightened with white. Height, i2§ inches. Width, 8| inches. Collections : Duke of Alva, and Lawrence. These beautiful figures were doubtless drawn from the life, probably from companions or fellow students of Raffaello ; they are clad in the tight-fitting doublets and hose of the period: the one lowest on the sheet represents a soldier sitting on his shield, his head resting on his hand, and his eyes closed as if sleeping; the other is erect, and in the act of running away towards the right; the head is up- turned, the right arm lifted up as if in astonishment, and the left arm bears an oval shield. There can be no doubt that they were intended to represent two of the Roman r 2 124 DRAWINGS BY RAFFAELLO. soldiers, in a composition of our Saviour rising from the Sepulchre. Although the style of these drawings seems to indicate some advance in freedom or power of execution, they were probably produced not later than about a.d. 1503. Nothing is known of the composition for which they were prepared; but there is a celebrated picture extant of this subject by Raffaello's master, Perugino, two of the figures in which seem to have served as the prototypes of these. It is now in the Vatican. (See engraving in Pistolesi, ' Vaticano illustrato,' &c, vol. vi., pi. 69.) Perugino's picture is mentioned by Vasari as having been executed for the Church of San Francesco del Convento in Perugia, but the exact date of its production does not seem to be known. A silver point drawing for two of the Roman soldiers by Perugino (the two on the opposite side of the picture to those which are supposed to have suggested the present studies) is in the Malcolm Collection (see Malcolm Catalogue, No. 151, p. 61). The infinite superiority of Raffaello's work, however, over that of his master is strikingly evident on comparing these drawings together. Pietro's figures are very good (one of them is said to be the portrait of Raffaello himself) ; but the present drawings are full of that ineffable grace which only Raffaello's works display. From the period when they were made, it is clear at all events that the respective positions of master and scholar were entirely reversed. The brief notice in Passavant (Catalogue, No. 479) contains no information on these drawings. He had, however, in the first volume of his work, p. 51, alluded to them as follows: — ' L'assistance de Raphael est surtout notable dans une Resurrection du Christ, destined a I'^glise des Franciscains a Pdrouse, et qui est aujourd- hui au Vatican. II est meme probable que le Perugin lui en abandonna l'entiere execution; car les Etudes pour les deux gardiens endormis et pour les deux gardiens qui s'enfuient se trouvent, de la main de Raphael lui m^me, dans la col- lection d'Oxford/ Nothing, however, seems more certain than that the present drawing and the companion sheet next to be described, thus alluded to by Passavant, were not prepared for Perugino's picture. The figures are in all their details different from those of Perugino, and, as has been remarked, they are far more beautiful and slightly EARLY PERIOD, CIRCA A.D. 1495-1504. 1 25 more advanced in style. Passavant's theory therefore, built upon them, falls to the ground. 13. Raffaello. Sheet of studies containing two figures, one of them a soldier recumbent on the ground, probably for a com- position of the Resurrection. The other a kneeling figure apparently of an angel. Silver point drawing on greenish grey or olive coloured prepared ground, heightened with white. Height, i2§ inches. Width, 8| inches. Collections : Duke of Alva, and Lawrence. The exact similarity, in style and technic, of the present and the preceding drawing renders it evident that both were executed at the same time, and there can be little doubt that the recumbent soldier in the lower part was designed to serve for the same composition of the Resurrection. The kneeling figure above, however, does not seem to have had the same destination. Like the others, it is drawn from nature, from a young man in the costume of the period, but the slight marking of a large wing evidently shows it to have been intended to serve as a study for an angel. The figure, turned towards the right, is kneeling on both knees, holding a long slender cross in the right hand ; the left arm extended, the hand holding out an object, which appears to resemble a funnel-shaped vase or chalice. The attitude of the head is reverential, and the action of the left hand and arm, being that of presentation, suggests that this figure may have been designed as an angel in the act of offering the chalice to our Saviour, in a composition of His agony on the Mount. No such picture, however, is known to have been executed by Raffaello. Passavant (Catalogue, No. 534) describes them as 'Deux jeunes gens, l'un est couche' sur terre, et l'autre, a, genoux, tient un drapeau de la main droite et paratt presenter quelque chose avec la main gauche.' 126 DRAWINGS BY RAFFAELLO. 14. Raffaello. TtichcX 63 A group of four standing figures of soldiers. First sketch by Raffaello for a portion of one of the com- positions painted in fresco by Pinturicchio, in the Picco- lomini Library at Siena. Silver point drawing on pale slate or lavender coloured prepared ground. Width, 9 inches. Height, 8f- inches. Collections : Ottley and Lawrence. The celebrated series of frescoes, for one of which this group was prepared, represents scenes from the life of Pope Pius II (iEneas Sylvius — Piccolomini). They were under- taken in 1502, and they appear to have been all brought to an end in 1507. The master artist was Bernardino Pinturicchio, a Perugian painter, who was a scholar or fellow- worker with Pietro Perugino, Raffaello' s master: this painter was nineteen or twenty years older than Raffaello. He was a fearless undertaker of great monumental works, and a recognised employer of artistic labour. A great amount of critical illustration and comment has at various times been bestowed on the subject of these Siena frescoes, par- ticularly as to the share which Raffaello had in them : hence, special interest and importance attach to the present study. Vasari, the first who noticed these frescoes, asserts in his life of Pinturicchio that the sketches and cartoons for all of them were made by Raffaello; but in his life of the latter he qualifies this statement, and says that some ('alcuni') of the drawings and cartoons were by him. It is certain that, besides the present and several other preparatory studies, three elaborate finished drawings by the hand of Raffaello are still extant, representing the complete composition of three of the frescoes. There is sufficient evidence to show that Raffaello, then in his nineteenth or twentieth year, accompanied Pinturicchio to Siena, probably in company with other young artists, and the probability is that he then at least completed the pre- liminary designs for a part of the frescoes. Evidently at that EARLY PERIOD, CIRCA A.D. 1495-1504. 12J time the commanding genius of the young painter had been fully recognised by his associates; the immense superiority of his designs for these compositions over others by Pin- turicchio himself, which have come down to us, must have been patent to all. The three finished drawings by Raffaello alluded to*, moreover display infinitely greater refinement and charm than the frescoes afterwards painted from them by Pinturicchio and his assistants. The question however has been much debated, as to whether Raffaello were the actual inventor of the elaborate compositions in question, or whether he only worked them into shape from rough sketches and ideas furnished to him by Pinturicchio. The writer's opinion is that Raffaello was the master spirit, the real inventor, and that Pinturicchio, who, in fact, seems to have been of a practical turn, gladly availed himself of the superior powers of his young assistant as a simple matter of business. Such co-operation being customary at that day, when painters and sculptors, re- garding themselves as workmen, were exempt from the undue self-appreciation, which modern ideas of the exalted nature of the artistic vocation have created. (See Appendix, Note 19.) The present drawing is engraved in facsimile in Ottley's ' Italian School of Design/ and that writer describes it as 'a study for a group of military figures — silver point, which is introduced by Pinturicchio, in the background of the third picture of the series, where ^Eneas Sylvius is represented on his knees, receiving a laurel crown from the hands of the Emperor Frederick III, to whom he had been sent on a mission by the anti-pope Felix. We cannot, I think, date this drawing later than the year 1503. The figures it contains are full of grace and animation, and they are sketched with consummate mastery, although in their forms they partake * Respectively in the collection of the Uffizj in Florence, in the Casa Baldeschi in Perugia, and in the Chatsworth Collection. It should be noted as throwing some light on the extent of Raffaello's co-operation, that the drawings by his hand are for four only of the ten frescoes, viz. for fresco No. 1 (Uffizj), for No. 3 (the present Oxford drawing"), for No. 4 (Chatsworth), for No. 5 (the Baldeschi drawing). Although no drawing of Raffaello for No. 2 has come down to us, it may, perhaps, be concluded, as the other studies follow in sequence, that he was em- ployed also upon it, while, from the absence of any studies or drawings by him for any of the remaining frescoes, it may, perhaps, be inferred that his labours came to a conclusion with the fifth composition.' 128 DRAWINGS BY RAFFAELLO. of the meagre style of Perugino.' The group as seen in the present drawing differs greatly from the corresponding group in the fresco ; on the whole, it is altered for the worse in the finished work. The figure standing in the centre, in particular, shows a very different action or movement in the sketch; the positions of the soldiers with halberts have been greatly altered, — the one on the right side of the sketch being placed on the opposite side in the fresco; whilst the fourth figure, standing apart on the right side of the sketch, is in the fresco brought close to the central figure, and has taken the place of the one indicated in the same position in the sketch, the latter being entirely superseded. Pinturicchio has, moreover, added many details of costume, but in his hands the exquisite grace and vivacity of the original sketch have almost entirely evaporated. The important variations above described afford the clearest evidence of the fact that Raffaello was in this particular composition engaged as an original inventor; they illustrate indeed the concurrent working of his mind and hand in the very act of composition. The particular fresco in question, together with the rest of the series, is engraved in Lasinio's work, * Raccolta delle piu. celebri pitture esistente nella citta di Siena;' Firenze, 1825. Much information on the Siena Library frescoes is contained in the ' Commentario ' on the life of Pinturicchio in the Lemonnier edition of Vasari, vol. v., p. 282; and in Caval- caselle's new 'History of Painting in Italy/ vol. in., p. 779; see also the Malcolm Catalogue by the writer, pp. 62 and 66. On the reverse of the sheet are two beautiful pen studies (repetitions of the same motive) of small winged amorini leaning on a kite-shaped shield, probably designs for a figure to be executed in carved and gilded wood for the top of an ornamental pediment. 15. Raffaello. Two studies of young men standing, drawn one on each side of the sheet, in the costume of the period of the artist. Black chalk drawing. Height, i2\ inches. Width, 7f inches. Collections: Duke of Alva, and Lawrence. EARLY PERIOD, CIRCA A.D. 1495-1504. 1 29 One of them holds out a cup in his right hand, the other hand resting on his hip. This was evidently designed as a study for one of the kings in an Adoration of the Magi. It is retouched with the pen in bistre (by Raffaello himself), over a slight chalk sketch. The other study represents a very similar figure, but in chalk only. Here the left arm is extended, and the hand rests on a wand or stick ; the other arm bent, and the hand placed on the hip. The manner of execution of both is very Peruginesque. Passavant (Catalogue, No. 531) says of the last-named figure that it was executed in the inverse sense (i.e. turned in the opposite direction) in one of the frescoes of the Piccolomini Library at Siena (the composition in which the Emperor Frederick III crowns iEneas Sylvius): he does not allude to the study on the other side of the leaf ; probably it escaped his notice. The writer, however, thinks it very doubtful if the figure in question were really intended for the Siena fresco: besides the fact of its being turned in the contrary direction, there is very little resemblance in the general design betwixt it and the supposed correspondent figure. (See the engraving of the composition in question in Lasinio's work.) The paper bears a water-mark of a crown within a circle (Table of Facsimiles, No. 71). 16. Raffaello. The Angel leading the young Tobias. Finished study from nature for a picture painted by Pietro Perugino, now in the National Gallery. Silver point drawing on brownish cream coloured prepared ground. Height, 95 inches. Width, 7^ inches. Collections : Wicar and Lawrence. This drawing affords a proof that at this early period of Raffaello's career even, Perugino had completely recognised and done homage to his pupil's superior genius. It has been already seen that Raffaello's admirable inventive powers had been largely exerted for another eminent painter s i 3 o DRAWINGS BY RAFFAELLO. many years his senior, and that in one of the greatest monumental undertakings of the age, the Siena frescoes, Pinturicchio had gladly availed himself of the talents of the young painter, committing to him the most difficult part of the work, the original invention and arrangement of compositions intended to be of unequalled splendour and importance. Pinturicchio was, however, a lesser luminary than Perugino. The latter had been for years the teacher, and doubtless the daily taskmaster, of Raffaello ; and that at this early period he should have condescended to such a reversal of the parts of master and pupil, as is indicated by his executing a picture from Raffaello's designs, is a significant fact. Perugino probably never produced anything more admirable than the altar-piece of which the picture of the Angel and Tobias forms one compartment, but the drawing now in question is of a still higher order of excellence. The altar- piece, as recorded by Vasari, was painted for the Certosa, a Carthusian convent near Pavia. It consisted of six com- partments, three of which are now in the National Gallery; the date of the work is not known. The greater refinement in design and less conventionalised rendering of nature in these pictures have led several eminent connoisseurs to assert that Raffaello assisted Perugino in their actual execution; see Von Rumohr, Italienische Forschungen, dritter Theil, p. 27. Passavant remarks, vol. i. p. 51, 'Raphael semble aussi avoir travaille' au tableau d'autel compose' de six parties, que le Perugin exe'cuta pour la maison des Chartreux ;' and again, p. 52, 'L'esprit Raphaelesque brille dans tout cet ouvrage, et l'^tude de la nature y est tres sensible. On a voulu en infdrer que Raphael y est pour beaucoup, d'autant qu'un dessin de lui, d'apres nature, pour l'archange Raphael avec le jeune Tobie, fait partie de la collection d'Oxford. Neanmoins ces peintures sont tellement belles, que si Raphael y a collabore', ce ne pourrait etre que vers 1503; car ses tableaux de Citta di Castello, anterieurs a cette date, sont bien infeVieurs aux tableaux de la Chartreuse.' Passavant does not add anything material to this in his notice of the present drawing, vol. ii. p. 503 (No. 494). These pictures of Perugino indeed may be taken to represent the highest perfection of the old Umbrian school, and as oil paintings they display a 'power of execution, force and brilliancy of colour, which probably none of the after works ■■I EARLY PERIOD, CIRCA A.D. 1 495- 1 504. 131 of Raffaello himself ever surpassed. But Pietro Perugino, with the exception perhaps of his great contemporaries of the early Venetian school, was the ablest oil painter of the time in Italy ; and the writer, having carefully inspected the picture in question and its companion panels in the National Gallery, and also at a former period the panel still remaining at the Certosa, is unable to discern in them any evidence of the working of other than one hand, that of Perugino himself. Pietro's inevitable mannerism, though perhaps less conspicuous here than in most of his works, is still visible in every part. In the picture the heads both of the Angel and Tobias are completely and unmistakeably Peruginesque, i.e. they have the same rather monotonous ideal type of face recognisable in a hundred other works. These same heads in the present drawing, on the other hand, are quite different in character, and infinitely superior ; they are drawn from living models, and are full of truthful individuality and expression. The writer's belief then is, that Raffaello prepared the drawings for this series of pictures at about the same time that he was giving similar assistance to Pinturicchio, but that he did not actually assist Pietro in their execution on the panels *. The composition as shown in the present drawing and the rendering of the same in the picture display notable and interesting differences, and some of these variations afford in themselves conclusive evidence that the drawing was executed before the picture, and that in fact it was prepared for it. In the drawing the two figures are clad in the costume of Raffaello's own day, — the Angel, for instance, wears a cap or berretta and has no wings ; but in the picture the costumes are idealised, the Angel is invested in ample drapery and has large wings : the pose and general disposition of the group are, however, precisely similar in both. But the most interesting indication is in the hands. In the group Raffaello has drawn these in a rather different position from that ultimately adopted in the picture, but he has done them over again in the same position on a rather larger scale, exactly as Pietro ultimately executed them. He has also drawn the left hand of the angel holding the box of ointment a second time, * It has been already noted (before, p. 117), that the composition of the Holy Family, the central and principal panel of the three now in the National Gallery, seems also to have been borrowed from Raffaello's design in the present (Oxford) collection (No. 7). S 2 132 DRAWINGS BY RAFFAELLO. and Perugino has copied it most carefully in the picture. The heads, it has already been observed, are entirely different from Perugino's, and infinitely more beautiful. That of the Angel is a noble countenance, full of an expression of tender sym- pathetic melancholy : the head of the boy has been repeated twice over on the left of the drawing, and one of these re- petitions (that low down on the sheet) is an exquisite rendering of a charming youthful head, evidently from nature *. See Catalogue of the National Gallery by R. N. Wornum for further information on Perugino's picture. Dr. Waagen also has noticed the present drawing, and has remarked the elevated expression of melancholy in the head of the Angel (' Treasures of Art in Great Britain/ vol. ii. p. 56, 1854). 17. Raffaello. Sheet drawn on both sides. St. Jerome kneeling in Penitence, in the background a view of a city; on the reverse a sketch for a picture of the Virgin and Child and a slight study of landscape. Pen drawings in bistre. Height, 10 inches. Width, 8| inches. Collections : Antaldi and Lawrence. * Moreover, this is a well-known face; it is in fact the portrait of a beautiful young boy, who seems to have been a favourite model for the Florentine artists of his time. The writer has seen a considerable number of studies from this boy's head ; he may specify in particular four several drawings, exquisite silver point studies, by the hand of Lorenzo da Credi. One of these, a noble drawing of small life Size, is in the Christ Church collection in Oxford ; another, very similar, in the Louvre ; a third in the collection of C. Sackville Bale, Esq. ; and another, equally admirable, is in the Malcolm collection. It is scarcely necessary to observe that the occurrence of this particular portrait-study seems to suggest that the drawing was executed in Florence; if so, probably it was done during some visit to that city made whilst Raffaello was working for Pinturicchio at Siena (in 150?). ,RafTaello's first recorded "visit to Florence was in October 1504, but it seems unlikely that when in the previous year he was living for a time within so short a distance of so renowned a centre of art, that he should have returned to Perugia without at least paying it a brief visit. EARLY PERIOD, CIRCA A.D. 1495-1504. J 33 The Saint is on his knees on the right side of the com- position, holding a stone in his hand, with which he is about to strike his naked breast; the head is carefully finished, but the rest of the figure is only slightly indicated in outline. The background, which forms an important feature of the design, represents an elaborate bird's-eye view of a fortified city, with its castle in the foreground surrounded by a river or ditch, spanned by a wooden bridge leading to the castle gate. The city seems to be of considerable size, and contains several churches and convents, with a town-hall and piazza: one principal main street leading from the castle in the fore- ground seems to traverse its entire length. It is situated on an uneven site, skirted on the right by rocky cliffs overhanging the sea, which bounds the horizon on the right. It may be conjectured that the drawing was a design for a picture intended to be executed for a church or convent in the city actually represented. There can be no doubt that the view of the city was made from nature, and that it represents with great truth and minuteness an Italian town of some importance, as it actually appeared at the beginning of the sixteenth century; the entire scene, in fact, conveys the impression of almost photographic exactness. In the Venice sketch-book this same view is repeated, but without the figure of St. Jerome. In it, however, many of the details are altered, more or less simplified, and rendered in a conventional manner ; peculiarities which evidently denote the drawing to be a repetition (by Raffaello) from the present sheet. Woodburn (Oxford Catalogue, No. 23) calls it a view of a city like Perugia. Passavant (Catalogue, 494) says positively, ' a gauche on voit la ville de PeVouse.' The editors of the Catalogue of the Venice drawings, on the other hand, call it a view of Urbino, and even specify the exact point of view in which the town is represented : ' Veduta della citta. di Urbino con parte del Castello e del Duomo, presa della Via dei Cappuccini in faccia alia citta.' From the writer's recollection of both the before-mentioned cities, he is of opinion that it represents neither the one nor the other. Both Perugia and Urbino are inland places, whereas in the present drawing the sea evidently washes the base of the rocky height on which the town is built; nor is there either at Perugia or Urbino any wide stream such as is seen encircling the walls of the place. The castle, moreover, is entirely unlike the magnificent palatial structure at Urbino, J 34 DRAWINGS BY RAFFAELLO. which must have assumed very much of its present appear- ance in Raffaello's time. The probability is that the view represents some one of the cities in the duchy of Urbino on the Adriatic coast. The date of the drawing is about a.d. 1502 or 1503. The studies on the reverse of the sheet are drawn in a larger and bolder manner, their style altogether seems some- what more advanced, and not improbably they were added a year or two later. One of them is a beautiful sketch for a picture; it represents the Virgin, a half-length figure, giving the breast to the Infant Saviour. The landscape sketch, very slightly indicated, is probably a reminiscence from nature : it represents a church surrounded by trees and wooded hills, with a group of cottages or farm buildings in the foreground. The water-mark in the paper is crossed keys within a circle (Facsimiles, No. 72). 18. Raffaello. Milo carrying the bull. Circa a.d. 1500-4. Pen drawing in bistre. Height, 9 inches. Width, 7§ inches. Collections : Antaldi and Lawrence. The figure, entirely undraped, is walking forward towards the left : he carries the bull on his back, holding the animal by the hind legs, which hang down in front over his shoulders. Woodburn (Oxford Catalogue, No. 58) says this study is apparently from an antique bronze, and Passavant (Catalogue, No. 529 d) classes it amongst the spurious and doubtful draw- ings. The author does not concur in either of these opinions. The group, although sketched with greater freedom and power than were usual with Raffaello during his very early period, has notwithstanding a marked character of authenticity, and the equally obvious Peruginesque bias which it displays has no analogy whatever with the ' antique.' EARLY PERIOD, CIRCA A.D. 1495-1504. 135 19. RAFFAELLO. v aii Sheet of studies drawn on both sides. In front a male sitting figure, partially draped, and a study of Acanthus scroll foliage. On the other side various sketches of ornament, flying amorini, a portion of a standing male figure, &c. Pen drawings in bistre, the Acanthus scroll in black chalk. Length, 15 inches. Width, 9 inches. Collections : Wicar and Lawrence. This is one of the Oxford drawings formerly not exhibited, and it is not mentioned in Passavant's work. The sitting figure holding a sceptre or baton of command, seemingly intended to serve as a Roman emperor or consul, was apparently drawn from the life, from the same model who served as the type for the previous drawing (the Milo carrying an ox), and it was doubtless executed about the same time. The style of manipulation in both is somewhat broader and bolder than is seen in most of the drawings of RafFaello at the early period when the design was executed (circa a.d. 1500-3 ?). The sketches on the other side of the sheet represent various essays for the composition of an ornamental pediment, probably the upper portion of the carved and gilded wooden framework of an altar-piece. Also studies of flying amorini, holding a circular medallion or 'tondo,' perhaps another detail for the same frame. There is also a slight indication of a standing figure of a young man in the costume of the period — back view. 20. Formerly ascribed to Raffaello. Fictivel ClWtW) Ho. 62- Christ and the Samaritan Woman at the well. Finished outline drawing or cartoon for a small predella picture, by Pietro Perugino, circa a.d. 1500. 136 DRAWINGS BY RAFFAELLO. Black chalk drawing. Length, x\\ inches. Wid/h, 9 inches. Collections : R. Udney, Ottley, and Lawrence. The composition is disposed in a formal symmetrical manner. The centre is taken up with the well, represented as an elegant architectural structure. On the right the woman is seen coming forward, carrying a vase-shaped bucket. This figure is balanced by that of our Saviour likewise coming forward. On the opposite side in the background are four small figures carrying water, also symmetrically disposed two on each side. The coarse heavy outlines, which have been drawn over on the original contours, were probably added in the process of mechanically tracing or transferring the design to the panel. The picture itself, painted in tempera, is in this country (in the collection of Alexander Barker, Esq., of London) : it is one of three panels, which together form a complete predella. Both the drawing and the picture are unquestionably by Raffaello's master Pietro Perugino. FLORENTINE PERIOD. CIRCA A.D. 1504-8. 21. Raffaello. Study of the head of a young female, full face, inclined to the left. Circa a. d. 1504-6. Black chalk drawing. Height, 6 § inches. Width, 4§ inches. Collections : Duke of Alva, and Lawrence. This is a slighter rendering of the pure and beautiful ideal head several times repeated in Raffaello's earlier period, which has been erroneously described as the portrait of his sister. See the three well-known drawings now in the Malcolm collection, one of which is engraved in Ottley's ' Italian School of Design,' and another in Woodburn's 'Lawrence Gallery.' Probably all of them were studies for a head of the Virgin founded on some beautiful individual countenance which he had seen; they do not appear to have been actually drawn from nature. Passavant makes no mention of the present drawing, but in his Catalogue (vol. ii., notice of the late King of Holland's collection) he has described the Malcolm drawings at length*, and shown the fallacy of Woodburn's assumption that they represented the sister of Raffaello. * They were originally in the Lawrence collection, and were amongst the Raffaello drawings selected from it by the King of Holland. At the King's sale they were acquired by the late Dr. Wellesley, and on the dispersion by auction of the collection of the last-named celebrated amateur they fell into the possession of John Malcolm, Esq., of Poltalloch. i 3 8 DRAWINGS BY RAFFAELLO. 22. Raffaello. Group of a Mother and Child. Pen drawing in bistre. Height, 5 § inches. Width, 4£ inches. Collections: Duke of Alva, and Lawrence. The young mother, an exquisitely graceful sitting figure, gives the breast to her child, who, about three years old and clothed, stands by her side. This most beautiful and truthful composition is doubtless a more finished rendering of a sketch made directly from nature. The same group is repeated, without any variation, in the Venice sketch-book ; probably the one design was traced and transferred from the other. The touch or execution is equally masterly and spirited in both, and there seems no reason to doubt that both are by Raffaello'' s hand. Passavant (Catalogue, No. 560 u) has classed the present drawing under the heading of ' dessins de l'dcole de Raphael,' apparently having forgotten that he had previously noted the Venice drawing as an indubitable work of the Master. This study may probably be referred to circa a.d. 1504. 23, 24. Raffaello. 23. Design for a picture of the Madonna and Child, with a study of the Child only oh the reverse of the sheet. Width, 5 § inches. Height, 4 J inches. 24. Another study for the landscape background of the same picture. Width, 5 § inches. Height, 4f inches. Collections : Lagoy, Dimsdale, and Lawrence. The Virgin, a half-length figure, is sitting in the open air ; she holds a small book in her left hand, and the Infant FLORENTINE PERIOD, CIRCA A.D. 1504-8. 1 39 Saviour, undraped, sitting on her knee, turning over the leaves. In the background are a castle and other buildings on the borders of a lake, with hills rising from the margin of the water on each side. The composition is enclosed within a narrow border or frame-work; on the right of the sheet is a small and very slight study of the castle, and on the reverse another and more finished study on a larger scale of the naked Child. The other small sheet of studies of landscape backgrounds (No. 24), evidently prepared for the previous composition, is affixed to the same mount; to all appearance both drawings were originally made on the same sheet of paper, which has since been cut asunder and the portions separately mounted. Woodburn's facsimile in the ' Lawrence Gallery,' in fact, represents all the studies, those of both back and front alike, arranged in juxtaposition as if they were all on one side of the same leaf. This last-named portion (No. 24) contains in front two separate studies, the upper one being for the entire background of the picture, showing the wide river or lake and the castle on its margin; beneath it the castle is drawn over again, more carefully and on a larger scale. This edifice appears to have been sketched from an actual structure. On the reverse of this portion is another but slighter sketch for the entire land- scape background. Landon has published an outline en- graving of this composition, No. 228. Passavant mentions it (Catalogue, No. 486), but he gives no information in respect to it. The Wicar collection at Lille contains another study in silver point for the Virgin, and for the hand holding the book. In all probability these exquisite drawings, in which the pure and graceful sentiment of Raffaello's youthful period is ex- pressed with technical ability scarcely less admirable, were the first ideas for a small oil picture projected, and perhaps actually executed, some time during his residence in Florence (circa a. d. 1504). No such picture however is now known. 25. Raffaello. Study of a young man on his knees in an attitude of n ;■. | 44 ecstacy, probably for a St. Stephen. k.t. ft^l w ^•'^•' 3 4f'wt^mw-4 , ©3 T 2 140 DRAWINGS BY RAFFAELLO. Silver point drawing on pale cream coloured prepared ground. Height, io\ inches. Width, j\ inches. Collections : , Ottley and Lawrence. Passavant describes this most life-like and refined study as follows (Catalogue, No. 497) : ' Saint Etienne — Etude a la pointe de m&al, d'apres un jeune homme a genoux qui dtend son bras, et 6\hve son regard vers le del. Tres beau dessin, de la jeunesse de Raphael.' The figure is dressed in a loose doublet or gaberdine of the fashion of Raffaello's own time, and it was doubtless drawn from the living model. The oval nimbus round the head, the hands uplifted in supplication, and the intense devotional expression of the face, clearly denote that it was intended to represent a saint in a condition of ecstatic devotion. It might perhaps with equal likelihood be supposed to have been intended for a St. Francis receiving the stigmata, as for a St. Stephen at the moment of martyrdom ; there is how- ever no record of Raffaello having painted either of these subjects at the early time when this drawing must have been made (circa a.d. 1504). It has been engraved in facsimile by Ottley in his 'Italian School of Design/ pi. 47. 26. Raffaello. Head of a boy or young man, said to be his own portrait. Black chalk drawing, heightened with white, on pale brown tinted paper. Height, 15 inches. Width, \o\ inches. Collections : Wicar, Ottley, Harman, and Woodburn. The beautiful youth here represented seems to have been not more than fifteen or sixteen years old ; he has long hair falling down upon his shoulders, and wears a felt or cloth cap with the brim turned up; the head is of small life-sized proportions. Passavant describes the drawing as follows (Catalogue, No. 459) : ' Portrait de Raphael lui-meme, a l'age de quinze a seize ans. II est vu de trois quarts, tourne' vers le cdte" gauche. FLORENTINE PERIOD, CIRCA A.D. 1504-8. 141 Ses cheveux tombants sont couverts d'une barrette. Son ex- * l/.Kw»»^ ±=5»JL • ^ > /toi ' ^ pression est pleine de charme. Dessin a la pierre noire, ■ * £U ^" tf *) • rehausse* de blanc.' Passavant also engraved this drawing as the frontispiece to the original German edition of his book, believing it to be the portrait of Raffaello. It seems however very doubtful if this is really so. The youth here represented, as Passavant himself indicates, could not have been more than sixteen years old at most; but from the advanced style of the drawing it seems impossible to refer it to an earlier period than about a.d. 1504, when Raffaello had attained his 21st year. 27. Ascribed to Raffaello. Head or bust of a female saint with a palm branch. Black chalk drawing. Height, 15 inches. Width, 11 inches. Collections : Antaldi and Lawrence. This is a careful, shaded drawing of small life-sized pro- portions, probably for a St. Catherine. Although full of Raffaellesque expression, and resembling Raffaello's style both in type of face and in technical execution, it is certainly not by his hand. The imitation, however, is direct and specific; it may even be a copy from one of Raffaello's drawings by a contemporary artist; perhaps it is the work of his friend Timoteo della Vite*. The paper-mark is a device of three monticules (Facsimiles, No. 73). A somewhat similar mark occurs on one of the letters * It is probable that this is the drawing specified in the Antaldi Catalogue (see Appendix) in the following terms : ' Un disegno o testa fatta di lapis negro ben rifornito, che rappresenta una Santa con la palma in mano, in mezzo foglio di carta reale, p. alto, di mano del med mo Raffaelle ;' and it should be noticed that it bears in the right-hand lower corner the initials R. V. in rather large and coarse Roman capitals, the mark generally supposed to indicate that it was in the Antaldi Collection. There is, however, further on in the Antaldi Catalogue, another entry of a drawing actually by Timoteo della Vite, which may probably apply to this head ; it is as follows : ' Una testa fatta di lapis negro d'una Santa di grandezza di un palmo, di Timoteo.' It would appear that Passavant never saw this drawing, for it is not catalogued in his work. 142 DRAWINGS BY RAFFAELLO. of the Buonarroti correspondence in the British Museum, dated from Bologna (16th October, a.d. 1506). See Michel Angelo Facsimiles, No. 41. 28. Raffaello. Sheet of studies of heads and hands ; also a sketch of the Battle of the Standard after Leonardo da Vinci. Silver point drawing on pale greyish cream coloured prepared ground. Width, 11 inches. Height, 8f inches. Collections : Ottley, Duroveray, Dimsdale, and Lawrence. These studies were doubtless made during Raffaello's residence in Florence, either in a.d. 1504, or in a.d. 1505; and, in addition to their intrinsic excellence, they are im- portant as furnishing trustworthy evidence of his style of* design at that period. The sheet contains a highly-finished head of a monk (undoubtedly a portrait-study from nature), a profile of an old man of severe and dignified ex- pression, probably an ideal representation suggested by a drawing of Leonardo da Vinci; two hands, one of them holding or resting on a book (these are also from nature), a slight outline sketch on a small scale of a group of fighting horsemen (this is a copy or reminiscence from the principal group of Leonardo's famous cartoon), and there is also a very slight indication in one corner of the sheet of the heads of the two fighting horsemen from the same composition. Woodburn (Oxford Catalogue, No. 79) has stated 'that; the head in profile resembles Fra Bartolommeo.' This is a mistake; but, the head on the right of the sheet, seen nearly full face, has an undoubted resemblance to the j Frate : see the wood-cut portrait in the second edition of \ Vasari. In all probability Fra Bartolommeo, with whom Raffaello at this period is known to have formed an intimate friendship, actually ' stood' or • posed' for it. Passavant, who does not seem to have noticed the resemblance, nevertheless identified the head in question as a study for that of St. Bene- dict in a fresco executed in a. d. i 505 in the church of FLORENTINE PERIOD, CIRCA A.D. 1504-8. San Severo at Perugia*. He says (Catalogue, No. 532): 'Combat pour le drapeau. — D'apres le carton de Leonard de Vinci; c'est le groupe, si connu des Cavaliers, que Raphael semble avoir dessine' de souvenir sur une feuille remplie d'autres esquisses savoir une tete de vieillard vue de profil, dont le caractere se rapproche du style de Leonard de Vinci, quoique le faire soit tout Raffae'lesque. Au cote* droit se trouve la tSte d'un jeune moine semblable au Saint Benoit de la fresque de l'anne'e 1505, dans l'eglise S. Severo a Pe*rouse, et deux mains, dont Tune tient un livre. Beau dessin a la pointe de me'tal et rehausse' de blanc/ &c. Passavant has also alluded to this sheet in the text of his first volume (p. 69), as an evidence of the influence exercised by Leonardo da Vinci over Raffaello during his Florentine period, especially noticing the profile head as displaying an evident imitation of Leonardo. The celebrated composition known as the Battle of the Standard was designed by Leonardo da Vinci, and was in part at least actually painted on the wall of a large hall, which had been hastily constructed to serve as the place of meeting of the grand council of the Florentine Republic, established after the expulsion of the Medici family. It was done in competition with Michel Angelo, who at the same time executed his famous cartoon of Pisa for the adornment of one of the walls of the same hall. It appears from documents published in Gaye, Carteggio, &c, ii. 88-90, that Leonardo was actually occupied on this work during the years 1504-5, and it is not unlikely that the sketches on the present sheet were made by Raffaello directly after he had seen Leonardo's cartoon, probably whilst full of enthusiastic admiration of so unprecedented a performance. The head in profile is evidently an imitation of the peculiar type pourtrayed in so many of Leonardo's drawings — the old man with an aquiline nose, stern over- hanging brow, and protruding under lip. But Raffaello even here is seen as no ordinary copyist : exquisitely perfect and beautiful as are many of Leonardo's silver point drawings representing this very head, Raffaello's * This fresco having been left incomplete in the lower part by Raffaello, was terminated by Pietro Perugino after Raffaello's death (a.b. 15 21). See outline engraving of it in the 'Ape Italiana,' also an engraving by J. Keller from a drawing by F. Von Rhoden. 144 DRAWINGS BY RAFFAELLO. rendering of it is a higher and nobler conception. A vein of conventional mannerism verging on exaggeration and cari- cature runs through all Leonardo's drawings; but in this translation as it were by Raffaello from Leonardo, there is no touch of that objectionable mannerism, whilst the artistic power and technical perfection of the older master are fully equaled by his young rival. The latter has imparted to | his imitation a delicacy and refinement of expression and I an air of truthfulness beyond Leonardo's reach. He is here, j in fact, seen surpassing Leonardo in his own particular field, just as he had already gone beyond his master Perugino. 29. Raffaello. Sheet of studies. Two men standing, one of them undraped and reading from a book, the other with his hands clasped on his breast in an attitude of reverence, both drawn from nature ; the hands of the figure holding the book repeated on a rather larger scale; a study of aj head resembling the portrait of Fra Bartolommeo; and; two lions' heads. Stiver point drawing on pale cream grey coloured prepared ground. Width, 105 inches. Height, 8| inches. Collections : Wicar and Lawrence. On the reverse of the sheet is another very slight ; outline of the figure in a praying attitude, and a vague indication of a small group of two draped figures apparently standing in prayer before a lectern: these, are in black chalk. The carefully-finished head seen nearly full face on the! principal side of the sheet is very similar to the one in the] silver point drawing, No. 28; it was evidently drawn from! the same model, doubtless the painter Fra Bartolommeo. It is not improbable that the present studies were prepared FLORENTINE PERIOD, CIRCA A.D. 1504-8. 145 for the San Severo fresco, circa a.d. 1504-5. See Woodburn (Oxford Catalogue, No. 106), and also Passavant (Catalogue, No. 538), neither of whom ventures any supposition as to the work for which it was prepared; but both remark that the drawing is in the manner of Leonardo da Vinci. This, however, is a careless assertion, probably based on a fancied resemblance in style to the drawing, No. 28, which does indeed display direct reference to works of Leonardo; but the manipulation or technical style of the present drawing is entirely different both from the former and from any one of Leonardo's drawings known to the writer. It displays, in fact, a peculiar mannerism temporarily affected by Raffaello at about this period, and which is specially noticed below in the description of some of the preliminary designs for the Borghese Entombment (see Nos. 39 and 42) ; the square cross hatching and vertical strokes of the point here seen, though exactly analogous to similar handling with the pen in the drawings for the Entombment, have not been observed by the author in any other silver point drawing of Raffaello. There can in any case be little doubt that this sheet was pro- duced during the period when the drawings for the Borghese picture were in hand. 30. Raffaello. Study for the figure of a young man with hands out- f stretched, the lower part concealed in clouds. Circa a.d. 1504-6. Silver point drawing on pale cream coloured prepared ground. Height, q\ inches. Width, *\\ inches. Collections : Wicar and Lawrence. Woodburn (Oxford Catalogue, No. 78) calls this a study of a monk preaching, but Passavant (Catalogue, No. 547) rightly describes it as a preliminary study from a model for a figure of the Almighty Father, and he assigns it to about the year a.d. 1506. It was doubtless prepared for the upper part of a picture, and it indicates the conventional representation of the first Person of the Trinity, in the act of benediction. u 146 DRAWINGS BY RAFFAELLO. The Lille Collection contains a very similar but still slighter study, also with the silver point. The Lille drawing is said by Passavant (Catalogue, No. 373) to be a first sketch for the Almighty Father, in the lunette of the celebrated picture painted by Raffaello for the Nuns of Sant Antonio di Padua, in Perugia, till lately preserved in the palace at Naples and now in private hands in Madrid. And the authors of the Windsor Catalogue (p. 52) have assumed that the present sketch is another study for the same figure. The picture in question was executed at about the period above stated; and it is certainly probable, but perhaps not quite certain, that both these drawings were studies for it. On the reverse of the drawing is a slight architectural design of a portico or the facade of a church. The water-mark in the paper is a spread-eagle crowned; see also the same mark on No. 36. (Facsimiles, No. 75.) 31. Raffaello. Study of a young man sitting, his right hand uplifted j he is holding a book on his knee with the other. Circa a.d. 1504-6. Silver point drawing on pale cream coloured prepared ground. Height, 8g inches. Width, 5f inches. Collections : Antaldi and Woodburn. This is a study made from the life, probably from one of Raffaello's fellow-students ; it was evidently intended as a first design for a figure in a devotional composition, and the fact of its being squared over for enlargement seems to denote that it was further worked out as a cartoon. On the reverse are two slight sketches of kneeling draped figures, and another of a standing figure, all in black chalk. The notice by Passavant (Catalogue, No. 537) gives no inform- ation. FLORENTINE PERIOD, CIRCA A.D. 1504-8. 147 32. Raffaello. Seven men seated at a table ; a study for a portion of a composition of the Last Supper. Silver point drawing on pale buff coloured prepared ground. Length, 13^ inches. Height, 9 inches. Collections : Antaldi and Lawrence. This most beautiful drawing is doubtless a first study from living models in the costume of the day, for one half (the left side) of a design for the above-mentioned subject; the last figure on the right, separated by a slight interval from the neighbouring one, is evidently intended for our Saviour. The drawing is squared over for enlargement, an indication that it was intended to be further worked out as a cartoon; no correspondent composition is, however, known to have been carried out in a finished shape by Raffaello. There is no resemblance betwixt these figures and any of those in the fresco, ascribed to Raffaello, discovered a few years ago in the Convent of St. Onofrio at Florence. It would be difficult in the entire range of Raffaello's drawings to point to anything more admirable than this slightly executed study ; the intense yet entirely natural, unaffected, action and expression of all the figures is a triumph of art; each figure, itself finely composed, is skilfully contrasted in all its lines and details with its neighbour, and the varied attitudes of the heads and hands denote with wonderful truthfulness the agitation of the disciples as they listen to the solemn words of the Saviour. A comparison of this with Leonardo da Vinci's famous ' Cenacolo ' at Milan would certainly not be to the disadvantage of Raffaello. This drawing should apparently be referred to about the same period as the two last noted, viz. circa a.d. 1504-6. On the reverse of the sheet is a slight outline study, on a larger scale, for the head of a Madonna; but it may, perhaps, admit of some doubt whether it is really by the hand of the master. A facsimile of the drawing of the Last Supper is given in Woodburn's 'Lawrence Gallery.' Passavant notices 148 DRAWINGS BY RAFFAELLO. it (Catalogue, No. 539), but has no information to offer. The Antaldi initials R. V. are affixed in one corner. 33. Raffaello. First sketch for a Holy Family — the Virgin and Child and St. John — known as the c Madonna of the Belvedere/ or c of the Meadow' ( c die Jungfrau im grlinen'). An oil picture on panel, now in the Imperial Gallery of the Belvedere at Vienna. Painted in a.d. 1505-6. Shaded drawing with the point of the brush in drown tint. Height, 8f- inches. Width, 7| inches. Collections : Antaldi and Lawrence. The well-known picture for which this beautiful study was prepared, was one of two holy families, painted by Raffaello in Florence for his friend Taddeo Taddei. The picture is signed and dated; the date, somewhat ambiguously expressed, is supposed to indicate that it was begun in a.d. 1505, and finished in a.d. 1506. This study then doubtless belongs to the former year. It was first observed by Vasari that the two pictures executed for Taddeo Taddei*, whilst they retained some- what of Raffaello's first or 1 Peruginesque' manner, also gave evidence of his more advanced style, acquired in Florence; and Passavant has further observed that of all the pictures of Raffaello, the Madonna of the Belvedere is the one in which resemblance to the style of Leonardo da Vinci is the most visible, particularly in the type and expression of the heads, andv the pose of the two children. The composition, as indicated in the present sketch, is in the main similar to that of the finished work — the difference being that in the sketch the Virgin is clad in close-fitting vestments, whilst in the picture the figure is amply draped. In the sketch, moreover, the head of the Virgin, though in the same position as in the picture, * The other is the ' Vierge au palmier,' now in the Bridgewater Gallery. FLORENTINE PERIOD^ CIRCA A.D. 1504-8. T49 differs entirely from it in type and expression; it displays indeed one of the most exquisite examples of Raffaello's characteristic Madonna type, that admirable ideal of virgin purity and grace, based in some measure on the creations of his father Giovanni Santi and Perugino : whereas the head in the finished picture in its more rounded forms, and some- what affected smiling expression, approximates to the more mannered ideal of Leonardo. The drawing is executed with the point of the brush, and the upper part, comprising the head, bust and arms of the Virgin, is carefully shaded or modelled with full pictorial effect in a peculiar yellowish brown tint. On the left at the top of the sheet is a slight outline sketch in red chalk, being a repetition of a portion of the group *. In regard to the peculiar manner in which the drawing is executed, it is necessary to rectify an unfortunate mistake made by Passavant in his notices of it (vol. ii., pp. 37 and 501). He has described it as being with the silver point, afterwards carefully worked up in bistre by a later hand. This description is, however, incorrect. In the first place, the drawing exhibits no trace of the use of the silver point. And, secondly, the peculiar shading ('bistrage') attri- buted to another hand is unquestionably by Raffaello himself; it manifests indeed a characteristic method of execution seen in several other of his drawings (see the study for the 'disputa' in the collection, No. 57). This particular style of water-colour tinting was not, however, invented by Raffaello. On the contrary, it was long before his time a recognised mode of delineation, and was particularly affected by Andrea Mantegna and his scholars, and the early Venetian masters. Amongst the Florentines, moreover, the writer has noticed certain early drawings of Fra Bartolommeo and of his much rarer colleague Mariotto Albertinelli, executed in the same manner t. * Passavant states in his notice of this drawing that the red chalk study is on the reverse of the sheet. This is an error ; there is nothing on the back. f This manner of drawing was probably suggested by the method of sketching or ' laying in ' tempera pictures on the absorbent white ' gesso ' grounds, or of fresco painting on the wet ' intonaco,' and again of majolica painting on the crude unfiled stanniferous glaze : in all these methods of painting regular even tints could only be obtained by repeated strokes dexterously laid side by side, or by cross hatchings, flat washing with thin aqueous pigments being very difficult, from the fact that every touch 150 DRAWINGS BY RAFFAELLO. The drawing bears the Antaldi initials R. V. in con- spicuous characters in the right-hand corner, and it is perhaps the drawing described in the Antaldi Catalogue (see Appendix) as 'Una Madonna in quarto di foglio reale col bambino e S. Gio. fatto d' acquerella del med mo Raffaelle.' 34. Copy from Raffaello. Holy Family, known as the Holy Family of the Casa Canigiani. Shaded drawing with the point 0/ the brush in neutral grey tint, heightened with white on grey tinted paper. Height, 1 of- inches. Width, 10 inches. Collections : Count Geloso, and Lawrence. This is a copy, apparently by one of the scholars of Raffaello, from a well-known picture executed by the great master in a.d. i 506, for Domenico Canigiani, one of his Florentine patrons. The style of execution of the drawing is spirited and masterly, but quite different from that of Raffaello. Thel writer thinks it likely that it is the work of Biaggio Pupini, a Bolognese artist of the first half of the sixteenth century, who, according to Lanzi, was one of the band of assistants employed by Raffaello on his great monumental frescoes in Rome. This artist, also styled Biaggio Bolognese, was a skilful andi ready draughtsman ; and his characteristic productions, usually executed in a style resembling that of the present specimen,- are well known to amateurs of drawings by the old masters. It may be remarked that an unusual number of preliminary studies are extant, by Raffaello himself, for the Canigiani on such absorbent surfaces immediately sinks in as if on blotting-paper. Moreover, paper, when prepared with coloured grounds for silver point'; drawing, presented a similarly absorbent surface ; drawings with the point" of the brush were, nevertheless, often made on them. It will easily be conceived that long exercise in a peculiar style of handwork suggested the employment of the same method, when there was no absolute necessity for it, as in the case of the present study, which is made on ordinary white paper. FLORENTINE PERIOD, CIRCA A.D. 1504-8. 1 5 1 Holy Family, mostly bistre pen drawings ; several of them are in this country (Windsor, Chatsworth, Malcolm, and d'Aumale Collections). See list in the Windsor Catalogue, p. 58. The picture itself, now in a very damaged condition, is in the Gallery at Munich. 1 Passavant (Catalogue, No. 560 d) alludes to this drawing as a copy. 35. Raffaello. St. George on horseback; for a composition of the £>y ■ fi.ejw. Q&aM) Saint fighting with the Dragon. Circa a.d. 1506. k C«)^Jf' ^71 1 ' LS *3 C Silver point drawing on warm grey or cream coloured prepared ground, heightened with white. Height, io\ inches. Width, 95 inches. Collections : Wicar and Lawrence. This is all that remains of one of the most highly finished ind beautiful drawings of Raffaello's second period. Apparently, ifter it had suffered great degradation from damp and from careless usage, some barbarous possessor removed all the background, leaving the equestrian figure only, cut close to ;he outlines; this was then pasted down on another sheet 5f paper. There is now no trace of the dragon and other iccessories, which doubtless originally occupied the field of he drawing. The Saint is represented in armour of the period of the irtist, on his charger, galloping towards the left, his right arm lplifted, in the act of striking at the dragon with a sword which, however, has been cut away) ; he has an oval buckler >n the left arm, and a mantle thrown over his shoulder lying in the wind. Although there are some notable lifferences, there can be no doubt that this is a preliminary lesign for the beautiful little picture now in the palace of the rlermitage at St. Petersburg. In the picture, however, the Saint is transfixing the dragon vith a lance, whilst in this drawing he must have been assailing he monster with a sword. The large oval shield, moreover, omitted in the picture, and some minor variations may also 152 DRAWINGS BY RAFFAELLO. be observed in the details of the horse-trappings; in other respects both horse and rider are substantially identical. The picture was executed in a.d. 1506, and was sent, with other presents, by the Duke of Urbino, Guidobaldo I, to Henry VII of England, on the occasion of the embassy sent to receive the order of the Garter. It was presented to the King by the celebrated Count Baldassare Castiglione, the delegate appointed to receive the investiture *. The picture remained in England until the dispersion of the Royal collection in the time of Charles I. At the sale of the Royal collection by the Parliament, it was sold for £150, and it seems to have been taken to France. It has been engraved many times since. For one of the most accessible representations of it, see the outline in Landon (No. 334). Passavant notices the picture at length and refers briefly to the present drawing (Catalogue, No. 498), but he does not seem to have recognised it as a study for the St. Petersburg picture. 36. RAFFAELLO. Sheet of studies. A young man's head with flowing hair, and a study of a left hand on a large scale. Pen drawings in bistre, the hand also washed or shaded with the brush. Width, 9§ inches. Height, 8| inches. Collections : Antaldi and Lawrence. Passavant (Catalogue, No. 560 jj), classes this most beautiful drawing under the head of 'Studies by different pupils of Perugino.' The writer, on the other hand, is convinced that it is an original work of Raffaello. No doubt in the touch and style of execution a certain want of accordance with Raffaello's usual characteristics may be perceived; but, on the other hand, the purity and grace displayed in every line could * It should be noted that in the picture the Saint wears the garter, in- scribed with the word ' Honi ' over his armour, below the left knee ; the garter is not, however, indicated in the present drawing. FLORENTINE PERIOD, CIRCA A,D. 1504-8. 153 have been achieved by no one else. It would be difficult indeed, in the whole work of the great master, to select a more beautiful typical face than the beaming countenance here pourtrayed. As in other impersonations of Raffaello's earlier period, there is in it a certain likeness to himself. Passavant in all probability hastily discredited this drawing on account of the variation in the technical style of execution above alluded to. Had he. however examined it more care- fully, it is possible that he would have been led to a different conclusion ; he might have recalled to mind, that in his youth, Raffaello frequently imitated the characteristics of other great masters with whom he came in contact. See instances, pre- viously adduced in this Catalogue, of his imitations of the styles of his master Perugino, Leonardo da Vinci, and Fra Bar- tolommeo. Now the present drawing, in the opinion of the writer, shows evidence of the influence on Raffaello of the works of another great contemporary master, — his friend Francesco Francia. The head, in fact, notwithstanding its ' Raffaellesque' character, bears also a certain family likeness to the favourite type of Francia ; and the technical execution of the drawing, in the touch or handling of the pen, particularly seen in the delicate oblique shading of the face, moreover shows a specific resemblance to the work of Francia, as seen in several drawings of that master which have come under the writer's notice. It may indeed fairly be conjectured that this study was executed during or shortly after Raffaello's visit to Bologna, about the year a.d. 1506, when, as we know, he formed an intimate friendship with Francia. It is interesting to note, as corroborative evidence of the authenticity of the drawing, that the paper bears the same water-mark (a crowned spread- eagle, see Facsimile, No. 75) as occurs in another indubitable drawing of Raffaello, apparently executed at about the same period (the silver point study of a preaching monk, No. 30 in this collection). x 154 DRAWINGS BY RAFFAELLO. General Notice of the Series of Drawings having reference to the picture of the Entombment of our Saviour, in the Borghese Gallery, Rome. (Nos. 37 to 45.) Some preliminary remarks on the studies in this collection supposed to have been prepared for the Borghese Entomb- ment seem necessary. The drawings by Raffaello, which have come down to us for this composition, or similar subjects, are unusually numerous*, and a careful examination and comparison of them are the more desirable, inasmuch as they seem to show, that, besides the design ultimately embodied in the Borghese picture, Raffaello had projected more than one other distinct but analogous composition; it is a matter of some interest to determine the sequence of these designs relatively to that which was actually executed. Vasari has given us satisfactory indications of the circum- stances under which the Borghese picture was produced. He says, in the Life of Raffaello (ed. Lemonnier, vol. vii. p. 9), that before Raffaello left Perugia, the noble lady Atlanta Baglioni commissioned him to paint an altar-piece for the Church of San Francisco, that he could not then undertake the work, but that he promised the lady he would execute it when he returned from Florence, for which place he was just starting. This must have been either in a.d. 1503, or 1504, probably in the latter year; and Vasari adds that with great previous study and preparation he made the cartoon for the picture in Florence; and we know from the same authority, and also from the evidence of the date on the picture itself, that he painted it in Perugia, in a.d. 1507; there is thus an interval of three years or more during which this composition must have occupied more or less of the artist's attention. Now the various drawings of this series show not only great variations in intention as regards the composition, but also re- markable differences in the technical style or manner of design. * Besides those in the present collection — the Uffizj in Florence, the Louvre, the British Museum, the Albertine Collection at Vienna, and the private collections of the Baron de Triqueti in Paris, of Mr. Malcolm of Poltalloch, Mr. Bale, and Mr. T. Birchall, all contain authentic drawings by Raffaello belonging to this cycle. FLORENTINE PERIOD, CIRCA A.D. 1 504-8. 1 55 The drawings represent indeed two distinct subjects, one of which should be characterised as a ' deposition ; ' it represents the dead body of our Lord lying on the ground and supported on the knees of his disciples : the other is an f entombment ;' in it the disciples are seen actually carrying the dead body of our Saviour in order to place it in the sepulchre. The Borghese picture represents the latter subject. Each of these designs seems to have been founded on a celebrated type already executed by an older master. It has been noticed by various writers that the general idea of the Borghese picture was borrowed from Andrea Mantegna's celebrated composition of the Entombment, executed as an engraving by himself. Of this fact there can be no doubt. The Venice sketch-book indeed, contains two beautiful studies by Raffaello from portions of that print, showing his familiarity with it. It has not, however, been hitherto noticed that another celebrated design, the work of his master, Pietro Perugino, was also laid under contribution by Raffaello. It is, however, evident that the famous picture of the Deposi- tion, painted by Pietro Perugino in a.d. 1495 for the Church of Santa Chiara in Florence*, served as a prototype for one series of the drawings about to be described, and indeed that certain features and motives borrowed from it were finally retained in the Borghese picture. The writer's belief, in short, is that when Raffaello first received the commission for the Borghese picture, it took the shape in his mind of an improved rendering of the Deposition, as it had been embodied by his master, and that he made a considerable number of preliminary sketches and designs to that end ; but that when he arrived in Florence, and had become acquainted with the grander and more energetic style of Leonardo and Michel Angelo, he was no longer satisfied with the old-fashioned motionless conventionality of the Umbrian type. He then aspired to impart to his works the same dramatic conception and life-like action and movement which he saw in those of the two great Florentine rivals, and struck also with the evidence of similar qualities in the works of Mantegna, which, * The Guise Collection in the Christ Church Library contains a beautiful finished pen drawing of this composition by Pietro ; and it is not a little curious that the same collection includes a portion of the cartoons for the picture, viz. the head of Joseph of Arimathaea, pricked and bearing marks of having actually served for transfer to the panel. X 3 156 DRAWINGS BY RAFFAELLO. I moreover, furnished him with a direct model, he in great part laid aside his first idea and struck out into the bolder path which ultimately led to the full realisation of the admirable composition represented in the Borghese picture. It now remains to describe in detail the studies in this collection belonging to both these phases. 37. Raffaello. Design for a picture of the Deposition, or £ Pieta.' The dead body of our Saviour, taken down from the cross, is supported on the knees of the Virgin and Mary Magdalen. On the left three female disciples are sustaining the sorrowing Virgin. On the right a standing group of Joseph of Arimathsea, St. John the Evangelist, and two other disciples. Pen drawing in bistre. Width, %\ inches. Height, *\\ inches. Collections : Denon and Lawrence. Although more or less different in every detail, there is sufficient general resemblance both in the main features of this composition and in its general intention, to show that it must have been based on Pietro Perugino's design previously alluded to. The fact that four other notable drawings by Raffaello for this particular rendering of the subject are still extant, and the great probability, arising from the nature of those designs, that other complementary and intermediate studies have perished in the lapse of years, seem to denote that whatever may have ultimately come of it, this composition was. at all events carried very far towards complete realisation. The present drawing is a draught of the entire design, comprising ten figures. Most probably it was preceded by others of a more or less elaborate nature, and it was certainly followed by the sheet in this collection next to be described, by another drawing representing the group of the male disciples FLORENTINE PERIOD, CIRCA A.D. T504-8. 157 standing on the right, and the kneeling Magdalen with clasped hands *, and apparently also by the drawing No. 39 in the present series. The Louvre Collection, on the other hand, contains a large and highly finished drawing of the greater part of the composition, showing however many variations from the present arrangement!; but, notwithstanding the elaboration and apparently superior importance of that drawing, the writer is inclined to think that it must have preceded the present design. The Louvre drawing indeed seems in every part to display the influence of Perugino's style of execution, and on the whole to present an earlier appearance than the studies now in question, in which the bolder style of drawing adopted by Raffaello in Florence is apparent. The principal differences betwixt the composition as seen in the present drawing and that in the Louvre are, that in the latter a standing figure of Joseph of Arimathsea, wearing a turban and a bushy beard parted in the middle, has replaced the standing female figure seen on the extreme left in the present drawing]:; and in the centre standing behind and above the woman, who is seated on the ground sup- porting the legs of the Saviour in her lap, another female figure is introduced, bending forward and putting back the drapery around the head of the fainting Virgin, as if to give her air. No trace of this latter figure appears in the Oxford drawing, but it was afterwards substantially repeated, though with great alterations, and with a different action, in the Borghese picture. This particular female figure, and the other in a kneeling position, it should be observed, are * That drawing, well known from the last century facsimile engraving in Crozat's work, is now in the collection of C. Sackville Bale, Esq. ; it is almost identical with the correspondent group in the present drawing, but it is on a larger scale. t That splendid drawing was originally in the Lawrence Collection, and being one of those chosen by the King of Holland, it was sold in the King's sale, and purchased by the Louvre, at the then u.nprecedentedly high price of 6900 florins; it contains eight figures only, but space is reserved, on the left, for at least two others, so that in all probability, had the design been entirely worked out, it would have contained the same number (10) as are seen in the Oxford drawing. See the facsimile in the Woodburn ' Lawrence Gallery.' It has since been several times photographed and otherwise reproduced in Paris. + It is interesting to notice that the head of Joseph of Arimathsa was evidently imitated by Raffaello from the head of the same personage in the Santa Chiara picture, and of which the original finished drawing, cut from the cartoon, is in the Christ Church Collection. DRAWINGS BY RAFFAELLO. in fact the only two which seem to have been retained from first to last throughout all the changes of intention, which attended the gradual elaboration of the composition as seen in the Borghese picture. Whether the present (as the writer believes) or that of the Louvre is the earliest rendering of the competition, one thing seems quite certain, namely, that both were prepared for one and the same work, which, as then projected, was an essentially different one from the Borghese Entombment. Sheet of studies drawn on both sides, for the preceding composition of the Deposition. Pen drawings in bistre. Width, 13^ inches. Height, 8^ inches. Collections : Duke of Alva, and Lawrence. On one side is a vigorous and masterly pen study of the naked dead body of our Saviour, probably drawn with the aid of a model, and on a larger scale than is usual in Raffaello's detailed studies. It differs slightly in the pose of the head, and the position of the left hand, from the figure as seen in the previous general design. On the other side is the group of four standing male disciples, as in the design last described, but represented as carefully drawn naked figures, evidently studied from the life. It is worthy of notice that all the outlines of these studies are pricked through with a needle for transference to another sheet. This group does not display any very material alteration from the arrangement in the previous drawing; the vigorous style of execution is exactly similar, and the two were evidently executed at the same time. Sheet of studies. A composition of the Deposition of the body of our Saviour, three bearded male heads, a head of the fainting Virgin, and a study of a hand. 38. Raffaello. 39. Raffaello. 1 FLORENTINE PERIOD, CIRCA A.D. 1504-8. 1 59 Pen drawing in bistre. Width, 125 inches. Height, 8| inches. Collections : T. della Vite, Bordage, Crozat, B. Constantine, and Lawrence. The composition which forms the principal feature of this sheet of studies is different alike from the design previously described and from that carried out in the Borghese picture. - In all probability it marks an intermediate stage betwixt the two. This view is indeed confirmed by two distinct indi- cations : first the peculiar style of execution, which is unlike that of any drawings by Raffaello previously noticed, whilst it is identical with that of most of the studies for the Borghese picture hereafter alluded to; secondly, by the fact that the head of the fainting Virgin, in the right-hand upper corner of the sheet, seems to coincide with the Virgin's head in the Borghese picture, rather than with that in the previous composition. The group of the Deposition, apparently complete in itself, consists of three figures only, all of them undraped. One of them kneels at the head of the prostrate figure of the dead Saviour, with, his arms clasped round the waist of the corpse, the other in like manner kneels at its feet clasping the knees. The two appear to be in the act of lowering the body, in order to lay it out on the ground. The three studies of bearded heads are all of the same type, and are probably three different essays for the head of Joseph of Arimathgea or Nicodemus. This drawing may with great probability be referred to a.d. 1505 or 1506, and it was doubtless executed in Florence. One of its most remarkable features is the manner of execu- tion. Although the special style or mannerism in question cannot fail to strike every one conversant with ~ Raffaello's drawings as being altogether peculiar, it is not easy to convey an adequate idea of it by verbal description. The figures are all shaded or modelled with broad masses of tint, formed by regular and somewhat monotonous cross hatching with the pen, in which parallel vertical lines predominate, the resulting aspect being as different as possible from the infinitely varied and apparently unstudied style of the majority of Raffaello's drawings, whether of an earlier or later date. It is obvious that Raffaello adopted this style of mani- pulation as a novelty or passing fashion, and it may be 1 60 DRAWINGS BY RAFFAELLO. remarked that it displays an evident bias towards a sculptur- esque breadth and largeness . of treatment not without precedent in the drawings of his great contemporaries, Michel Angelo and Fra Bartolommeo. It is impossible, however, for any one who is conversant with the very numerous drawings of another remarkable artist of the period in question, — the sculptor Baccio Bandinelli, — to avoid noticing the specific similarity in point of style of execution, which exists betwixt the present and several other studies for the Borghese picture and of Bandinelli's drawings. That artist was four years younger than Raffaello, and he survived him nearly forty years; he was an indefatigable worker, and many hundreds of his drawings still remain to us; they abound, in fact, in every collection. From first to last Baccio's pen drawings are executed in a style, which is virtually almost identical with this temporary mannerism of Raffaello ; were it not for an indescribable truth- fulness and grace, the sacred fire of genius, in short, which shines forth in every touch of the pen guided by Raffaello, and of which Baccio's works show only rare and fitful traces, they might indeed easily be confounded together. Whether, how- ever, Baccio based his style on these particular drawings of Raffaello, or whether the latter, temporarily smitten with the novel and peculiar manner introduced by Baccio, adopted it for a season, is difficult to decide. The latter supposition is at all events not impossible. Baccio was about nineteen years old at the period in question, and we know from Vasari that he was already at that time accounted the ablest of the band of youthful draughtsmen who were studying the great monumental works of Leonardo and Michel Angelo in Florence. Passavant (Catalogue, sequel to No. 477) notices this drawing only to throw doubts on its authenticity; there cannot, however, be the slightest uncertainty on that point. 40. Ascribed to Raffaello, but more probably by tlmoteo della vlte. The Deposition of the body of our Saviour ; com- position of eleven figures. FLORENTINE PERIOD, CIRCA A.D. 1504-8. l6l Drawing in red chalk. Width, \2% inches. Height, 9^ inches. Collections : King Charles I, and Lawrence. This composition resembles in its general features both that of Perugino's Santa Chiara picture, and those of Raffaello previously described, and it may be regarded as a pasticcio or free imitation. The weak and mannered style of design, in which nevertheless an endeavour to counterfeit the touch of Raffaello is very apparent, seems to reveal the hand of his friend and follower, Timoteo della Vite of Urbino. The mannered Umbrian style of the design indicates it to have been made early in the century. Passavant (Catalogue, No. 560, a a) also specifies this drawing as not authentic. 41. Ascribed to Raffaello, but more probably by Timoteo della Vite. Sheet of studies for a composition of the Deposition. Silver point drawing on prepared ground. Height, ii| inches. Width, S\ inches. Collections : Antaldi, and Lawrence. A repetition of a portion of the previous design comprising a group of five figures representing the fainting Virgin, with the body of our Saviour resting on her knees, attended by female disciples. The body of the Saviour is drawn over again higher up on the sheet. This study displays a slavish imitation of Raffaello' s style of drawing with the silver point ; it may, in fact, be deemed a typical specimen of the numerous drawings by Timoteo della Vite so frequently mistaken for works of the great master himself. Passavant (Catalogue, sequel to No. 477) rightly charac- terises the drawing as not by the hand of Raffaello. l62 DRAWINGS BY RAFFAELLO. 42. Raffaello. Group of three naked men, being studies for the figures of disciples carrying the dead body of our Saviour, in the picture of the Entombment in the Borghese Gallery. Pen drawing in bistre. Height, \ \\ inches. Width, 9I inches. Collections: Antaldi and Lawrence. We have now before us a drawing, the exact place or order of which, in the series under consideration, is quite evident. This important study represents the three carrying figures, almost exactly as they were executed in the Borghese picture, the only essential difference being in the fact, that they are here represented as naked; doubtless having been drawn directly from the unclothed living model, whereas in the picture they are variously draped. They are moreover brought closer together than in the picture, the size of the leaf of paper not allowing of their being sketched exactly in their proper relative positions. The action of the legs of the figure on the left, — the one walking backwards and on the point of ascending the steps leading to the sepulchre, — is also altered, the right leg being bent and the foot raised so as to rest on the step in the drawing, whereas in the picture it is the left leg which is repre- sented in that action. The body of the Saviour is slightly indicated in red chalk in its proper position. Woodburn (Oxford Catalogue, No. 104) has remarked : ' this study is most interesting, as proving the care of this illustrious master in preparing for his pictures, the figures in the present drawing being unclothed, to mark the anatomy,' &c. Passavant (Catalogue, No. 477) adds nothing worth quoting. The increasing power of Raffaello in his renderings of the naked figure is very visible in this drawing. It should be remarked that up to this time his drawings do not give much evidence of his having ever systematically studied the naked figure, nearly all his drawings from nature having been made hitherto from figures clothed in the tight-fitting costume of the period. It may fairly be presumed, however, that the profound and scientific studies of Michel Angelo FLORENTINE PERIOD, CIRCA A. D, 1504-8. 1 63 and Leonardo da Vinci had at this time opened to him new views, disclosing a field of study which he felt it incumbent upon him to enter. There can be little doubt that, following the example of those great artists, he now applied himself to the systematic study of anatomy. The proof that he did so is, in fact, furnished by other drawings for this same picture of the Entombment : see the celebrated drawings of the fainting Virgin sustained by the female disciples, now in the Malcolm Collection (engraved in facsimile in Woodburn's 'Lawrence Gallery'), ia one of which the figure of the Virgin is not only drawn undraped, but the bones of the skeleton are also exquisitely indicated within the outlines. (See remarks by the writer, Malcolm Catalogue, p. 72.) In the manipulation of the present drawing the peculiar style of cross hatching before noted still prevails; but, on the whole, the execution is much more vigorous and masterly than that of the previous studies, and the powerful sweeping outlines of Raffaello's mature period are here for the first time revealed. It may be presumed that it was executed in 1506, and it must have been one of those which immediately preceded the execution of the Cartoon. 43. Raffaello. Study for part of the composition of the Borghese Entombment, and, on the other side of the sheet, a group of three figures, a draped female playing the harp, betwixt two undraped men, one blowing a trumpet, the other playing a violin. Pen drawing in bistre. Height, g\ inches. Width, 7^ inches. Collections : Ottley and Lawrence. Although the last-named most graceful design is the more elaborate drawing of the two, the importance of the Entomb- ment subject entitles it to be first noticed. The study represents the body of our Saviour, as in the Borghese picture, seen to the knees only, and the lower part of the figure of the disciple, on the left, in the act of carrying it. The body of our Saviour corresponds exactly with the figure as executed in the picture, and the legs of the carrying figure are in the 164 DRAWINGS BY RAFFAELLO. movement finally adopted therein (different from their dispo- sition in the previous drawing). Doubtless this study was made some time after the one last described. The style of execution displays a marked advance in point of hand-power, and there are only slight reminiscences, in this and in the design on the other side of the sheet, of the peculiar cross hatching and vertical shading lines alluded to above ; in all probability this study was made expressly as an essay for the alteration in the movement of the legs of the carrying figure. The beautiful group of a musical party may perhaps be regarded as a design for a typical or allegorical repre- sentation of music, for use in a fresco or in the deco- ration of some article of furniture, such as the lid of a harpsichord. Nothing more is known of it. The sheet was doubtless produced either in 1506 or early in 1507. A facsimile of the musical party is given in Ottley's ' Italian School of Design,' and it is briefly alluded to in the text of the work, p. 49. Ottley, in continuation of his remarks, says that he thinks Raphael both designed and painted the Borghese picture in Florence, and only went to Perugia to see it fixed in its place and to receive payment for it. Passavant (Catalogue, 542) gives no information respecting this drawing. An old copy of the drawing of the musical party, probably by the hand of Timoteo della Vite, forms part of the Guise collection of drawings at Christ Church. (See Notice at the conclusion of this Catalogue.) 44. Raffaello. i 201 ,xt>z> Sheet drawn on both sides. A study for the Entomb- ment, or for £ The Death of Adonis. 5 And on the other side of the leaf, Adam receiving the forbidden fruit from Eve. Part of the composition engraved by Marc Antonio Raimondi. Pen drawing in bisire. Length, 13 inches. Height, xo\ inches. Collections: Antaldi, Crozat, Mariette, St. Morys, Fuseli, FLORENTINE PERIOD, CIRCA A.D. I504-8. 165 These well-known and most admirable drawings have been several times engraved in facsimile. The ' death of Adonis ' by the Comte de Caylus, early in the last century; both the designs at a later period by the Comte de St. Morys, and subsequently by Ottley in his ' Italian School of Design ; ' and they have been frequently alluded to and described by different writers on Art. The celebrated French connoisseur Mariette, who himself for a time possessed this sheet, gives the following notice of one only of the drawings, in illustration of the facsimile print (inserted in a reversed position) in the work known as the Crozat Gallery (Recueil d'estampes d'apres les plus beaux tableaux et desseins &c. qui sont en France, Paris 1729): '42. "La mort d'Adonis." C'est le nom qu'on a donne a ce dessein fait a la plume dans lequel Raphael a peut-6tre eu intention de repre'senter Jesus Christ porte* dans le tombeau, quoiqu'il en soit, il est poste'rieur a, celuy dont on vient de faire la description *, et M. Crozat l'acquis des heritiers de Timothe'e Viti.' (p. 16). Ottley's remarks, like all that proceeded from the pen of that eminent connoisseur, deserve attention. They are as follows : — ' 54. Adam receiving the forbidden fruit from Eve (pen), as represented in an admired print by Marc Antonio Raimondi ; one of those which there appears reason to believe he engraved soon after his arrival in Rome, in the year 1509 or 10, whence we may conjecture that the drawing was made by Raffaello during the time he was employed on the frescos of the Chamber " della Segnatura." 'The third plate presents the facsimile of a sketch, which is executed on the back of the same sheet of paper as the last described, and was formerly in the before-mentioned work called the " Crozat Cabinet," under the title of " The death of Adonis " (pen). Though hastily and in many places even carelessly drawn, still it possesses in some parts, that distinguishing quality, which seldom fails to stamp a value upon whatever proceeded from the hand of Raffaelle. The dying figure especially has an easy gracefulness, joined to a languor of expression * One of the studies for the Borghese Entombment also engraved (in a reversed position) in the same work ; it is also now in this country in the collection of T. Burchall, Esq. See notice in Passavant (Catalogue, No. 453). i66 DRAWINGS BY RAFFAELLO. peculiarly appropriate. This interesting sheet of studies is at present in the possession of my much-respected friend Mr. Fuseli.' Passavant also notices both drawings at length (Catalogue, No. 462), but his descriptions do not add anything material to the foregoing. In the Entombment design, the dead body, though it is being carried in the same direction, i. e. from right to left, is placed in the opposite sense from that in the Borghese picture : namely, here it is carried with the feet foremost, whereas in the Borghese composition it is borne with the head in front; this alone would seem to show that this study was not prepared for the latter work, but the greater freedom of style in the execution of the drawing also indicates it to have been done at a later period, and the writer agrees with Ottley in ascribing it to circa a.d. 1509-10. The group consists of five figures, namely, two men sup- porting the upper part of the dead body, and a third carrying the legs, whilst in the centre a woman bends forward looking into the face of the corpse, in an attitude of passionate grief. All the figures are undraped. There is also on the left of the sheet a study of a foreshortened head, which does not appear to have any reference to the group. The dead or dying figure is that of a graceful young man without a beard, and the general air of antique or classical elegance which pervades the composition, lends support to the suppo- sition that it represents the death of Adonis; in any case, the general analogy which exists between this and the Borghese Entombment drawings seems to show that the sheet was produced whilst the influence of his many studies for the last-named famous work still dwelt on the mind of Raffaello. A repetition or copy of this drawing is in the pos- session of Hofrath Von Draxler at Vienna, and a faint silver point sketch of the same composition is preserved in the Albertine Collection in the same city (Windsor Catalogue, p. 21). The other composition represents the figure of Adam, on a much larger scale than in the print, but nearly as it was ultimately designed, whilst the Eve is only slightly indicated. In the right-hand lower corner of the drawing is a recumbent figure of a naked child ; it had of course nothing to do with the Adam and Eve. No other studies for this celebrated composition are FLORENTINE PERIOD, CIRCA A.D. 1504-8. 1 67 known. Marc Antonio's print (Bartsch, No. 1) is one of the most beautiful and at the same time the scarcest of his works. Both drawings will be recognised by the descriptions in the Antaldi Catalogue, Nos. 25 and 26 (see Appendix 17); and the word 'venduto,' written opposite to the entries in the margin, confirms Mariette's account that Crozat acquired the sheet of the descendants of Timoteo della Vite. 45. Raffaello. The Virgin and the Infant Saviour. Pen drawing in bistre. Height, 7 1 inches. Width, 5^ inches. Collections : Duke of Alva, Benjamin West, and Lawrence. The Virgin is in a sitting position and draped, her head turned to the left ; the half naked child clings to her, resting both hands on her breast. The lower part of the figure of the Virgin is only slightly indicated. The homely natural action and expression of both the Mother and Child seem to denote that this design was a reminiscence from nature, probably an amplification of a sketch taken directly from a peasant woman and her babe. The drawing is undoubtedly authentic, and it seems to belong to the latter part of Raffaello's Florentine period. Noticed in Passavant's Catalogue, No. 488. An old copy is preserved in the Museum of the Uflfizj at Florence, and the same collection also contains another drawing of this same group slightly altered. See Notice in Windsor Catalogue, P- 86 (37-3.) i68 DRAWINGS BY RAFFAELLO. 46. Raffaello. Four standing figures of Warriors, one of them in the centre of the group, a reminiscence from Donatello's marble statue of St. George. Various studies of the naked figure on the reverse. Pen drawings in bistre. Height, ii inches. Width, 8| inches. Collections : Berwick and Lawrence. The principal figure in this beautiful drawing is a copy or imitation of the celebrated marble statue by Donatello, still extant in one of the niches on the outside of the Church of Or San Michele in Florence ; whence, and also from the general style of the drawing, it may be inferred that it was executed before Raffaello left that city. The warrior saint is represented directly in front, his legs planted apart, a large kite-shaped pavoise shield resting on its point before him, on the top of which his left hand and arm are placed. Two other figures flank it symmetrically ; they are undraped. The one to the left has a helmet on his head, and also holds a large pavoise shield, his left hand rests on the shoulder of the St. George, and his head seen in profile is turned towards the Saint, as if in the act of offering counsel. That on the other side holds a lance and a circular shield. The head only of a fourth figure is seen in the background on the right. Although the figures are artistically grouped together, it is probable that they were not intended to represent any subject, but seem to have been merely a group of Academy studies tastefully arranged in juxtaposition, the two naked figures having been rapidly drawn from the life, and the St. George either from the marble or from a reduced model. The drawings on the reverse of the sheet are two sketches of the upper part of a naked male figure in profile, a study of a knee, and a slight, very faint outline in black chalk of a standing male figure. There is also an outline of a female foreshortened head in profile, looking upwards ; this is pricked with the needle for transference. Noticed in Passavant (Catalogue, No. 541.) FLORENTINE PERIOD, CIRCA A.D. 1504-8. 169 47. Raffaello. Sheet containing two studies for a composition of the Virgin and Child, and St. John, being first thoughts for the picture known as the Madonna del CardeUino in the Florence Gallery. Pen drawings in bistre. Height, 10 inches. Width, 8 inches. Collections: Antaldi, Josi of Amsterdam, and Lawrence. The picture to which the above title has been given re- presents the Virgin sitting in the open air holding a book in her left hand. She is looking down upon the infant St. John, who, standing on the left, offers a goldfinch (Cardellino) to the Infant Saviour; the latter, also in a standing position, leans against his mother's knees and caresses the bird with his outstretched right hand. It was painted, as Vasari records, for Lorenzo Nasi, a Florentine gentleman, a.d. 1506. The present drawing and the two next to be described were first identified by M. Ruland (Windsor Catalogue, p. 54, ix. 6. 9. 10.), as successive preparatory studies for the picture in question ; Passavant who, in his Catalogue (No. 483), accepts all three of them as genuine drawings of Raffaello, nevertheless failed to recognise their destination. The present sheet is the first in order of the three, and both the studies on it are widely different from the group as finally executed; there is, in fact, no exact coincidence in any of the details of either of the groups with the picture, and yet the points of resemblance, generally speaking, are so evident as to leave no doubt whatever that they represent very early, if not the earliest, stages in the progress of the design. The two drawings on this sheet are very different from each other, but motives and characteristics culled from both have been retained or adopted in the final composition. The principal design, to the left, on a much larger scale than the other, comprises all the three figures, the Virgin as well as the two children being undraped. The most striking difference is in the position of the Infant Saviour, who is represented in an animated momentary attitude, sitting on the lap of the Virgin; the St. John stands on the left and appears to be z 170 DRAWINGS BY RAFFAELLO. presenting the bird as in the picture ; thus the incident re- presented is substantially the same. The pose and expression of the Virgin are not very dissimilar, but the attitude of the arms and hands is quite different. She does not hold a book as in the picture, but the left hand clasps the body of her Child instead, whilst the right, which in the picture is placed affectionately on the shoulder of St. John, in the present study supports the outstretched left foot of the Infant Christ. The other design on the right of the sheet is on a smaller scale; the infant St. John is wanting, and the general intention or action and disposition of the design are quite distinct from the other. Here the Virgin, in a sitting position, holds a book in her right hand, which she seems to be reading attentively, regardless of the efforts of the Divine Infant, Who standing at her knee endeavours to reach the book with His uplifted right arm as if to divert her attention. The Child leans back against her knees, and one of His feet slightly raised rests on the right foot of His Mother. Although the Child leans much more to the left than in the picture, He is substantially in the same pose, even the outstretched arm and hand being in nearly the same attitude in both, though with a different intention, as has been indicated; (it is extended to caress the bird in the picture, whilst in this design it endeavours to take hold of the book). The book, here first introduced, is placed in the right hand of the Virgin. A comparison of these studies with any of the engravings of the celebrated picture would be requisite for a full appre- ciation of the differences above described ; it will be gathered, however, from the above account that all the essential points of the composition as finally settled are contained in these two preliminary inventions. An old copy, probably by Timoteo della Vite, is extant in the Guise Collection at Christ Church (see Notice at con- clusion of this Catalogue). 48. Raffaello. Study for a Virgin and Child, a preliminary essay for the picture known as the Madonna del Cardellino. FLORENTINE PERIOD, CIRCA A.D. J504-8. Ijl Drawn with the reed pen in bistre. Height, 85 inches. Width, 5| inches. Collections : Antaldi and Lawrence. This is a rather more finished repetition, by Raffaello himself, of one of the two groups represented in the previous sheet (that on the left comprising two figures only), and in which the Virgin is reading a book. The present study is on a larger scale, and some indications of drapery have been added to the figure of the Virgin. The Child is nearly in the same pose as in the other drawing, the slight difference being in the direction of closer resemblance to the figure in the finished work. There can be little doubt that it was executed immediately after the former drawing. 49. Raffaello. Holy Family. The Virgin and Child and the infant St. John. A preliminary study for the picture known as the Madonna del Cardellino. Pen drawing in bistre. Height, 9 inches. Width, 6\ inches. Collections: Antaldi, and Lawrence. The composition, as represented in this study, much more nearly resembles the completed design than any of the previous essays, and it is also of more finished execution ; it probably followed immediately after the design last described, but the variations from the picture are still sufficiently numerous and important to make it evident that one or more preparatory drawings must still have intervened betwixt the present study and the final settlement of the design in the cartoon. But although the general aspect of the design now bears a very obvious resemblance to the finished composition, there is an entire difference in the action or motive, and in this respect it presents quite a new conception. It will be remembered that the study (in sheet No. 47), the first in order, represents the presentation of the bird, the incident being substantially the same as that finally embodied in the z 2 173 DRAWINGS BY RAFFAELLO. picture. This motive, however, seems for a time to have been superseded by that of the Virgin reading a book so intently as to be apparently unconscious of the playful endeavours of the Infant to snatch it from her hand. Although strikingly truthful and pleasing in itself, it is probable that Raffaello's keen perception of fitness caused him in turn to be dissatisfied with the triviality and slight appearance of childish petulance displayed in this latter rendering, and it was probably forthwith superseded by the present motive, which represents the Infant Christ as if being taught to read by His mother from an open book held before Him in her right hand. The young St. John is now seen standing on the left, as if listening intently to the lesson. The figure of the Virgin is draped and differs in many respects from the finished one; but the Infant Saviour much more nearly resembles the figure finally adopted ; the attitude, in fact, with the exception of the movement of the head and the right leg being exactly the same. The composition if completed as here conceived would certainly have been very appropriate and beautiful, perhaps even more so than the one finally executed. May it not have been that Raffaello submitted his various designs to his patron, and that the choice of the latter fell on that which represents the incident of the goldfinch ? The present drawing is reproduced in facsimile in Woodburn's ' Lawrence Gallery.' It is described by Passavant (Catalogue, No. 483). The authors of the Windsor Catalogue (p. 54) enumerate only one other preliminary study for the Madonna del Cardellino : it is in the Chatsworth Collection. 50. Raffaello. '/22-Study for the Infant Christ in the picture of the Holy Family known as ' La Belle Jardiniere. 5 Pen drawing in bistre. Height, 1 1 1 inches. Width, 7 inches. Bequeathed by the late Chambers Hall, Esq. Collections : J. D. B'Oehm of Vienna, and Chambers Hall. FLORENTINE PERIOD, CIRCA A.D. I 5O4-8. 1 73 Several authentic drawings for this celebrated picture are extant, and the finished cartoon is also preserved in the collection of the Earl of Leicester at Holkham. (See list in the Windsor Catalogue, p. 59 *.) The present sheet represents, in front, a careful drawing of the naked figure of the Infant Saviour, and beside it, on the right, five separate studies of the left leg and foot of the same figure drawn on a larger scale with admirable dexterity and truth to nature. On the reverse of the sheet is a study of the skeleton of a female sitting in profile turned towards the right, the outline of the figure, i. e. the contours of the enveloping flesh, as in life, being faintly indicated round the bones. Passavant, in his notice of Mr. Chambers Hall's drawings (Catalogue, No. 457), makes the following observations : — ' L'enfant J£sus pour le tableau dit la Belle Jardiniere, au Musee du Louvre. Son attitude est la m^me que dans la peinture, le dessus du bras gauche est termine*; la jambe gauche est esquiss^e quatref fois. Au verso, le squelette d'une figure assise, vue de profil et tournde vers le cote* droit. Les pro- portions et le mouvement en sont tres justes, sans que les details anatomiques soient tres exacts,' &c. The Belle Jardiniere picture is dated a.d. 1508, but there is no doubt that it was commenced in the previous year, and that the studies for it were made at the time when Raffaello was occupied with the Borghese Entombment; the present drawing therefore belongs to his Florentine period. Passavant, vol. ii., p. 68, notices that a drawing is on record (in Mariette's Collection), on one side of which was a sketch for the Belle Jardiniere, and on the other a study for the Entombment: and the fact of the two series of drawings having been in hand at the same time is further confirmed by the occurrence of the skeleton here drawn within the outlines of the figure, a parallel instance of which is seen in one of the two celebrated drawings representing the group of the fainting * Two beautiful drawings of the entire composition, formerly in the Lawrence Collection, are now respectively in those of M. de Vos of Amsterdam and of M. Timbal of Paris; they formed part of the series sold by Woodburn to the late King of Holland. Those drawings are well known from facsimiles and photographs. The present study probably marks a rather later stage in the preparatory designs for the picture ; it may be presumed to be one of the detailed drawings which immediately preceded the cartoon. + It is repeated Jive times. i74 DRAWINGS BY RAFFAELLO. Virgin for the Borghese picture, now in the Malcolm Collection (see Malcolm Catalogue, Nos. 169, 170, p. 71 *). * This particular mode of study of the human figure is noticed by Vasari as if it were a customary practice with Raffaello ; it was, however, most likely only a passing phase confined to the period of his labours now before us. It was undoubtedly prompted by the similar habit of Michel Angelo and Leonardo. With those great artists, however, the practical study of anatomy was a serious and continuous occupation, and then- numerous drawings of a similar nature reveal a deeper knowledge of the subject than their younger rival could lay claim to. The writer is not aware of the existence of any other studies of this particular class by Raffaello, or indeed of any other anatomical drawings by him of special importance* and he is led to think that although Raffaello may for a short time during his residence in Florence have studied from the dead subject, his anatomical exercises were not of a very profound nature, and that they were not resumed during his busy career in Rome. EARLY ROMAN PERIOD, CIRCA A.D. 1508-12. 51. Raffaello. Sheet drawn on both sides. On the one side, a group of seven amorini playing, a draped woman carrying a child in her arms, and some sketches of acanthus foliage. On the reverse, a graceful figure of a young female walking towards the right, carrying some object con- cealed under her dress. Pen drawings in bistre. Width, 11 inches. Height, 8 inches. Collections : Ottley and Lawrence. The drawings on both sides are engraved in facsimile by Ottley in his ' Italian School of Design/ but nothing seems to have been known of the history of the sheet previous to its acquisition by that eminent connoisseur. Perhaps in the entire range of Raffaello's designs there is nothing more lovely than this group of children, or more truty graceful than the figure on the reverse. The style of execution, in which the somewhat rectilinear cross hatching and vertical shading lines of the Borghese Entombment period are still perceptible, seems to indicate that this sheet was produced at about the same time, or at all events not long afterwards, — perhaps during the first year of Raffaello's residence in Rome (1508). ij6 DRAWINGS BY RAFFAELLO. Passavant (Catalogue, No. 550) describes this sheet at some length, but rather inaccurately. The principal group is of three children, one of whom, in the middle, lies on the ground, and is being pulled along by the leg by a playful urchin on the right. The head of the recumbent boy rests on the knees of another, in a sitting position, on the left, on whom a dog is fawning. This group is flanked on the right and left by other amorini, one of whom (on the right) rushes forward, carrying a basket of fruit on his shoulders, and the other empties a similar basket of fruit and flowers on the ground. Two other amorini on this (the left side) are seen holding up a vase. The woman and child (on the right) are in the simple peasant costume of Raffaello's own day, and that group was probably a reminiscence from nature, having no reference to the com- position of amorini. The draped walking figure, on the other side of the sheet, represents a beautiful young girl in profile walking towards the right ; she seems to be carrying a plateau or basket, held out before her at the level of the waist, concealed beneath her dress. This was also perhaps a sketch made by Raffaello to perpetuate a momentary attitude of some graceful girl, which had struck his fancy. Possibly the playing children may have been designed for the margin of a circular plateau, either a piece of embossed silver plate or a painted majolica dish. It is impossible not to be struck with the resemblance in style betwixt these beautiful drawings and the graceful inventions of our own Stothard. It is indeed most likely that the latter great artist was acquainted with and profited by the example of this very drawing, whilst it was in Ottley's or Lawrence's pos- session. 52. Raffaello. xtS xof Sheet of studies, drawn on both sides, for the picture of St. Catherine of Alexandria in the National Gallery, and also several studies of winged amorini. Pen drawings in bistre. Length, 1 1 inches. Height, 7 inches. Collections: B. West, T.-Dimsdale, and Lawrence. m EARLY ROMAN PERIOD, CIRCA A. D. 1508-12. 177 The principal side of the sheet contains an exquisite finished study for the upturned face of the St. Catherine, and also five separate sketches of winged amorini, two of them apparently intended for a Cupid bending his bow. On the opposite side is a slight sketch of the half-length figure of St. Catherine, the head displaying several ' pentimenti,' showing it in different positions. There are likewise two studies of undraped female figures seen down to the knees, one of them probably a sketch for the St. Catherine, and also a finished shaded study of the neck only of a female figure evidently drawn from nature. Another design for the St. Catherine is preserved in the Chatsworth Collection, and the finished cartoon in black and white chalk, pricked for transfer to the panel, is in the Louvre. Passavant notices th» picture, and the several studies for it at length (see vol. i. p. 96 ; vol. ii. p. 56 ; and Catalogue, No. 499). He believes the picture to have been executed a.d. 1507; judging, however, from the more advanofcl style of the present studies, as compared with those for the Borghese Entombment, which was painted in that year, the writer thinks the work should be referred to a somewhat later time, perhaps to the period of Raffaello's early residence in Rome (circa a.d. 1509). Both sides of the sheet (arranged as one drawing) are reproduced in facsimile in Woodburn's Lawrence Gallery. The paper bears a portion of a water mark, probably part of a spread eagle. 53. Raffaello. A draped female figure, standing, the left arm leaning : 1 ■ on some object of support only slightly indicated. ««Tif t Wft)'li^ Probably intended for a St. Catherine. Pen drawing in bistre. Height, 10 inches. Width, 6f inches. Collections : Duke of Alva, and Lawrence. This is a full-length figure, but it has so great a re- semblance to the National Gallery St. Catherine, especially a a 178 DRAWINGS BY RAFFAELLO. in the pose of the upper part, the costume, and expression of the head, as to render it most probable that it was either a preliminary study for that picture, or else a sketch executed at the same time for some other work, in which a standing figure of the St. Catherine was to be introduced. The execution of the drawing is in Raffaello's most brilliant and powerful style, and is, moreover, identical in character with that of the previous sheet. On the reverse are two very slight sketches of heads of females. (Passavant, Catalogue, No. 544.) 54. Raffaello. Sheet of studies of naked figures, drawn on both sides. In front the principal study is for a figure of St. Paul, that on the reverse is a warrior with a lance and a shield. Pen drawings in bistre. Height, \o\ inches. Width, *\\ inches. Collections : Brunet and Lawrence. These drawings were probably academic exercises only, and not studies for any special works. The figure with a sword in one hand and a book in the other is undraped, and was doubtless drawn from the life. Although it was evidently meant for a St. Paul, that destination was probably only accidentally suggested to the designer by the air and attitude of his model. Other studies from the life on the same side of the sheet seem to be merely casual exer- cises; they are the left leg and torso of another standing figure in profile carefully drawn from the model, a study of a bent leg, and two studies of a knee on a large scale. The figure on the reverse of the sheet, drawn in Raffaello's finished though most facile and graceful manner, is also obviously an academy study, the lance and shield giving it the character of an antique statue of Mars. Passavant observes of these studies that they are ' du plus beau temps du maitre.' (Catalogue, No. 535.) EARLY ROMAN PERIOD, CIRCA A.D. I508-J.2. 1 79 The water- mark in this sheet is a large crescent. (See Facsimiles, No. 75.) 55. Raffaello. On the reverse Sampson rending the jaws of the Lion, a small study of the head of a female. Pen drawing in bistre. Height, \o\ inches. Width, \o\ inches. Collections : Prince Borghese, and Lawrence. Sampson, unclothed with the exception of a mantle flying in the wind, is kneeling with one knee on the back of the lion, and he tears open the jaws with both hands. The small head on the reverse of the sheet is probably that of a nymph or sibyl; it is carefully executed with the point of the brush in bistre wash, in the manner of several of the drawings for the ' Disputa.' In the powerful and vigorous execution of the Sampson a certain resemblance to Michel Angelo's style, as displayed in his pen drawings, seems to be 1 perceptible ; there is at all events a marked peculiarity in the touch or handling of this, and of the drawing next to be described, which renders it rather difficult to assign their exact place in Raffaello's work. The head on the reverse, however, probably furnishes a clue to the date of their production, and the writer is on the whole disposed to place them in Raffaello's early Roman period, circa a.d. 1508-9. The Sampson drawing is engraved in facsimile, in Wood- burn's Lawrence Gallery. There is a group of the same subject, very similar to but not identical with the present design, in the Venice Sketch- book (No. 52). And the Windsor Collection also contains an authentic drawing of the same subject which has considerable resemblance to it. The present design is noticed by Passavant (Catalogue, No. 467). a a 2 j8o DRAWINGS BY RAFFAELLO. 56. Raffaello. Hercules overcoming Cerberus. Pen drawing in bistre. ■ Width, 5 1 inches. Height, 5§ inches. Collections : Antaldi and Lawrence. The hero, armed with a massive club, bestrides the triple- headed monster, and his left arm encircles one of its necks. The execution of this most powerful drawing resembles that of the last example, being somewhat different from Raffaello's usual style. Passavant (Catalogue, No. 526) makes the following ob- servations : 'Hercules domptant Cerbere. Assis sur Cerbere, il est tourne' vers la droite, tenant sous son bras les trois tetes du chien infernal, et une massue dans la main droite. Beau dessin a la plume — toutefois la jambe, dessine" lourdement et sans gout, n'est pas digne de Raphael.' But this account is not quite correct. Hercules only holds one of the heads of the dog ; moreover, in the writer's opinion, the leg is fully equal in correctness and power of design to the rest of the figure. There can be no doubt, notwithstanding the rather unusual style of 'handling' displayed, that this fine design is by the hand of Raffaello. Two studies of a naked child, from the life ; probably for a figure of the Infant Saviour. Shaded drawings with the point of the brush in bistre. Width, 8 inches. Height, §\ inches. Collections : Wicar and Lawrence. The two drawings placed side by side on this sheet are especially interesting, as showing one of the methods of study by which Raffaello acquired his admirable power -r 57. Raffaello. - try tf*jih.<.i^ U tint n kj> fi^V *^J\ EARLY ROMAN PERIOD, CIRCA A.D. 1 508- 12. 1 8 I in the delineation of children, a speciality in a- certain sense distinct from that of the design of the adult human figure. When the difficulty of retaining any young child in a set attitude, long enough to allow of a careful drawing being made, is considered, it will not be thought remarkable that such studies by the great masters in general are of rare occurrence. The present indeed, as comparatively elaborate drawings, are perhaps unique of their kind in the work of Raffaello; they prove, however, that the great artist at times thought it necessary to go directly to Nature for help in the design of his beautiful Infant Saviours and amorini. The present studies were to all appearance made in aid of the design of an Infant Christ sitting on the knees of the Virgin, holding out one arm either in the act of benediction or of receiving some object presented' to Him. The pose is some- what varied in the two studies, which seem to have been made from two different children, one rather older than the other; the soft yielding form of the younger infant, and the more lithe and muscular development of the elder, being expressed with wonderful intelligence and technical skill. The execution of these studies with the point of the brush is precisely similar to that of the sketch for the Vienna Madonna (No. 33), " and the drawing for the ' Disputa' (No. 60) ; it seems to indicate that their date is at all events not later than that of the last-named work. Passavant (Catalogue, No. 560 q) wrongly classes this sheet under the head of 'Dessins de l'dcole de Raphael.' It is worthy of remark that he had also previously expressed an equally erroneous opinion, that the shading with the point of the brush (' bistrage'), executed in the same characteristic and masterly manner as seen in the Vienna Madonna drawing, was added by a strange hand. (See the observations on this subject, p. 149 ) 58. Raffaello. Study of a man standing, writing in a book. Pen drawing in bistre. Height, *\\ inches. Width, 3* inches* Collections : Wicar and Lawrence. DRAWINGS BY RAFFAELLO. The figure is a rapid sketch of an aged man, naked, bald- headed and with a beard ; indications of drapery are, however, superadded. It has some resemblance in general characteristics to one or two of the figures of Philosophers in the School of Athens fresco, but it does not seem to have been designed for any of them in particular. The drawing is unquestionably by Raffaello. (Passavant, Catalogue, No. 540.) 59. Raffaello. Study of a naked figure of a man with his back towards the spectator, in an attitude as if about to cast a stone from a sling. Also a slight sketch of the head of a female. Pen drawing in bistre. Height, 9 1 inches. Width, 8 inches. Collections: Duke 0/ Alva, and Lawrence. On the reverse of the sheet are three studies of a standing left leg, in red chalk, apparently from the life. The drawings both front and back are authentic, and are executed in Raffaello's most vigorous and spirited style. (Passavant, Catalogue, No. 546.) A similar, but less careful drawing of the same figure, accompanied with a separate study of the body and legs, is in the collection of Herr Artaria, at Vienna. , (Windsor Catalogue, p. 299, No. lxi. 2.) DRAWINGS BY RAFFAELLO HAVING REFERENCE TO THE FRESCOS IN THE 'STANZE' OF THE VATICAN. Introductory Notice. i, The 'stanze' or chambers of the Vatican, decorated by Raffaello and his scholars, are four in number; they belong to a part of the palace built by Pope Nicholas V (a.d. 1447-55). When Raffaello arrived in Rome, a.d. 1508, three of these chambers had been already decorated by eminent artists em- ployed one after another by successive Popes. Julius II, on the recommendation of Bramante, entrusted the decoration of the remaining chamber known as the ' Camera della Segnatura' to Raffaello. The work occupied Raffaello during the years 1 5 08-1 1. On the four walls of that apartment he painted the great frescos known as the 'Dispute of the Sacrament,' the ' School of Athens,' the ' Parnassus,' and the ' Allegory of Jurisprudence ; ' on the ceiling above, he introduced four allegorical figures or groups in additional illustration of those subjects. Raffaello's pictures so entirely eclipsed those of his predecessors in the other chambers, that the Pope determined to efface all that had been previously executed in them and to commission Raffaello to decorate them anew. Accordingly, in a.d. 15 12, he took in hand his second chamber, usually called the 'stanza of the Heliodorus*.' The com- positions on its walls are the Chastisement of Heliodorus, * It should be noted that the sequence of the chambers is not the same as that here adopted chronologically. The following is the order in which they follow, to one entering the suite of apartments from the loggia or external corridor giving access to them : the first chamber is the stanza of Constantine, the second that of Heliodorus, the third is the Camera della Segnatura, the fourth that of Charlemagne. DRAWINGS BY RAFFAELLO. the Mass of Bolsena, the Attila, and the Deliverance of St. Peter ; and the ceiling, as in the former instance, contains four complementary subjects. That chamber seems to have been completed in a.d. 15 14. The pictures in the chamber of Charlemagne, which come next in order of execution, are dated a.d. 151 7, doubtless the year of their completion; but it is most likely that the sketches and cartoons were put in hand shortly after the conclusion of the chamber of the Heliodorus. The wall frescos are the ' Incendio del Borgo,' the Victory of Leo IV over the Saracens at Ostia, the Justification of Leo III, and the Coronation of Charlemagne. The decoration of the ceiling is by Pietro Perugino; it had been executed only a few years previously, and Raflfaello allowed it to remain out of respect to his master, who was still living. The fourth apartment is the chamber of Constantine, painted a.d. 1519-24. The wall frescos are the Vision of Constantine, the Battle of Constantine and Maxentius, the Baptism of the Emperor by Pope Sylvester, and his Donation to the Pope of the Sovereignty of Rome. The first and second only of these last- mentioned compositions were from the designs of Raffaello, but their execution on the walls was the work of Giulio Romano, Raffaello having died in a.d. 1520. It is uncertain if Raffaello had any share even in the preliminary designs for the other two frescos ; their execution was committed to others of his pupils after his death. The ceiling of this room is a commonplace performance by an artist of the seventeenth century. In the course of these great monumental works Raffaello was occupied with innumerable other undertakings, and he surrounded himself with a band of able scholars and assistants, who aided him in the execution both of his frescos and his easel pictures. During his residence in Rome, in all pro- bability Raffaello from year to year devoted more of his time to the preparation of studies . and cartoons for his works and less to their actual execution than he had formerly done. Judging alone from the mass of drawings from his hand executed at this period of his life which still remain to us, and which indirectly suggest that even a greater number must have perished, the power and facility of production manifested during this period of his prime transcended that of any, even the greatest, of his contemporaries. The progressive development and modifications of Raffaello's style from year to year are henceforth to be traced in his drawings with increasing certainty, the studies prepared for his STANZE OF THE VATICAN INTRODUCTION. 1 85 great monumental works, the exact dates of which are known, serving as authentic types for comparison. The writer has attempted to assign definite place and period alike to the miscellaneous drawings in this collection, the destination of which is uncertain, and to those which have reference to known works ; and as a matter of convenience, he has arranged the drawings of the former class under the headings of ' Early,' ' Intermediate,' and ' Late Roman Periods.' By the insertion of these sections in their proper chronological sequence the continuity of the descriptions of drawings for the monumental works in the Vatican has been • necessarily interrupted. For very complete detailed descriptions of the various pictures and decorative adjuncts painted by RafFaello and his scholars in he 'stanze' of the Vatican, see F. A. Gruyer, Essai sur les Fresques de Raphael du Vatican, 8vo. Paris, 1859. b b mmmmHH CAMERA DELLA SEGNATURA. CIRCA A.D. 1 508-I I. 60. Raffaello. HtcS^ci 2£j) A first sketch for the composition and arrangement of the figures, thirteen in number, ultimately grouped in the semicircular range or c glory ' in the upper part of the fresco of the £ Dispute of the Sacrament. 5 Drawn and shaded with the point of the brush in sepia, and heightened with white. Width, 1 5§ inches. Height, 9 \ inches. Collections: Crozat, Mariette, Lagoy, Dimsdale, and ] Lawrence. The 'Dispute of the Sacrament' ('La Disputa'), or, as it is more appropriately called, 'The Theology' ('La Teologia'), was the first of the large frescos painted in the Camera della Segnatura, and it may be presumed, that the preliminary studies for it formed the earliest labours of the great artist on his arrival in Rome from Florence about the middle of a.d. 1508. The composition has been fully described in several well- known works. The subject may be briefly characterised as an endeavour to express the relation of man to the Almighty, through the Redemption by our Saviour, and the mystery of - the Eucharist. The extraordinary labour and solicitude devoted by Raffaello to the preparation of this his first great monumental painting CAMERA DELIA SEGNATURA, CIRCA A.D. 1508-I I. I 87 are incidentally manifested in the number of preliminary drawings for it still extant in various public and private collections (the proportionate number of studies for this fresco still preserved is greater than for any other of his works). Upwards of thirty sketches and studies for the 'Disputa' of undoubted authenticity are at present known, and there can be little doubt that many more have been lost sight of or have entirely perished. The present drawing seems to have been one of a series made at the time of the first inception of the work, and it had probably been preceded only by a slight general sketch or idea of the entire composition. Another sheet of sketches, executed in the same peculiar manner, and in part repeating the same figures, is preserved in the Royal Collection at Windsor Castle (Windsor Catalogue, p. 169, No. 79, and Passavant, No. 428). The two should be compared together. The corresponding portions in the fresco display many and important variations from these first designs, and the . latter illustrate in an interesting manner the gradual development of the scheme of the composition in the artist's mind. The present drawing displays two ranges of figures, one above the other; those in the upper range are seven in number, our Saviour in the attitude of benediction being in the centre. Above the Christ moreover, and counting as an additional or fourteenth figure, may be discerned a faint indication of the figure of the Almighty in the clouds, as in the fresco. On the left side (at the right hand of the Saviour) is the Virgin, and on the opposite side St. John the Baptist * four other saints, two on each side, complete this row. Beneath, in the centre directly under the figure of the Saviour, are two figures seated side by side, representing St. Peter and St. Paul ; — these it should be noted occupy the position which in the finished composition is taken up by the Holy Spirit, descending as a dove, flanked by boy angels holding books; and at some distance, on the same line with them are four other seated figures, two on each side, on a larger scale than the rest, evidently representing the Evangelists. There are also many less notable variations betwixt the present early sketch and the finished work. In the next place, it should be observed that some of the figures in the present drawing have no correspondent repre- b b 2 i88 DRAWINGS BY RAFFAELLO. sentatives in the finished composition ; and further, that of those which have been retained, nearly all were eventually more or less changed either in regard to the characters they were intended to represent, in local arrangement and juxtaposition, or in minor points of detail. The separate figures are rapidly indicated, with broad masses of tint, in a slight but dexterous manner, and the artist at this early stage of his labours appears to have only intended to fix the general pose and intention of each, irrespectively of minor details, In the absence of the supposed first general sketch for the entire composition, it is uncertain whether Raffaello intended from the beginning to arrange the saints and patriarchs seated on the clouds in one continuous semicircular range, as shown in the finished work, or in two ranks, one above the other, as may perhaps be indicated by the present drawing. It is indeed possible that the figures of the four Evangelists in this drawing were placed in their present position beneath the upper range as a matter of technical convenience only; the sheet of paper not being wide enough to admit of their being joined on at the two ends of the upper row, whereby a continuous semicircular range would have been formed, as in the fresco. This supposition is strengthened by the fact, that the two end figures on each side are substantially the same as those ultimately placed at each end in the fresco. The characters or individualities of these particular figures, however, have been changed, and whereas in the sketch they represent respectively St. Matthew and St. Mark, they are transformed in the fresco into St. Peter and St. Paul. But in regard to the last two Saints, at all events, it is difficult to escape from the conclusion that Raffaello's original design was to group them together more prominently in the centre of the composition, instead of their ultimate place at the two extremities of the range. Another remarkable variation may be noticed in the upper row. In this sketch the figure of the Saviour, though of the same size and seated on the same level as the rest, is separated from them by an interval on each side; and the Virgin and St. John are not specially distinguished in the matter of position from the adjoining figures: but in the fresco a striking alteration has been effected; for in it, the three figures of our Saviour, the Virgin, and St. John the Baptist have been selected from the others and form a separate group, CAMERA BELLA SEGNATURA, CIRCA A.D. 1508-JI. 189 greatly increased in proportionate size, and elevated on clouds to a higher level. More remarkable still is the fact, that the characters re- presented and their relative position are somewhat different in the two schemes. It seems to the writer indeed, that in some respects the choice and arrangement of the sacred person- ages represented are more appropriate in the sketch than in the finished work. The order of the figures in the present drawing, beginning from the outer extremity of the composi- tion, on the left side, is as follows: — St. Matthew, St. Luke, David, St. Stephen, and the Virgin Mary ; and on the opposite side, beginning in like manner at the end of the rank, St. Mark, St. John the Evangelist, Moses, Abraham, and St. John the Baptist; whilst St. Peter and St. Paul, as has been already stated, occupy a separate and conspicuous station in the centre beneath the figure of our Saviour. The cor- responding order in the fresco represents, on the left, St. Peter, Adam, St. John the Evangelist, David, St. Stephen, the Virgin; and on the right, St. Paul, Abraham, St. James, Moses, St. Lawrence, St. John the Baptist; — thus the figures of St. Matthew, St. Mark, and St. Luke were altogether discarded and replaced in the finished work by those of Adam, St. Lawrence, and St. James. The method of execution of this drawing, although rather unusual with Raffaello, is characteristic; it is identical with that of the study for the Vienna Madonna (No. 33), executed two or three years before. In Passavant's notice (Catalogue, No. 501) it is described nevertheless as a pen drawing washed with sepia and heightened with white, but there is no trace of the use of the pen in any part. 61. Raffaello. Sheet of studies. Four heads and a hand, for figures in the lower part of the 'Dispute of the Sacrament/ on the left side. Drawing in silver point on a pale greenish prepared ground. Height, 115 inches. Width, 8| inches. Fiscal 2-7t 2 79 ■ IfiSCfcB 1 1 J 190 DRAWINGS BY RAFF A ELLO. Collections : Antaldi and Lawrence. Two of the heads represent those of the two young men bending forwards in attitudes of adoration, and gazing upwards at the Host exposed on the altar; both are in profile. The outstretched hand is that of the foremost of these figures; the other two heads are those of bishops standing behind that group. It is probable that these admirable studies were executed at a comparatively advanced period in the progress of the design of the great composition, and that the sheet belongs to the set of detailed studies from nature, which it may be presumed were intended to assist in the preparation of the cartoon. The hand was apparently drawn from nature, and it is difficult to believe that the two lifelike heads in profile, drawn as they are with wonderful power and precision and yet with a graceful facility of manner in itself most charming, were not also sketched from two separate living models; their intense ecstatic expression being of course added at the moment by the rare creative genius of the draughtsman. The heads of the two bishops, on the contrary, are slightly indicated, but the mitres which crown them are very carefully drawn, probably from an actual mitre placed in the required position. The Antaldi initials R. V. are inscribed in one corner of the drawing. On the reverse of the sheet is the imperfect draft of two sonnets in the autograph of Raffaello. The water-mark in the paper is crossed arrows. (Facsimiles, No. 76.) It should be noted that the same water-mark occurs in the paper on which another drawing for the 'Disputa'is made. (Malcolm Collection; see Catalogue, No. 174*.) The sheet next to be described contains another draft of the same sonnets (for transcripts of these, see Appendix, Note 20). Passavant's notice of this drawing and of the sonnets at * It is curious to note, as an instance of the utility of the observation of minute details, that one half only (the lower portion) of the paper-mark is seen in the present sheet, whilst the upper half of the same mark occurs in the sheet next to be described, a fact which confirms the testimony of the drawings themselves, that these two sheets originally formed but one leaf of paper. CAMERA BELLA SEGNA TVRA , CIRCA A.D. 1508-II. 191 the back is unusually ample (Catalogue, No. 504); but, although satisfactory as regards the present drawing, it is not quite clear that he recognised the studies on the companion sheet as having served for figures in the ' Disputa/ ' 504. Pour la meme fresque — deux feuilles, qui primitive- ment n'en formaient qu'une seule, contenant plusieurs esquisses, a. la pointe de mltal, savoir : deux figures juveniles en adoration, deux tetes d'eVSques et une main. Au verso, se trouvent les brouillons autographes des deux sonnets de Raphael. lis furent copies pour la premiere fois par l'abbe Michele Colombo, lorsque ces dessins £taient encore entre les mains de Gio. M. Ant. Viti. Plus tard, lorsqu'ils passerent en heritage au marquis Antaldo Antaldi, Seroux d'Agincourt et C. Fernow firent une nouvelle copie de ces sonnets, et le dernier les a publies dans le premier cahier du " Mercure " de l'anne'e 1804. Un facsimile est dans le Catalogue des cent dessins de Raphael, que M. Woodburn a exposes a Londres en 1836. Celui de ces deux sonnets qui commence ainsi: " como non podde dir d' arcana dei," a subi bien des changements; la fin s'en trouve sur l'autre feuille, avec le second sonnet : " Amor tu m' envescasti con dot lumi." ' Both the sheets (i.e. the present and the next, No. 62) are described in the Manuscript Antaldi Catalogue (see Appendix 17), No. 70. It is probable, from the occurrence of the marginal note ' in due pezzi,' that the two were then mounted side by side on the same sheet. 62. Raffaello. Sheet of studies. Two heads and four hands ; and two figures of infant angels for the 'Dispute of the Sacrament.' Drawing in silver point on pale greenish prepared ground. Height, n\ inches. Width, 8£ inches. Collections : Antaldi and Lawrence. The heads are two separate studies, almost identical in design ; for the head of the young man in the act of turning away 1 11 1 mii r • "if ' Tir 11 111 '1 urn if if i " n r f - 192 DRAWINGS BY RAFFAELLO. from the |disputant in the lower part of the ' Disputa ' on the left, and the outstretched hand is that of the same figure. The- two flying amorini higher up on the sheet, in fore- shortened positions, are finished studies for the two cherubs or infant angels holding opened books on each side of the Holy Spirit represented as a descending dove, occupying the centre of the composition in the midst of the clouds. The two opened books, with slight indications of the hands of the children holding them, are also here sketched, doubtless from real books held in the required positions. On the reverse of the sheet is another version of the sonnets alluded to in the previous entry (see Appendix, Note 20). It bears the upper part of the water-mark (crossed arrows) the lower part of which occurs in the previously described sheet. (See also Appendix 17, Antaldi Catalogue, No. 70.) 63. Raffaello. Study for the figure ultimately executed in the fresco of the c Dispute of the Sacrament' as St. Paul. In charcoal and black chalk, heightened with white chalk. Height, 15 inches. Width, \o\ inches. Collections: Duke of Alva, Duroveray, and Lawrence. This is substantially a repetition, on a larger scale, of one of the figures first sketched in the lower right-hand corner of the drawing previously described. Whilst resembling it closely in the general pose and intention, it differs in the disposition of the right arm and hand, and in this and other respects it approximates more nearly to the figure as finally wrought out. The right arm for instance is nearly in the same position as in the fresco, but in this study the hand grasps the beard, whereas in the finished work it rests on the hilt of the sword. From the absence of any indication of this emblematic weapon, however, in the present sketch, it may be inferred that Raffaello had not yet finally decided on making use of this figure for the St. Paul, and that it was still intended for CAMERA BELLA SEGNATURA, CIRCA A.D. T508-II. 193 St. Mark, as in the sketch previously described. Other interest- ing evidence of progressive change may be noted. The head is substantially the same as in the first sketch, and it is inclined downwards; in the end, however, this position of the head was abandoned and an upward gazing attitude substituted. This alteration is indicated in four slight studies of the head in different places on the margin of the sheet, repre- senting it in the altered position. The half figure of a cherub or boy angel, recumbent on the clouds beneath on the right, as in the fresco, is also here inserted. The design of that figure . is, however, entirely different from the form it finally assumed. Passavant (Catalogue, No. 502) has already noticed that this drawing is executed in the manner of Fra Bartolommeo. As a drawing by the hand of Raffaello, which it unquestionably is, the style is certainly unusual; it marks, in fact, one of those passing phases of direct imitation of the works of the Frate of which the ' Disputa, ' in particular, undertaken as it was directly after Raffaello's intercourse with him in Florence, offers so many other indications. It is probable that the drapery was studied from the lay figure, an appliance frequently made use of by Fra Bartolommeo, and its disposition was retained with but little alteration in the finished work. 64. Raffaello. Sheet of studies of portions of draped figures in the lower part of the Dispute of the Sacrament. In charcoal and black chalk heightened with white chalk. Height, 15! inches. Width, \o\ inches. Collections : Duke of Alva, and Lawrence. These studies, two in number, are executed in precisely the same manner as that before described for the figure of St. Paul; they were probably made from the draped lay figure, and though the cast of the folds in both appears c c I94 DRAWINGS BY RAFFAELLO. to have been considerably altered in the finished work, the two figures for which the draperies were designed are easily recognisable: one is the young man kneeling and bending forwards to adore the Sacrament on the left-hand side of the composition, and the other seems to be the figure standing in front of it on the same side, (the philosopher who has thrown his books on the ground.) Passavant (Catalogue, No. 554) strangely describes one of these studies as ' pour une manche ;' and he failed to perceive their destination. 65. Raffaello. Sheet of studies, drawn on both sides, for one of the figures in the Dispute of the Sacrament, and for an undraped recumbent figure of a female; it also bears an unfinished essay for a sonnet in the autograph of the artist. The studies are executed in different styles, — viz. in black chalk, shaded with the brush in bistre tint, in black chalk alone, and with the pen. Height, i5f inches. Width, io| inches. Collections: Duke of Alva, and Lawrence. Notwithstanding the certain authenticity and the interesting character of this sheet, it is one of those which have never been exhibited with the rest of the Oxford Series ; consequently it was unknown to Passavant, arid seems to have been lost sight of since a.d. 1842. In the Oxford Exhibition Catalogue (No. 59) it is wrongly styled ' Studies for the Creation of Eve.' & A careful inspection of both sides of the sheet leads to the conclusion that the exercises upon it were done at two distinct periods and for different ends; to be more precise, that the studies both at front and back having reference to the 'Disputa' were executed first, and that the sonnet and the recumbent female figure were added at a subsequent period, and were not in any way connected with the ' Disputa' studies. CAMERA DELLA SEGNATURA, CIRCA A.D. 1508-II. 1 95 The side of the leaf on which the sonnet is written may be first described. It contains a slight sketch in black chalk of a standing draped figure for the ' Disputa' fresco, being an early study for the figure of the philosopher who has thrown his books on the ground, standing erect near the altar on the left side of the composition*. The figure as here indicated resembles that in the fresco in all essential respects of the pose and general intention, but the arrangement of the drapery is different. It was obviously an off-hand sketch made without the assistance either of the living model or the lay figure. This figure occupies the lower part of the sheet somewhat to the left, leaving six or seven inches of paper above it. In this space, at an after period, the sonnet was written in two parallel columns, in bistre, and doubtless at the same time the slight sketch of a female was drawn with the same pen and ink. That figure is unclothed, seemingly reclining on clouds, or the soft cushions of a couch; the head is drooping and the right arm extended, the character being that of Venus or a nymph. It is in close juxtaposition with the figure of the Disputa' philosopher, and the outstretched arm touches, and overlies that of the philosopher stretched out in a similar attitude. An accidental appearance of grouping is thus pro- duced, and the commanding air of the draped philosopher, and the passive modest attitude of the female figure, taken together, evidently gave rise to Woodburn's idea that they were intended to represent the Creation of Eve. There is, however, abundant evidence that these figures had no reference to each other. The other side of the paper is filled with a study on a much larger scale for the drapery of the same ' Disputa ' figure, to all appearance drawn from the lay figure, the cast of the folds being in this repetition very similar to that in the fresco. The style of execution of this study, shaded with the point Mm 1 * The beautiful drawing for the entire group of figures on the left side of the ' Disputk,' now in the collection of Henry Vaughan, Esq., shows this figure erect in the same place, but in a different pose, and with a cast of drapery bearing no resemblance to the clothing of the figure as ultimately executed. It is obvious that the present studies were made some time after the Vaughan drawing, and from the resemblance in the execution to that of the study of Angels, in black chalk, in the Malcolm Collection, it may be safely inferred, that like it they belong to the series of detached studies which immediately succeeded the sketches embodying the general arrangement or invention of the composition, of which the Vaughan drawing is one of the most important. C C 2 lg6 DRAWINGS BY RAFFAELLO. of the brush over a sketch in black chalk, is precisely similar to that of other sketches of drapery for the ' Disputa ' previously described. The relation of this study to the one on the other side of the leaf is obvious ; it was clearly the next and necessary step in the process of elaboration of the figure in question. See Appendix, No. 21, for a transcript of the sonnet. 66. Raffaello. Study of drapery, apparently for one of the figures in the lower part of the Dispute of the Sacrament. Shaded drawing with the point of the brush in bistre, heightened with white chalk. Height, 1 6 inches. Width, \o\ inches. Collections : Wicar and Lawrence. Apparently this is the study from the lay figure for the drapery of the lower part of the figure of the young man standing, and in the act of turning away from the disputing sectarian, on the left side of the composition. The cast of the folds, as in the previous examples, was, however, very much altered in the fresco. The manner of execution with the point of the brush is similar to that of the other studies of drapery for the ' Disputa.' Passavant (Catalogue, No. 553) remarks that this drawing has been very much retouched. This is altogether an error. It is on the contrary entirely pure, and in the most perfect state of preservation. 67. Raffaello. I Sketch of a group of three flying angels, with a fourth angel, and a cherub beneath on the same sheet, for the fresco of the Dispute of the Sacrament. CAMERA BELLA SEGNATURA, CIRCA A.D. 1508-II. 1 97 Pen drawing in septa. Height, io| inches. Width, inches. Collections : Anialdi and Lawrence. This study, rapidly executed in a most graceful and masterly style, is illustrated by another sheet drawn on both sides, and containing a very similar group of three angels with other figures (now in the collection of John Malcolm, Esq., of Poltalloch, but formerly part of the Lawrence Series). The two drawings probably embody the earliest detailed studies for the two groups of draped flying angels, in attitudes of acclamation, floating in the air on each side of the figure of the Almighty Father. Both in the grouping of the figures and in details there is great difference betwixt them and the designs as finally embodied. In the studies the figures are represented as naked, or only slightly draped, whereas in the fresco they are, with the exception of the arms, fully clothed. Again, the upper part of the figures of the angels only is shown in these sketches, and from this it may probably be inferred that Raffaello originally intended that their lower extremities should be lost or concealed in clouds. The group of three angels indicated in the present drawing, although ostensibly designed for the right side of the com- position, seems to have actually served for the opposite one, a substitution which has been effected by the simple plan of turning over the sheet, and probably tracing it at a window- pane, or otherwise repeating it in the reversed position. An interesting proof of the adoption of this process is seen in the Malcolm drawing in which the principal group has served for the right side. Raffaello himself has, nevertheless, in that drawing repeated the outline of one of the figures on the reverse of the sheet; the two outlines being seen to correspond exactly with each other when the sheet is held up to the light. Besides the fact of utilising two sets of sketches both drawn in the same sense, it is obvious that this simple plan had an advantage in securing the symmetrical balance of the two opposite groups. On the reverse of the present sheet is another study for the upper part of the figure of one of the angels, draped as in the fresco, (that with hands joined in the attitude of adoration, on the right side of the composition.) In many respects the natural and spontaneous action of \ T98 DRAWINGS BY RAFFAELLO. these most graceful figures appears to the writer more admirable than that of the corresponding ones in the finished com- position. Perhaps the subject seemed to the artist to suggest more solemn and reverent gestures, and a less energetic movement in these figures; in any case much of the lifelike expression and grace of these entwined groups seems to have evaporated in the final execution. The water-mark in the paper is a rude device of a mermaid within an oval (see Facsimile, No. 77); it is similar to, but not exactly identical with, the Mark No. 40. Passavant notices this drawing (Catalogue, No. 503). 68. Raffaello (ascribed to). Design for the arrangement of the figures in the upper part of the fresco of the Parnassus. Pen drawing in bistre. Length, i8-| inches. Height, 12 inches. Collections : Wicar and Lawrence. The ' Parnassus ' was the second of the frescos executed by Raffaello in the 'Camera della Segnatura,' probably a.d. 1509. Its theme is Poetry; the picture represents Apollo and the Muses, the most celebrated poets of the ancient world, and the principal Italian poets of the modern age, grouped together in imaginary assemblage on the summit and sides of a hillock, supposed to indicate one of the classical mountains sacred to the Muses. It is rather doubtful if this important drawing is actually by Raffaello : if however it be not his handwork, it must at least be a copy by a contemporary artist from one of his original preliminary studies for the fresco. The drawing contains fifteen of the principal figures ; those occupying the summit of the hillock, and two others, placed lower down, one on each side. Of these latter that on the left corresponds with one in the fresco — the poet holding a book, and leaning with his back against a laurel tree. But CAMERA BELLA SEGNATURA, CIRCA A.D. 1508-IT. 199 the figure on the opposite side in the drawing is not to be found in the finished work. It is ill-drawn and ungraceful and seems quite unworthy of Raffaello. In their general disposition the figures in the upper range correspond almost exactly with those of the fresco. There are, however, a few variations in minor details, and these are sufficient to show that the drawing was a preliminary design, and not an after reminiscence from the finished work. A more important distinction is that all the figures are naked; whilst in the fresco with one exception (the Apollo) they are all draped. It is evident from this that the drawing, or that from which it was copied, was one of the finished studies made at an early stage of the preliminary exercises for the cartoon *. It was only after the most deliberate and repeated inspection, that the writer felt himself compelled to express any doubt as to the authenticity of this drawing, i.e. as to its having been actually executed by Raffaello ; the style of manipulation with the pen corresponds very closely with the technic of the artist, though it would seem at first sight to indicate an earlier period of his career. The purity of the outlines, the admirable understanding of form, shown in the choice 1 and direction of the lines and cross hatchings of the shading, indubitably belong to Raffaello. But at the same time ; there is a heaviness of touch, and a want of spirit in the execution, which seem to reveal the cramped and timid hand of a copyist. Although the drawing is in good preservation some parts of the outlines seem to have been redrawn with a heavy pen, and at first the writer was inclined to believe it to be an original work of Raffaello, which had been tampered with by some ill-judged person; on closer inspection, however, this does not appear to be the case. Not improbably it is one of the careful copies executed by Timoteo della Vite. It was lithographed in facsimile by Woodburn for the Lawrence Gallery, but not published. Noticed by Passavant (Catalogue, No. 510), who seems to accept it as an authentic work. * It has been somewhere suggested that this drawing was an academy exercise by some pupil of Raffaello taken from the finished fresco, i.e. that the artist, whoever he was, undressed as it were Raffaello's elegantly draped figures, and drew them again in the same pose in the nude. This hypothesis, however, is obviously untenable. 200 DRAWINGS BY RAFFAELLO. The paper -mark on this sheet is a device apparently- intended for the letter T within an oval surmounted by a cross. The same mark also occurs in the paper on which one of the studies for the School of Athens is executed (No. 73). (See Facsimile, in Appendix, No. 78.) 69. Raffaello. The figure of Melpomene in the fresco of the Parnassus, with a study of drapery for another figure in the same fresco on the reverse. Pen drawing in bistre. Height, 13 inches. Width, 8 J inches. Collections : Ottley and Lawrence. The admirable drawings on this sheet were doubtless made subsequently to the one last described, and formed part of the series of detailed studies which immediately preceded the cartoon. The Melpomene represents the elaborately draped figure nearly as it occurs in the fresco, but the head is in a different movement. In this drawing it is in profile looking backwards over the shoulder, whereas in the fresco it is a three-quarter face inclined downwards in the opposite direction. It should be noted that in the drawing previously described the head of this figure is represented nearly in the same movement as in the present study. The study on the reverse is for the poet Virgil, the figure adjoining the Melpomene and standing betwixt it and the more conspicuous one of Homer (on the left side of the upper range in the fresco). It is a very careful study of drapery evidently drawn from the lay figure, the hands, one of which holds a book, being also indicated, but not the head. The upper part of this figure only is seen in the fresco, the rest being concealed by the figure of Homer, standing in a more advanced plane in front of it. The Melpomene drawing is engraved in facsimile in Ottley's 'Italian School of Design.' Passavant (Catalogue, No. 511) CAMERA DELLA SEGNATURA, CIRCA A.D. 1508-II. 301 states that a copy of it, which formerly belonged to Nicholas Poussin, now forms part of the Collection of the Uffizj in Florence, and was engraved in the last century by S. Mulinari. The water-mark in the sheet is a double anchor in a circle with a star above. (Table of Facsimiles, No. 79.) 70. Raffaello. Design for a group of five figures representing Archimedes and his pupils, and the standing figure of Zoroaster, executed in the foreground of the fresco of the School of Athens. Silver point drawing heightened with white, on pale greenish tinted prepared ground. Width, \2\ inches. Height, §\ inches. Collections : Ottley and Lawrence. The great fresco known as the School of Athens, painted third in order in the Camera della Segnatura, illustrates Science, or Antique Philosophy. It represents an assemblage of the philosophers and great men of the ancient world within the vestibule of a magnificent edifice, a Gymnasium or Basilica of classical architecture. The present drawing comprises the greater part of the figures in the foreground on the right of the fresco, and as it is almost coincident in design with the picture, it may be inferred that it was one of the advanced studies which immediately preceded the preparation of the cartoon. The sheet contains one complete group of five figures, and a sixth figure, being the most prominent member of an adjoining one. The latter, however, occupies its proper relative position to the former group, which represents Archimedes stooping down and tracing with a compass a geometrical figure on a tablet which lies on the floor; he appears to be in the act of demonstrating a problem to four young men his disciples. Raffaello has pourtrayed Archimedes in the likeness of his friend Bramante. One of the young disciples d d 202 DRAWINGS &V RAFFAELLO. kneeling with one knee on the ground, his hand resting on his thigh, bends forward over the tablet as if striving to comprehend the meaning of the diagram. Behind him is another standing, but bending forwards and resting one hand on the back of his companion; he also seems intent on fol- lowing the reasoning of his master. The third, on his knees on the right of Archimedes, looks upwards behind him towards a fourth young man, who bends over the group watching the development of the problem. According to Vasari, this last is a portrait' of the young Duke of Mantua, Frederic II. The standing figure on the right with his back to the spectators, holding a sphere in both hands, is the principal figure of a group of Mathematicians or Astronomers ; it is supposed to represent the Persian Sage Zoroaster. These figures and that of Bramante are represented in the tight-fitting costume of Raffaello's own day, and were evidently drawn from living personages so clad, but in the fresco they have been invested with ample draperies; the others are draped exactly as they are in the finished composition. The foreshortened head of Bramante (Archimedes) is drawn a second time on the left side towards the top of the sheet ; there can be no doubt that it was done from the individual himself, and that Bramante actually ' posed ' to Raffaello in the required attitude. The School of Athens is accounted the greatest of all Raffaello's monumental pictures; it was, in fact, his masterpiece. Unfortunately this drawing is much injured, but it has not been corrupted by any so-called ' restoration.' Ottley, to whom it belonged, has given an excellent facsimile in his 'Italian School of Design.' See also his interesting remarks (text, p. 51). It is noticed by Passavant (Catalogue, No. 506). This drawing may be safely referred to a.d. 15 10. In the Wicar Collection, in the Museum at Lille, is a silver point study for one of the young men looking at the geometrical figure. And another sheet, containing studies of the head, hands, and drapery of the figure of Bramante, is in the Louvre; it is also executed with the silver point. CAMERA DELIA SEGNATURA, CIRCA A.D. 1508-II. 203 71. Raffaello. Study of two figures on the steps in the fresco of the School of Athens, and for the head of Medusa painted on the shield held by the statue of Minerva in the same composition. Silver point drawing heightened with white on pale red or salmon coloured ground. Height, 11 inches. Width, 8 inches. Collections : Wicar, Ottley, and Lawrence. This beautiful group is situated on the right-hand side of the fresco; it represents a youthful aspirant ascending the steps, and meeting a philosopher of mature age, who, in the act of descending, seems to arrest his steps in order to point out to the young man the philosophers Plato and Aristotle, who are standing in the centre of the composition on the raised platform above. Both the figures are fully draped, and the drawing is executed with great care and precision, indicating that it belongs to an advanced period of the preliminary studies; the back of the head of the younger man showing the beautiful flowing hair more in detail, and the left hand and the right foot of the same figure, are drawn again separately on the left side of the sheet, whilst lower down on the right is seen the gaping mask of Medusa, drawn exactly as it appears in the fresco. The figure of the young man shows scarcely any variations from the fresco, but that of the elder manifests some differences, especially in the carriage of the head, the position of the pointing right hand, and the lower extremities, which are carefully and beautifully drawn naked in the study, whereas they are concealed by drapery in the fresco. The drawing is engraved in facsimile in Ottley's 'Italian School of Design/ and it is noticed by Passavant (Catalogue, No. 505), who mentions that there is a copy of these two figures only in the Florence Collection. d d 2 204 DRAWINGS BY RAFFAELLO. 72. Raffaello. JjstUel Design for the statue of Minerva, and for three other statues seen in perspective, standing in niches in the architectural background of the School of Athens fresco. Silver point drawing heightened with white on pale red or salmon coloured prepared ground. Height, i of inches. Width, 7g inches. Collections : Wicar, Ottley, and Lawrence. These studies are executed in precisely the same manner, and on the same kind of prepared paper as that last named ; evidently they were made at the same time. The Minerva is designed in complete detail, holding a lance and pavoise shield bearing the Medusa mask, the larger study for which is given in the former sheet. Although it is so finished a study, Raffaello, whilst retaining the pose and general design of the figure, has altered the cast of drapery, and added some minor details in the working out of the figure in the fresco. The three figures in profile, partly hidden by the sides of the niches in which they are recessed, are represented in the tight-fitting costume of the day, and it is evident that they were sketched from the life; in the fresco ample draperies have been added. A slight sketch of the foreshortened head of a young man, drawn lower down on the sheet, seems to be a first thought for the head of the young man looking upwards in the group of Archimedes. (See No. 70.) (Passavant, Catalogue, No. 509.) 73. Raffaello. Group of four figures fighting, with an indication of a fifth figure. A design for the bas-relief represented beneath the statue of Apollo in the fresco of the School of Athens. CAMERA BELLA SEGNATURA, CIRCA A.D. 1508-TI. 205 Red chalk drawing. Height, 15 inches. Width, 11 inches. Collections : Wicar, Ottley, and Lawrence. The subject represented in this admirable drawing is intended to symbolise the reign of brute force amongst uncivilised men. The group, which differs considerably from that of the fresco, represents a combat of naked men: the principal episode being that of a young man with a club striking savagely at his enemy who lies prostrate beneath his feet. Raffaello may in this study be supposed to have attained the summit of his power in the design of the human figure so marvellous are the lifelike energy and movement of every person in the group. Some evidence of the influence of Michel Angelo's Cartoon of Pisa may perhaps be discerned in these figures, and if they lack somewhat of the abstract grandeur of conception displayed in Michel Angelo's naked figures, they are on the other hand exempt from the over- charged mannerism which sometimes detracts from the merit of his works. Raffaello, however, in this and similar subjects, has displayed a power of drawing the human figure in rapid momentary action, to which, perhaps, Michel Angelo never attained in equal measure. This drawing is engraved in facsimile in Ottley's work. Passavant notices it (Catalogue, No. 508). The water-mark in the paper is the letter T within an oval surmounted by a cross. (The same as on No. 68.) 74. Raffaello (ascribed to). Sketch of a part of the architectural background of the fresco of the School of Athens. Pen drawing washed with bistre. Width, 9 inches. Height, 5| inches. Collections : Earl of Arundel, and Lawrence. Some of the details are different from the corresponding parts in the fresco, but the style of design and manipulation of the drawing are not those of Raffaello. It is most likely 206 DRAWINGS BY RAFFAELLO. a reminiscence from the cartoon, or from the fresco itself, by a contemporary scholar. The handwork bears indeed some resemblance to that of Giovanni da Udine. Passavant (Catalogue, No. 507) notices it as if it were a genuine drawing by Raffaello. 75= Raffaello. FtUW ISO The Judgment of Solomon. First sketch for one of the compositions painted in Chiar'oscuro on the ceiling of the Stanza della Ssgnatura. Silver point drawing on pale greenish tinted prepared ground. Width, 5 § inches. Height, 4 inches. Collections : Antaldi and Lawrence. This very slight but most beautiful sketch was doubtless the first idea for the above-named composition. It is substantially the same design, i.e. as regards the general intention and action pourtrayed, but the details are different, the figures whilst they occupy nearly the same positions in relation to each other being all in different attitudes. There is greater energy of action in the sketch, much of the fire and vivacity of the first thought seeming to have evaporated in the finished composition. Probably in none of Raffaello's drawings is his marvellous power of rapid conception and expression more strikingly displayed than in this slight and, at first sight, unattractive ' sketch. When however it is closely scanned, the vague and shadowy markings of the metal point will be found so expressive, that the imagination at once supplies the lacking forms, somewhat as the sound of well-known voices conveys to the mind a sufficient image of the' unseen speakers. The most important variation manifested in the sketch is, perhaps, in the action and general expression of the figure of Solomon on his throne. He is here represented as a young man, in an energetic momentary attitude, stretching out his right arm as if to prevent the slaying of the child; whereas in the fresco Solomon is pourtrayed as an old CAMERA BELLA SEGNATURA, CIRCA A.D. 1508-!!. 207 bearded man in a sedate attitude, with uplifted hands, apparently in feigned surprise at the success of his stratagem, evidenced by the sudden interposition of the real mother of the babe. Passavant (Catalogue, No. 470) notices this drawing, but without commenting upon it. Numerous engravings have been made of the finished composition. The outline in Landon is sufficient for com- parison with this sketch. The style of execution corresponds with that of the silver point studies for the fresco of the School of Athens. INTERMEDIATE ROMAN PERIOD. CIRCA A.D. 15 10-12. 76. Raffaello. The Adoration of the Shepherds; a composition of twelve figures. Pen drawing in bistre. Height, 15! inches. Width, iof inches. Collections : Wicar, Ottley, and Lawrence. The scene is placed within a ruined building. The Virgin in a kneeling attitude is carefully lifting up a veil covering the Divine Infant, Who lies asleep on a pallet at the base of a column. The various figures are grouped around, gazing in adoration on the sleeping Child. On the right, St. Joseph kneeling and leaning on a staff holds by a girdle the infant St. John, who, unclad, bends forward towards the Saviour with hands clasped as in prayer. Behind and above the St. Joseph are three figures of adoring shepherds and two flying angels. On the left are three other shepherds, one of whom, an aged man kneeling, bends over the Saviour with an expression of devout ecstacy. This admirable drawing is executed in a rapid and brilliant manner, and the touch or manipulation resembles that of some of the pen drawings for the ' Disputa.' Still greater assurance and command of hand, however, are here manifested, whence it may be inferred that the drawing was executed at a rather more advanced period, though doubtless some time whilst ROMAN PERIOD, CIRCA A.D. 1510-13. 309 Raffaello was working in the stanza della Segnatura. It was apparently a first thought for a picture ; but no such work is known to have been executed. Ottley has engraved this drawing in facsimile in his 'Italian School of Design.' Passavant notices it (Catalogue, 510 c c), and he has classed it amongst those of the Oxford drawings which he considers of dubious authenticity. That opinion, however, can only be accounted for on the supposition of his having inspected it in too hasty a manner, for the genuineness of the drawing is indisputable. The water-mark in the paper is crossed arrows with a star above, similar to No. 16 (on a drawing of M. Angelo). 77. Raffaello. Holy Family. The Virgin and Child and the infant FueW St. John, within a hall or portico of rich architecture. Pen drawing in bistre. Height, 6f inches. Width, 5 inches. Collections : Wicar and Lawrence. The Virgin, seated on a chair, draped and wearing a turban, holds the Infant Christ in her arms ; the Child is in an animated attitude, and both Child and mother are looking down towards the young St. John, who reclines on the floor in a foreshortened position, to the left. The latter holds the reed cross in his hand, and is looking upwards towards the Saviour, who returns his gaze with a smile, and seems desirous to come down to him from His mother's arms. In the background, on the left, the vista ends in an open colonnade through which the landscape is seen, with a distant figure, probably St. Joseph, in front of the opening. On the reverse of the sheet is part of another sketch for a Holy Family, differently arranged, apparently an essay made at the same time for the same projected picture ; but the upper part and the left side of the composition, including the head of the Virgin and the Infant Saviour, are wanting, having been cut away at some former time, when the sheet was clipped all round to the shape of the composition in front. e e 2 JO DRAWINGS BY RAFFAELLO. In the last-named sketch the sitting Virgin is turned in the contrary direction, the pose of the Infant Saviour is much altered, and the young St. John, ■ though reclining in exactly the same posture and place in the composition, is reversed, i.e. his back is now turned to the spectator. Fortunately an unmutilated repetition of this composition exists in the Malcolm Collection (Catalogue, No. 1 76). Another, in red chalk, is in the possession of Henry Vaughan, Esq, There is a fourth rendering of it in the Louvre, which has been engraved by the Count de St. Morys. A replica or copy of the composition first described exists in the Albertine Collection at Vienna; it has been engraved in the reverse sense by A. E. Favard. The same composition is also engraved in Landon (No. 229) from a drawing then in the Lagoy Collection. Many points of similarity seem to indicate that these several designs are early tentative sketches for the picture, ultimately executed in a very different shape, which is now in the Bridgewater Gallery, and the date of which is placed by Passavant, circa a.d. 151 2. See notice of the drawing in Passavant's Catalogue (No. 482). 78. Raffaello (Copy after). Two sketches for different compositions of the Virgin and Child. Copies from authentic drawings by Raffaello. Pen drawings in bistre. Height, 8 inches. Width, inches. Collections : Antaldi and Lawrence. The larger of the two studies on the right of the sheet is a preliminary design for the Bridgewater Holy Family; the figures, however, are turned in the contrary sense. The Virgin, wearing a turban, with her face in profile looking towards the left, holds the Infant Saviour, who, undraped and in a graceful momentary attitude, lies across her knees. The Child though in the reversed position is very similar to the figure in the picture, but the Virgin is altogether different. The other study, near the margin of the sheet on the left, is an entirely different composition, and it has apparently nothing ROMAN PERIOD, CIRCA A.D. T510-13. 311 to do with the Bridgewater picture; it represents the Virgin standing, a half-length figure only, with the naked Child also standing by her side with His arms round her neck. These designs are careful copies by an ancient hand from the original studies by Raffaello, also drawn on the same sheet, now in the Museum of the Louvre. Passavant (Catalogue, No. 490) describes this Oxford sheet without noticing its unauthentic character. (See list of designs for the Bridgewater Madonna in the Windsor Catalogue, p. 64.) 79. Raffaello. Study for the Virgin and Child. Silver point drawing heightened with white, on dark grey or slate coloured prepared ground. Height, 6| inches. Width, 5 inches. Collections : Lagoy and Lawrence. The Virgin, sitting on a chair and turned towards the right, leans forward, embracing with both arms the Infant Saviour, who is represented as a child of four or five years old and stands at her knees ; she is also kissing Him on the cheek ; the left arm of the Child is uplifted, His hand resting on His head. Both the figures are draped. This most beautiful composition has every appearance of having been a study or reminiscence from nature of a young mother and her child. It is executed in the same well-finished and masterly manner as the silver point studies for the School of Athens (see before, Nos. 70, 71, 72), and was doubtless done about the same time. This composition is known from the engraving by one of the scholars of Marc Antonio Raimondi, probably made early in the sixteenth century from the present drawing. (Bartsch, le Peintre Graveur, torn. xv. p. 20, No. 11.) There is also a reversed etching of it by Vivant Denon: and P. A. Robert, a.d. 1729, published the same composition after a drawing by Giulio Bonasone. (See Passavant, Catalogue, NO. 489.) « -Pe-n'rvv • e e 2 212 DRAWINGS BY RAFFAELLO. 80. &r>ltV> tehftfcyui}) t^lft, 1> -*f)2- . Raffaello. Bkii«i ix5~_ Study of a figure of the Virgin for a composition of her Assumption into Heaven, with a slight sketch of the entire design on the reverse. Pen drawing in bistre. Height, 8 inches. Width, 5 J inches. Collections : Antaldi and Lawrence. This figure was described in Woodburn's Oxford Exhibition Catalogue (No. 60) as a ' Study of a female, probably Cas- sandra/ and Passavant (Catalogue, No. 548) has also vaguely characterised it as follows : 1 Femme assise — elle est vue de face et indique quelque chose avec la main droite.' But the sketch at the back of the sheet, revealed when the drawing was lifted from its old mount by the writer, shows its real character and destination. The figure enveloped in flying drapery is seen directly in front, with a wreath of flowers round the head; both arms are outstretched, but hanging downwards. The attitude is a momentary one, and con- sidered alone, in the absence of any accessories, it might have been difficult to guess its intention. The slight sketch on the reverse, however, shows in the upper part a similar figure, on a much smaller scale, soaring upwards amid clouds, with cherubs beneath, and flanked by numerous flying angels. Beneath it is seen the empty sepulchre surrounded by the Apostles holding out a con- tinuous festoon of flowers. The composition is arched at the top, and the figures are only indicated in a vague and hasty manner. There is no longer any ambiguity in the ' pose ' of the Virgin, her outstretched arms being in this repetition held up, and the entire attitude is that of ascension. Nothing further is known of the composition thus shadowed out, and probably this sheet is the only record of it now extant. The style of execution agrees with that of the pen drawings of Raffaello's Roman period. ROMAN PERIOD, CIRCA A.D. 15IO-I2. 213 81. Raffaello. A sheet of studies or group of three naked figures, — a faun and two nymphs. Pen drawing in bistre. Height, \i\ inches. Width, 8 inches. Collections : Count Baglioni of Perugia, and Lawrence. These vigorously drawn and graceful figures may, perhaps, have been designed as motives for wall decoration. On the left is a beautiful figure of a standing nymph holding a vase of flowers on her shoulder ; it does not seem to be connected with the other two. These are a naked faun standing in the centre of the drawing with his back to the spectator; he is about to lower from his shoulders a large vase or basket of fruit, and he is assisted by another nymph, who with upraised hands is steadying the burthen. A repetition of this drawing by a masterly hand, but not that of Raffaello, is in the collection of Hugh Reveley, Esq. 82. Raffaello (ascribed to). A composition of Tritons, sea -nymphs, amorini, and marine animals, arranged as a part of a circular frieze or border, probably designed for the rim of a salver. Pen drawing in bistre. Length, id\ inches. Height, 9^ inches. Collections : Wicar, Ottley, and Lawrence. This composition, a kind of procession of Tritons carrying on their backs naked sea-nymphs and children, with mermaids also and children sporting amidst the waves, playing with dolphins, serpents, and other marine monsters, has been engraved in Ottley's ' Italian School of Design.' It has been 214 DRAWINGS BY RAFFAELLO. assumed to be a design for part of one of two large salvers executed in bronze after Raffaello's models, by Cesare di Francesco Rosetti, a goldsmith of Urbino, for the Roman banker Agostino Chigi, a.d. 1510 (Passavant, vol. i. pp. 155 and 489; and vol. ii. p. 373); this, however, is only a supposition. The same authority (Catalogue, No. 523) contests the authenticity of this drawing ; he describes it as ' un beau dessin a la plume, qui cependant n'est pas de la main de Raphael, mais selon toute probability de Fr. Penni.' The writer, whilst admitting that it is not by Raffaello, does not concur in ascribing it to Francesco Penni. On the contrary, he thinks that there is evidence in the peculiar style of design and touch to connect it with Giulio Romano, and that in fact it is probably a work of the early time of that more eminent scholar of Raffaello. In any case, although the drawing could not have served for the design of. the salvers above named, there is great probability that it was directly inspired by those works; so close an imitation of Raffaello's style of design indeed is evident in it as to render it almost certain that the artist, who- ever he was, had some well-known prototype by the great master in view. fprwfc t-Jr i^rrK ^iuUcj Rjcmti no . TT*»'« iV «i»u>c^ / ^t*^-,n v /i 7 iJ/y*. 7Vf>r^U 83. Raffaello (ascribed to). Semicircular frieze. An ornamental composition of men riding on sea-horses, Tritons, sea -nymphs, &c. ; design for part of the border of a salver. Finished pen drawing in bistre. Length, 14^ inches. Height, 9 inches. Collections : Wicar and Lawrence. This is a work of the same class as that last described ; but this drawing has been accepted by Passavant as well as by the author of the Windsor Catalogue as authentic, and both those authorities believe it to be part of a design made for Cesarino d'Urbino, for one of the twa bronze salvers commissioned by Agostino Chigi, a.d. 15 10. Passavant describes it as follows (Catalogue, No. 522): 'Des Nymphes ROMAN PERIOD, CIRCA A.D. 15.LO-I2. 215 et des Tritons. Superbe dessin a la plume, pour une partie d'un bord de plat, un de ceux vraisemblablement, qui furent execute's en bronze par Cesare Rosetti de PeVouse pour Augustin Chigi. Le dessin contient six figures : quatre hommes qui se terminent ou en poisson ou en serpent, et deux femmes, dont Tune, couche'e, est surtout d'une grande beauteY The drawing is certainly very beautiful, and as a composition not unworthy of Raffaello, but the writer can see no traces of his hand in its execution ; he is convinced indeed, that it is the work of a pupil. It is a highly finished shaded drawing, most likely made from ' the round ; ' his opinion indeed is, that it is a copy from a work of Raffaello, perhaps one of the salvers above alluded to *. The Museum at Dresden contains a drawing for an entire salver of very similar design (see description by Passavant, Catalogue, No. 258), which has also been unhesitatingly accepted as authentic; nevertheless, the writer entertains precisely the same impression in respect to it as of the present work; moreover, he believes the Dresden drawing which he has seen, and which, by means of a photograph, he has since been able to confront with the Oxford drawing, to be by the same hand as the latter. The two drawings, however, though they represent similar com- positions, are not really alike in any of the details ; they evidently represent two different, though perhaps companion salvers. All that is known of the Chigi salvers is the fact, as appears from a contract still extant, dated 10th Nov., a.d. 15 10, betwixt Cesarino the goldsmith and Augustino Chigi, that two such works in bronze, four Roman palms in diameter, from the design of Raffaello, were ordered of Cesarino (see Carlo Fea, 'Notizie intorno Raffaele Sanzio, &c. ; Roma, 1822, p. 81). Finally, to sum up the question, Passavant (vol. ii. p. 373) has expressed an opinion that the Dresden drawing served for the one, and the present Oxford drawing for the other of these Chigi salvers; the writer, on the other hand, whilst he thinks it probable but by no means certain that they represent the salvers in question, is convinced that, if this be so, they can only be drawings made by some scholar of Raffaello, either * At the same time the design would seem equally adapted for the decoration of a majolica plateau, a class of productions for which Raffaello is believed to have furnished designs. 2l6 DRAWINGS BY RAFFAELLO. from Cesarino's finished bronzes, or the preparatory models in relief for them. The present drawing has been reproduced in facsimile in Woodburn's Lawrence Gallery. The water-mark in the paper is a mermaid in a circle, similar to the mark on several drawings by Michel Angelo. (See Facsimiles, No. 40.) *]WVi< r* w t*.T <*ui* f> £i*\*\.o "v^-i ^Xiy - p* **»t<» Raffaello. Sheet of studies of eleven naked amorini at play. Pen drawing, much injured. %*■ ^ fM ^ ^pich-lf £-rru **r Length, 15 inches. Height, 10 inches. Collections : Antaldi and Lawrence. The exquisite grace and the perfect truthfulness of action and movement of these beautiful infantile figures place it beyond doubt that they are the invention of Raffaello; in other words, that this drawing substantially represents a work of the great master; but whether it be the original drawing by his hand, or a copy, it is now impossible to determine. In its present state it is a mere wreck, and, more- over, it has obviously been in almost every part 'restored,' i.e. coarsely retouched by a strange hand, which had but little of the master's cunning. The drawing, originally made on very thin paper, seems to have been executed partly with the pen in bistre and partly in Italian chalk, some of the figures appearing to have been at first slightly indicated in the latter material. At an after period all the outlines have been coarsely gone over, as has been intimated, with the reed pen; nor was this the only process of deterioration, for the sheet seems afterwards to have suffered from exposure to damp, and every kind of ill usage, until at last it became worn to a mere tattered rag. At this stage some possessor laid it down with paste upon a fresh sheet, but so coarsely and carelessly that portions of the design were displaced in the process. Yet the genius of Raffaello shines clearly forth, in spite of every injury, as a flame which nothing could entirely quench. Compare it with the beautiful drawing of amorini (No. 51) ROMAN PERIOD, CIRCA A.D. 1510-12. 217 and with the well-known drawing in the Guise Collection at Christ Church, hereafter described. Passavant, in his notice of this drawing (Catalogue, No 551), remarks that it appears to be a much injured tracing only. Injured as it is, there is, however, enough of the original work remaining to show that it is not a tracing. ■>/ r v - 1 of A JJdJ* 11 sjz* h 7 N3 F f CHAMBER OF THE HELIODORUS. CIRCA A.D. 15 12-15 14. 85. Raffaello. Studies for two kneeling women, forming part of the h group of figures on the left-hand side of the fresco of v^ v ' the Heliodorus, executed one on each side of the sheet. Black chalk drawing. Height, 15^ inches. Width, iof- inches. Collections : Sir J. Reynolds, Ottley, T. Dimsdale, and Lawrence. In the year b.c 176 Seleucus IV, king of Syria, having sent Heliodorus to Jerusalem to take possession of the treasure belonging to poor persons and orphans preserved in the Temple, the High Priest Onias prayed to the Almighty that he would not permit those who had deemed His sanctuary inviolable to suffer so great a wrong; and when Heliodorus arrived to execute the orders of the king, a man on horseback suddenly appeared, overthrew and trampled him under foot, and at the same time, two messengers of the Almighty, beautiful young men with rods in their hands, rushed forward, and chased the robber and his soldiers out of the Temple (see 2 Maccab. ch. iii). Such is the scene repre- sented by Raffaello in the fresco in question. The principal group, on the right of the composition, re- presents Heliodorus overthrown and attacked by the celestial CHAMBER OF THE HELIODOR US, CIRCA A.D. 1 5 ' 2—14* 2 1 9 messengers*, and it is balanced on the opposite side by another group, that of the women and their children, who were being despoiled ; two of them are kneeling. One of these, re- presented in the front of the present sheet, is seen with her back to the spectator ; she turns her head towards the spoilers, seems to be uttering a cry, and extends her arms towards her companions as if to preserve them from danger : her gesture and expression are most truthful, and full of dramatic energy. The second, repeated on the reverse of the drawing, is placed further behind; she enfolds two children in her arms, her uplifted head turned towards the altar, where the High Priest is seen kneeling in prayer, as if also imploring the succour of the Almighty. The former study is a finished drawing of the entire figure, differing but little from the fresco, and it may be assumed that it was drawn with the assistance of a living model placed in the required pose. Higher up on the sheet, the head and shoulders and the outstretched hand are drawn a second time with still greater care, and the second rendering displays greater energy and passionate expression, and it approximates still more closely to the finished work. The feet of the figure are exquisitely drawu from nature, in the lower corner of the sheet, on the right; and there is also a slight outline of the outstretched left hand, in the opposite corner at the top of the sheet. The figure on the reverse is less elaborately drawn, the upper part, comprising the head and shoulders and surrounding drapery, being alone finished, whilst the lower part of the figure and the children are but slightly indicated. A second drawing of the foreshortened head on rather a larger scale, as in the previous instance, is seen in nearly the same relative position on the sheet. The grandeur of style displayed in these noble studies surpasses that of any previous work of Raffaello, and (whether or not this quality was directly inspired by the study of Michel Angelo's frescos) there can be no doubt that in this respect they manifest a great advance on his previous productions. It would, in fact, be impossible to cite any similar study by Michel Angelo displaying greater sublimity of conception, and the two great contemporaries are here seen fairly on a par with each other. * See the study of the outstretched arm of one of these figures before described, No. 10 (2), p. 121. F f 2 220 DRAWINGS BY RAFFAELLO. Both these studies are engraved in facsimile in Ottley's work, see also his remarks in the text, p. 53 ; and the sheet is also noticed at some length by Passavant (Catalogue, No. 512); the same figure was also reproduced in facsimile in the last century by S. Mulinari from a copy of the present drawing preserved in the Florence Gallery. 86. Raffaello. Head of the horse whose rider has overthrown Helio- dorusj a fragment of the cartoon for the fresco. Drawing in charcoal and black chalk on brown paper. Height, 27 inches. Width, 21 inches. Collections : Cardinal Albani, Ottley, and Lawrence. It is pricked for transfer to the wall, and has been varnished in order to fix the loose charcoal shading. Vasari, in his life of Raffaello, mentions that fragments of the Heliodorus Cartoon were then preserved in the house of Francesco Massini at Cesena. In all probability this was one of them. Ottley purchased it from the Albani Palace in Rome. a.d. 1 801, for £40; he alludes to it in the following terms, in his ' Italian School of Design.' ' The head of the horse which was formerly preserved in the Albani Palace at Rome, is of such marvellous perfection, that it can only be compared to the finest remains of Ancient Greek Art.' Passavant (Catalogue, No. 513). Nos. 87, 88, 89. Raffaello (ascribed to). Three drawings for the fresco of the Mass of Bolsena, probably by different pupils of Raffaello, the design differing greatly from the composition as executed on the wall. CHA MBER OF THE HELIODOR US, CIRCA A .D. 1 5 1 2- 1 4. 221 Pen drawings in sepia washed or shaded with ihe same pigment and heightened with white. Length of each drawing, 16 inches ; height, 10 inches. 87. Collections : Reynolds, Ottley, and Lawrence. 88. Collections : Ignatius Hugford and Lawrence. 89. Collections : Wicar and Lawrence. The subject of the fresco known by the above title is the reputed occurrence of a miracle in the town of Bolsena, a.d. 1264. It is said that blood exuded from the Host in the hands of a priest, who had doubted the fact of Tran- substantiation, whereupon Pope Urban IV instituted the festival of Corpus Christi. Passavant (Catalogue, No. 515) describes these drawings as follows: 'La Messe de Bolsene. Premiere esquisse, lave'e a la sepia et rehausse'e de blanc. Elle differe beaucoup de l'ex^cution a fresque. Le pape, a gauche, est agenouille ; les figures de devant sont differemment dispose'es ; les suisses ou porteurs du pape ne s'y trouvent point. Cintre dans le haut. H. 9" 10"'; 1. 16" 12"'. Collections Wicar et Woodburn. Oxford. No. 16. La Collection d' Oxford possede encore deux autres dessins du meme sujet, sous les nos. 42 et 125. Le premier est une copie de celui que nous venons de de*crire et l'autre est fait d'apres la fresque meme. Tous les deux ne"anmoins sont peu dignes d'etre conserve's dans une collection qui possede l'original.' This account is, however, careless and incorrect. Passavant in the first place has assumed that one of these drawings (No. 89) is the authentic design by RafFaello, that one of the others is a copy from it, and that the third drawing, on the other hand, was taken from the fresco. The most cursory inspection of the several drawings, however, is sufficient to show that none of them are by the hand of Raffaello ; more- over, that all three are identical in design, and that they were in fact copied, doubtless by tracing and mechanical transference from a common original, probably some other drawing now lost sight of. Passavant (see above), moreover, has noted the fact that very important differences exist between the com- position as seen in them and the fresco; but he ought to have stated that these drawings represent an entirely different arrangement of the composition, in fact a distinct design. It will be desirable to describe in detail the design as here 222 DRAWINGS BY RAFFAELLQ. represented in comparison with the composition as executed on the wall. To begin with a feature common to both, The large window opening, which exists in the wall, is shown breaking into the centre of the design, in the lower part, and the priest standing at the - altar occupies the same elevated positions above it as in the fresco : the raised platform is also approached by two lateral staircases (they are, however, quite differently arranged in the two designs) ; i but the entire composition is, in the drawing, represented in the reverse sense, i.e. the priest is turned towards the left instead of towards the right as in the fresco. The kneeling Pope also occupies the left instead of the right side. In short, the entire design has been systematically reversed. The background architecture of the church is changed; in the drawing it displays a semicircular apse or tribune close upon the altar, whereas in the fresco it forms a lengthened vista showing the architecture of the church in perspective ; the end wall, at a considerable distance, being filled up by an archway, and a large window opening above. The semicircular screen wall (or 'reredos') crowned by a moulded cornice, which in the fresco encloses the altar at the back, is omitted in the drawing, this structure having in fact replaced the apse or tribune above alluded to. Four lofty bronze candelabra, with lights burning, in the drawing flank the altar, two on each side, rising from the angles of the platform artificially formed by the window architraves beneath; but these conspicuous objects are omitted in the fresco. The priest, although nearly in the same . attitude as in the fresco, is more simply draped, and the group of acolytes kneeling behind him on the left is here, in increased number, disposed on each side of him, three on the right holding up his vest- ments, and three on the left kneeling with large candles in their hands. These figures and the altar itself occupy the entire summit of the raised platform, whereas in the fresco the acolytes on one side (the right) have been suppressed, and the figure of the Pope, Julius II, kneeling at a richly ornamented faldstool, occupies their place. In the drawing, the Pope, a much simpler but equally expressive figure, is placed in a less conspicuous position, at a lower level (on the left) occupying the same relative position which, in the fresco, is taken up by the portrait group of Cardinals. Of these figures there is no trace in the drawing. The group of the five kneeling Swiss chair-bearers in CHA MBER F THE HELIODOR US, CIR OA A I 5 1 2- 1 4. 223 picturesque sixteenth-century .costumes, which forms so con- spicuous a feature in the fresco, is altogether omitted in the drawing. Lastly, the figures, representing the populace, filling the sides of the drawing behind the priest (the contrary side from the fresco), although their action and intention are the same, are all differently designed. On the whole, the drawing represents a much simpler com- position than that of the fresco; but although less rich and elaborate in detail the story is perhaps even more strikingly told. In the writer's opinion these drawings represent a finished design by Raffaello for the Mass of Bolsena, which preceded the composition actually executed. What shape that design had assumed in his hands, i.e. to what particular stage of development it had been carried by him, when it was superseded by the arrangement finally executed, cannot be determined with certainty. Some suggestive inferences, nevertheless, may be gleaned from the present drawing (or drawings*). The questions then at once arise, was the present design copied from an original drawing of the same size and technic by the hand of Raffaello, or if not, from what other source was it taken ? The former of these queries may be safely answered in the negative. In the first place, it does not appear to have been Raffaello's practice to prepare small finished drawings of this kind for his works. The first vague tentative sketches for the general arrangement of his compositions were usually followed by a great number of detailed studies and drawings of separate figures and details, but to all appearance these miscellaneous essays were not reunited again into a concrete shape, until their embodiment in the form of the cartoon, of the exact size of the work to be executed t. Moreover, making full allowance for the deteriorating and distorting medium of a copy, the present drawing shows no traces of the actual hand- work of Raffaello; a probable inference therefore seems to be that it was a reduced drawing, translated, as it were, into * It will be convenient henceforth to allude to these drawings as one design, inasmuch as the three renderings are exact ' repliche,' by different hands. + See Appendix, Note 22, for further speculations on this subject, and on the causes which may have induced Raffaello to abandon the first design. 224 DRAWINGS BY RAFFAELLO. his own natural style by a scholar, probably from the cartoon of Raffaello*. In regard to the individual authorship of the three drawings, no certain opinion can be formed ; they are evidently by different hands. No. 87 seems to be the most able of the three, No. 88 the next in point of merit, and No. 89 the weakest rendering. The general style of design and execution displayed is that of the school of Raffaello, and they more particularly resemble in aspect and manner many of the contemporary drawings for the frescos of the loggia ; all appearances point to their having been produced at a later period than the execution of the fresco (circa a.d. 151 2), probably after Raffaello's death. The drawing No. 87 was engraved in facsimile in 'Metz's imitations.' 90. Raffaello (ascribed to). Design for the fresco of Attila arrested on his march towards Rome, by St. Leo and the Apostles St. Peter and St. Paul. Shaded drawing with the point of the brush, heightened with while on pale brown tinted paper. Length, 23 inches. Height, 15^ inches. Collections : Wicar and Lawrence. The third fresco in the chamber of the Heliodorus represents Attila, king of the Huns, on his march towards Rome at the head of his barbarian horde (a.d. 452), met by Pope Leo I, who persuades him to desist from his enterprise and abandon Italy ; the representations of the Pope being at the same time con- firmed by the miraculous appearance of the Apostles St. Peter and St. Paul in the clouds, menacing the king with swords. This drawing, like those for the Mass of Bolsena, before * At all events, the writer cannot call to mind any such complete and formal drawing by the hand of the master. The original cartoon for the School of Athens, in the Ambrosian Library at Milan, has every appearance of having been executed at once from the careful detached studies which have come down to us, not methodically enlarged from a previous general drawing. CHAMBER OF THE HELIODORUS, CIRCA A.D. 1 5 I 2-I4. 225 described, although obviously prepared for the fresco, represents an entirely different and much simpler composition. Although accepted as genuine by Passavant (vol. ii. p. 133, and Catalogue, No. 506), it is certainly not by the hand of Raffaello. There can, however, be no doubt that he was the inventor of the design; and it may be inferred, as in former instances, that it is a copy by a scholar, either from a drawing or cartoon by Raffaello, repre- senting an early phase of the scheme of the composition. Other drawings by this same master, who was doubtless one of Raffaello's assistants at the period of the Vatican frescos, have been noted; but there is no clue to his identi- fication. Another preliminary design, of a finished and precise kind, for the Attila, is preserved in the Collection of the Louvre, which also displays many variations from the com- position as executed ; but it approximates much more closely to the fresco than the present drawing; the latter therefore may be presumed to have preceded it. The Louvre drawing also is obviously the work of an able pupil of Raffaello, but it is not by the same artist as the Oxford drawing. It represents a distinct rendering of the story, and does not appear to have been influenced by the present design : a comparison of all three, indeed, seems to show that the composition of the Attila went through unusually numerous and radically different phases of change in the progress of its elaboration *. There are many points of difference betwixt this drawing and the fresco. In the first place, the elaborate landscape back- ground is wanting in the drawing. Attila and his soldiers both foot and horse, with banners flying in the wind, are seen, advancing on the right side as in the fresco; but the figures are all differently arranged. The two prancing horses are * Such being the case, it is the more remarkable that, so far as is at present known, not a single sketch or study for this fresco, really by the hand of Raffaello, has come down to us; it is doubtful also if any authentic drawings are extant for the fourth fresco in this chamber, the Deliverance of St. Peter. All Raffaello's sketches and studies for the three frescos of the Mass of Bolsena, the Attila, and the Deliverance of St. Peter, in short, seem to have disappeared; they must, nevertheless, have been very numerous; a probable but distressing inference is that, having been preserved together, they all perished at the same time. May not this loss have been one of the irreparable disasters to art cons quent on the sack of Rome, in a.d. 1527 ? 6 g 226 DRAWINGS BY RAFFAELLO. conspicuous in nearly the same positions, but Attila himself is seated on the foremost horse ; whereas, in the fresco, he is placed in the second plane, advancing from the opposite direction. The action of the barbarian king, though not less dramatic and expressive, is entirely different; here he is seen addressing the Pope, whilst in the fresco he is represented as stricken backward and dismayed by the threatening gestures of the Celestial Messengers in the sky above. It should be noted, in passing, as a curious fact, that instead of the antique barbarian armour worn by Attila and his chieftains in the fresco, they are, in the drawing, clad in Turkish gaberdines or caftans of the fashion of Raffaello's own day. The Pope advances from the left as in the fresco, in which he is riding on a mule attended by Cardinals and cross- bearers and other officials, also mounted ; — but in the drawing he is seated in a chair of state borne by staves on men's shoulders, accompanied by a crowd of ecclesiastics and attend- ants on foot. Another remarkable difference should be specified. In the fresco the Pope is represented in the likeness of the reigning Pontiff Leo X, but the drawing represents an entirely different personage, apparently Julius II. The colossal figures of St. Peter and St. Paul are seen in the sky nearly in the same position in both compositions, but they display many differences of detail; one of the most obvious being, that both the Apostles in the fresco are brandishing swords, whilst only St. Paul in the drawing is so armed. On the whole, the main difference betwixt the two render- ings of the subject is, that in the drawing the principal action passes between the Pope and the King, who are con- versing together, unconscious of the miraculous personages above their heads, though the attendants and soldiers of Attila see them, and are thrown into confusion by the apparition. The intention here obviously is to represent Attila as yielding to the moral influence of the Pope. In the fresco, the event passes differently, and with greater elevation of conception. There, the Pope and his cortege advance with calm security, while their heavenly protectors, soaring in front above their heads, form as it were an advanced guard, whose menaces have struck terror into the mind of Attila, and spread panic amongst his followers. It is interesting to observe that it has always been CHAMBER OF THE HELIODORUS, CIRCA A.D. 1512-14. 327 assumed that the subject of this fresco was selected as com- plimentary to Pope Leo X, who succeeded Julius II (Feb. 21, I 5 I 3)» during the progress of the decoration of this par- ticular chamber. It was supposed to be an allusion to the defeat of the French under Louis XII, and their- expulsion from Italy in the same year, mainly by the efforts of the Pope. This is probably true only in part ; the event actually represented was so great and memorable in the history of the Roman Church, that it is quite as likely to have been selected from the beginning as part of the general scheme of decoration for the Stanze; and the fact that the Pope, in the present drawing, appears to represent Julius II seems to confirm this view. The truth probably is that the drawing was executed under Julius II, and the com- position was superseded by the richer and more elaborate one finally executed under Leo X. The accession of that Pontiff, whose magnificent tastes and love of personal display were so opposed to the habits of Julius II, was doubtless the cause of the anachronisms which thenceforth filled the Stanze-frescos with the portraits of living person- ages. In this particular instance it is likely that Leo himself or his courtiers having seen how pertinent the legend was to his own recent achievement, the introduction of his portrait and that of his principal courtiers was deter- mined upon, in order to commemorate that event. At the same time, it should not be forgotten that Julius II had previously caused his own portrait to be conspicuously re- presented in the Mass of Bolsena fresco. 91. 1 Raffaello (ascribed to). Study for the figure of the Almighty accompanied by Angels, in the fresco of Moses and the Burning Bush, painted on the ceiling of the Chamber of the Heliodorus ; and, on the reverse, a study of Victory from an antique bas-relief on one of the triumphal arches in Rome. Pen drawing in bistre. Width, 165 inches. Height, 11 inches. Collections: Wicar, Ottley, and Lawrence. G g 2 DRAWINGS BY RAFFAELLO. Following the plan adopted in the first chamber, Raffaello executed four pictures on the ceiling of the Stanza of the Heliodorus, as complementary allegorical illustrations of the historical wall frescos. The subjects are as follows : Moses and the Burning Bush, over the Heliodorus; the Sacrifice of Abraham, over the Mass of Bolsena; the Almighty ordering Noah to come out of the Ark, above the Attila ; and Jacob's Vision of the Ladder, over the Deliverance of St. Peter. There is a paucity, if not even an entire absence, of authentic studies for the ceiling frescos of this chamber; the cause above alluded to (foot-note, p. 225) may perhaps in some degree account for this, but a careful consideration of the compositions themselves, and of the present and following drawings in particular, has suggested another explanation. It is that the writer considers it probable that three of these pictures were neither invented nor executed by Raffaello, but that they were the unassisted works of one or more of his pupils. The relative inferiority of two of them, viz. the Sacrifice of Abraham and the Jacob's Dream, has been frequently noticed; but the writer is not aware that their substantial authenticity as works of Raffaello has been before brought in question. Without, however, presuming to decide the matter, the following considerations are offered in support of his opinion : — One of these compositions, — the Almighty ordering Noah to quit the Ark, has always been more highly considered than the rest; it was reproduced in a beautiful engraving by Marc Antonio, probably during Raffaello's lifetime; it is immeasurably superior to the others, and is so completely imbued with the spirit of Raffaello, that there can be no doubt that it was at all events designed by the great master; this very superiority, however, seems in some degree to furnish evidence against the others. The next in point of merit is certainly that of the Burning Bush, for which the drawing now in question (see farther on) has every appearance of being an original preliminary study. Next comes the Sacrifice of Abraham, for which the Oxford Collection contains two preliminary drawings (described next in order) : that composition and also that of the Jacob's Dream are ungraceful in design, and weak in conception; the two latter, in short, the writer deems to be quite unworthy of Raffaello. It now remains to consider the picture of the Burning Bush, CHA MBER OF THE HELIODOR US, CIRCA A .D. 1 5 1 ]\ inches. Collections : Lagoy and Lawrence. This is a first study for the angel on the right side of the composition, descending in a violently foreshortened position, head foremost, carrying the lamb for the sacrifice in his arms. The lamb is wanting in the study, which differs considerably from the fresco in other respects. The drawing bears the strong impress of the manner of Giulio Romano. Passavant nevertheless (Catalogue, No. 471) accepts it as by Raffaello; and he had previously alluded to it in his description of the fresco itself (vol. ii. p. 129). He there observes of the figure, ' Un autre ange descend perpendiculairement du ciel, la tete en bas, en apportant le belier qui doit remplacer la victime. Raphael a repr^sente' trois ou quatre fois un ange qui vole la tete en bas et qui pre'sente de la sorte des raccourcis assez disgracieux, notamment dans la vierge au Baldaquin, dans les Sibylles a, S. Maria della Pace, etc. Cette particularite' est d'autant plus surprenante que Raphael se distingue ordinaire- ment par le caractere de simplicite - et de beaute" qu'il donne a ses anges.' It is scarcely necessary to observe that the point above alluded to is rendered less noteworthy by the great probability that Raffaello really had nothing whatever to do with the design of this figure ; such ungraceful foreshortenings were, on the other hand, continually affected by his pupil Giulio who, like all copyists, exaggerated the least excellent of the mannerisms of his prototype *. * Although the Oxford Collection contains no drawings illustrative of the last of the ceiling frescos of this chamber — Jacob's Vision of the Ladder— Hh 234 DRAWINGS BY RAFFAELLO. 95. Raffaello (ascribed to). An allegorical figure of ' The Marine/ copy from one of the Caryatides, painted in grisaille on the lower part of the wall of the Chamber of the Heliodorus. Bistre washed drawing heightened with white, on slate coloured prepared ground. Height, 145 inches. Width, (s\ inches. Collections : Lord Spencer, and Lawrence. This is a copy, probably of contemporary date, from the fresco. The original figure is one of a series of twelve, forming part of the accessory decoration of the room. The subjects of the series are Law, Peace, Public Safety, Nobility, Commerce, The Marine, Navigation, Abundance, The Rearing of Cattle, Agriculture, and The Vintage. They are all represented as standing female figures, supporting archi- tectural capitals on their heads, on which rests the cornice which runs along the wall beneath the great frescos. Passavant (Catalogue, 560 c) also notes this drawing as a copy. 06. Raffaello. Study for the Phrygian Sibyl in the fresco painted in the Church of Santa Maria della Pace, in Rome. Drawing in red chalk. Height, 1 4 1 inches. Width, *]\ inches. Collections : Richardson, Reynolds, and Lawrence. The celebrated fresco of the Sibyls was executed by the author may, perhaps, be allowed to place on record his belief, that not only does that composition show no evidence of the co-operation of Raffaello, but that it is the work from first to last of a less able master even than Giulio Romano. There is no trace in it of the energy of design which, although usually overstrained in its expression, is yet a redeeming characteristic of Giulio's style, and which is certainly, although somewhat ungracefully, impressed upon the fresco of Abraham's Sacrifice. CHAMBER OF THE HELIODORUS, CIRCA A.D. 1512-I4. 235 Raffaello, a.d. 15 14, for his friend and patron, Agostino Chigi; it is painted in connection with another composition representing four prophets, on the wall of the church aroud the entrance to a family chapel constructed by Chigi. The present drawing is a finished study for the draped figure representing the Phrygian Sibyl, reclining in a graceful momentary attitude, dictated by its position adjoining the right side of the semi-circular arch-band of the entrance to the chapel. It is undoubtedly by the hand of Raffaello, and it is equally certain that it was designed for the figure in question, but it differs so greatly from it as executed, as to be virtually a different impersonation. In the first place, the attitude is quite different in the sketch ; the figure leans or reclines against the arch-band, and appears to be making an effort to rise, whereas in the fresco it is calmly seated in an upright position. The naked left arm, in the sketch, crosses the body and is pointing upwards ; in the fresco that arm is draped, and hangs down in repose, the hand resting on the knee of the figure. Lastly, the head, turned towards the right and looking downwards in the study, is erect and looks towards the opposite side in the finished work. The naked left arm is drawn a second time higher up in the sheet. Woodburn has engraved the drawing in his 'Lawrence Gallery.' Passavant, in his notice (Catalogue, No. 500), states that a half-length figure and an angel from the same com- position, also executed in a masterly manner in red chalk, are drawn on the reverse of the sheet. This, however, is a mis- take ; there is nothing on the reverse. The water-mark in the paper is a double anchor (see Fac- similes, No. 80). 97- Copy after Raffaello. Sheet of studies for the fresco of the Sibyls, in the Church of Santa Maria della Pace, in Rome. Drawing in red chalk. Height, 13 inches. Width, 8% inches. Collections: Duke 0/ Alva, and Lawrence, H h 2 2$6 DRAWINGS BY RAFFAELLO. The studies on this sheet are careful copies, probably by a contemporary scholar, from original drawings by Raffaello. In front is represented the upper part of the flying angel holding out a scroll, on the left side of the composition, and the naked arm of the Cumgean Sibyl beneath; probably in Raffaello's original drawing both were drawn from nature. At the back is a standing amorino with his head resting on his hand ; a figure introduced on the same side of the fresco. The Albertine Collection at Vienna contains a duplicate of the studies on the front of the sheet, evidently copied from the same original drawing by Raffaello. An authentic drawing, also in red chalk, for the same flying angel, and repeating it thrice over, both naked and draped, is in the Reiset Collection (now in the possession of the Due dAumale) ; it was engraved in Le Roy's collection of Facsimiles and it probably preceded the present sheet. The style of execution is identical with it, but on comparing the two the superior beauty and spirit of the master's own work displayed in the Reiset drawing, are at once apparent. The present drawing, however, which is a more masterly copy than the one at Vienna, is a valuable record, inasmuch as the original study by Raffaello from which it was taken has in all probability perished. This sheet of studies has never been exhibited in Oxford, and not being noticed in Passavant's work was doubtless unknown to him. CHAMBER OF CHARLEMAGNE. CIRCA A.D. 15 14-15 17. 98. Copy from Raffaello. The naked man letting himself down from a wall in the fresco of the £ Incendio del Borgo. 5 Drawing in black chalk, shaded with bistre and heightened with white. Height, 16 inches. Width, 9 inches. Collections : Denon and Lawrence. The subject of the Incendio del Borgo fresco is the occur- rence, towards the middle of the ninth century, of a great fire in a part of Rome called the 'Borgo Vecchio,' which, after causing terrible ravages, was on the point of invading the Vatican Palace, when the Pope, Leo IV, showing himself in an open gallery, stretched forth his hands and miraculously extinguished the flames. The composition represents citizens of both sexes, young and old, naked or only half draped, as they had been aroused from their slumbers, in the act of escaping, of endeavouring to save their goods, or of extinguish- ing the flames with water. The naked figure represented in the present drawing is conspicuous on the left side of the composition; it does not in any respect differ from the rendering in the fresco. The drawing is obviously not by the hand of Raffaello, and in all probability it is an old copy made from the finished work. Several other drawings of this celebrated figure, claiming with more or less probability to be considered Raffaello's original study, are extant in various collections. 238 DRAWINGS BY RAFF A ELLO. Passavant (Catalogue, No. 560 a) expresses the same opinion. 99. Raffaello (ascribed to). Study for the woman carrying two vases of water, | on the left side of the fresco of the 'Incendio del I Borgo/ Bistre shaded drawing heightened with white on pale drown tinted ground. Height, 15^ inches. Width, 6 inches. Collections : Dr. Mead, A. Pond, Dimsdale, and Lawrence. This well-known figure is here represented naked, in the fresco it is partly draped; the attitude and action are, how- ever, exactly the same in both. The drawing is certainly not by the hand of Raffaello, neither is it sufficiently excellent to entitle it to be considered as an original design by one of his eminent scholars. The probability is that it was an academy study or exercise by a follower of Raffaello, based on the figure as executed. It was nevertheless engraved in facsimile in the last century in A. Pond's work, as an original study by Raffaello. Passavant alludes to it (vol. ii. p. 161, and also Catalogue, No. 560 a) as not authentic. %y< r Sheet, drawn on both sides, containing two groups of naked men, fighting. Supposed to be designs for portions, of the fresco of the Saracens at Ostia. Pen drawings in bistre. Length, i6\ inches. Height, n inches. Collections : Antdldi, Crozai, Mariette, Brunet, and Lawrence, These celebrated designs are, as drawings, amongst the finest works of their kind by Raffaello now extant, and it is probable that not only was the rendering of the naked figure in motion which they display never surpassed by the master himself, but that the combination of powerful design with exquisite truthfulness and grace was never even approached by any other artist of the modern era. While, for instance, it would be difficult to specify any similar design by Michel Angelo displaying a grander manner of drawing the human figure, it is certain that the entire works of that great artist would be scanned in vain for anything to be compared with these studies of Raffaello, in respect of ideal beauty of type, or charm of style and technical execution *, In front the design consists of about ten figures, erect and in action, and many others of slain men. The scene represents a party of soldiers who have taken a Saracen prisoner, and have bound his arms behind his back with cords; he is unwilling to be dragged away, and two warriors in front, armed with swords and shields, are warding off the attacks of the Saracens, * It may not, perhaps, be out of place to record as an interesting fact that Sir T. Lawrence, who regarded this superb sheet as one of his choicest treasures, was accustomed to allude to it whilst it was in his possession as one of the first causes of his having, when a boy, devoted himself to the study of Art. It appears that whilst still quite a child, a friend showed him the facsimiles of these drawings in the Crozat Gallery, whereupon he copied them, and the abiding impression of their excellence mainly induced that love of ancient drawings which in after life he was enabled to indulge in so largely. Lawrence was often heard by his friends and fellow-collectors to remark how singular it was that the originals themselves should have ultimately fallen into his hands. CHA MBER OF CHA RLEMA GNE, CIR CA A,D. J 5 1 4-T 7 . 24 1 •{ who, although not seen, are supposed to be endeavouring to rescue their comrade ; a heap of slain carcases lies at the feet of the warrior on the right of the drawing. The other design, consisting of nine figures, represents a similar scene ; it contains, however, three separate groups or episodes. First, on the right, a Christian warrior upholds the dead body of one Of his companions, and withdraws it from the melee under the protection of another soldier. In the centre a warrior is seen binding a captive Saracen, who is on his knees, the body beautifully foreshortened. On the left, a Christian is in the act of slaying a prostrate Saracen with a sword, whilst two other soldiers in the background are hastening forwards to attack the enemy. The Comte de Caylus, at the beginning of the last century, engraved both these drawings in facsimile, in the work known as the Crozat Gallery, and both in that work and by Passavant (Catalogue, No. 517) they are stated to be preliminary design for portions of the fresco of the Saracens at Ostia. There can be little doubt that they were so, the style of design and execution is of the epoch of the fresco ; but, it must be observed, that there is no appearance of any such groups in the finished work itself; if therefore they were really prepared for it, they were abandoned, i.e. they did not eventually serve for any portion of the composition. The writer has already (see previous entry) expressed his opinion that Raffaello had no hand in the composition as actually executed ; and it is suffi- cient to compare these noble designs with the tame and commonplace groups which replaced them, to be assured that such must have been the fact. The probability is that Raffaello really prepared drawings for the composition, but that, for some reason or other, they were not made available by the pupil or pupils who designed and executed the work as it stands. The two drawings are described in the manuscript Antaldi Catalogue under the numbers 18 and 19 (Appendix, No. 17), and the marginal note 'venduto' confirms the fact of their having passed into the Crozat Collection. 242 DRA WINGS BY RAFFAELLO. 102. RAFFAELLO. £i«k*t W5. A combat of naked men; composition of seven figures. Pen drawing in bistre. Length, i6§ inches. Height, n inches. Collections : Antaldi, Ottley, and Lawrence. This admirable drawing is executed in the same vigorous style as those last described, and it is apparently a companion sheet. It represents a fight for the possession of a standard. Three men grasp the staff of the flag, two on the one part and one on the other, savagely contending for it with uplifted swords, whilst from the midst of the mSl^e a soldier is endeavouring to carry off the body of a slain or wounded comrade, protecting himself at the same time with his shield from the attacks of a foeman; another soldier on the right assists him in withdrawing the disabled man. Woodburn (Oxford Exhibition Catalogue, No. 93), regardless of the published remarks of W. Y. Ottley (see further on), expressly styles this drawing ' a design for the celebrated fresco in the Vatican of the Victory over the Saracens at Ostia ; ' observing, however, that the figures are unclothed, and that it differs from the fresco in many particulars. But it has in reality no resemblance whatever to any part of that fresco. Passavant, on the contrary (Catalogue, p. 533), states that Woodburn's attribution is erroneous, without, however, endorsing the opinion of Ottley, who having engraved the drawing in facsimile in his 'Italian School of Design,' accompanied it with the following observations (pp. 48, 49). After stating that he thinks the drawing was executed circa a.d i 506, in rivalry with Leonardo da Vinci's celebrated cartoon of the Battle of the Standard, he says: 'He (Raffaeilo) had long and atten- tively studied the cartoons of Da Vinci and Buonarroti, so often mentioned ; and that he now sought to emulate the first- named artist's performance appears from the admirable draw- ing imitated in the annexed plate (unless indeed I am wrong in my conviction as to its date); where Raffaeilo has treated the same subject as Leonardo ; but with this difference, that whereas CHAMBER OF CHARLEMAGNE, CIRCA A.D, 1514-17. 243 that master had represented his figures on horseback, Raffaello has designed those of the present composition on foot.' Ottley, however, in this account seems to have had some misgiving as to the period at which this drawing was executed; and probably, if he had not in the first instance persuaded himself that the composition had a direct relation to Leonardo's cartoon, he would have observed that the style of design pointed to a more advanced period of Raffaello's career than a.d. 1506. It does in fact unquestionably belong to the mature period of the master, at least as late as a.d. 15 14; at all events, if the drawing last described is of that period, so is the present one. It may be further observed that whilst this design bears no resemblance to any part of the fresco of the Saracens at Ostia, it is equally devoid of any resemblance to Leonardo's com- position. On the whole it must be admitted that Woodburn's opinion, which was doubtless also that of Sir T. Lawrence, is the more probable of the two. This is most likely the drawing described in the manuscript Antaldi Catalogue under the No, 21. (See Appendix, Note 17.) 1 i 2 DRAWINGS ASCRIBED TO RAFFAELLO HAVING REFERENCE TO THE FRESCOS OF THE LOGGIA OF THE VATICAN. Introductory Notice. The ' Loggie' are arcaded galleries or corridors open to the air, giving access to some of the principal apartments of the Vatican. They are in three stages ; and one of them, the Loggia on the second story, was decorated by Raffaello and his scholars. It gives access to the ' stanze' or suite of apartments, the fresco decorations of which had been in progress by him for some time before those of the Loggia were undertaken ; these latter seem to have been executed during the years a.d. 1515-18, at the same time with the frescos of the Chamber of Charlemagne. The Loggia is divided into thirteen compartments or arcades, the ceiling .of each forming a vault or cupola, and each cupola . containing four pictures in fresco. Forty-eight of these compositions represent subjects from the Old and four from the New Testament : and the series, as a whole, is some- times styled Raffaello's Bible. Elaborate arabesque ornaments in colours and in stucco surround these pictures and cover the supporting pilasters and wall spaces beneath. There are also twelve other pictorial subjects forming long friezes, painted in imitation of bronze bas-reliefs, underneath -the windows of the stanze which look into the Loggia. Raffaello is generally supposed to have made the designs both for the Bible subjects and the ornamental decorations; but the execution of the cartoons and the frescos is thought to have been almost entirely committed to his pupils, of whom Giulio Romano, Gian Francesco Penni, Giovanni da Udine, Pierino del Vaga, Polydoro da Caravaggio, Pellegrino da Modena, and Raffaello del Colle, were probably the chief. There is a singular scarcity of sketches and studies by Raffaello himself for the Loggia frescos. Although the drawings relating to these works are very numerous, they are nearly all in reality either the work of scholars, or else Copies from the finished frescos. (See Appendix, Note 23, for further remarks on the drawings for the Loggia series). None of the Oxford drawings for the Loggia frescos are authentic. LOGGIA OF THE VATICAN. CIRCA A.D. 151 5—1 518. 103. Copy from Raffaello. The Finding of Moses; probably a copy from the fresco painted in the eighth cupola of the Loggia. Pen drawing shaded with bistre and heightened with white, on light brown tinted paper. Length, \o\ inches. Height, g± inches. Collections : Duke of Alva, and Lawrence. The composition as here represented differs in no respect from the fresco. The drawing seems to be of the time, and by a scholar or follower of Raffaello. Passavant (Catalogue, No. 464) also remarks that it is only a copy, ^-"i 104. Raffaello (ascribed to). Study for a group of three women, supposed to have been executed for the Loggia fresco of the Finding of Moses. Drawing in red chalk. Width, i6\ inches. Height, iof inches. Collections : Antaldi and Lawrence. Although this drawing is not by the hand of Raffaello, it is a j work of some importance, inasmuch as to all appearance it is an old copy from an original study for a part of the fresco. 246 DRAWINGS BY RAFFAELLO. The figures are very different in action and intention from those of the corresponding group in the finished composition ; but they are sufficiently like it to render it almost certain that they were designed for this particular fresco; and the great excellence, and perhaps also the style of execution of the drawing (though seen only at second-hand through the medium of a copy), seem to point to Raffaello himself as its author. The group shows the two kneeling women about to rescue the infant Moses floating in his cradle on the Nile, and a third woman in a standing position behind. The latter figure seems to be only an attendant or female slave, whereas in the fresco it represents Pharaoh's daughter herself. The most con- spicuous of the kneeling women stretches out both hands in the drawing, in an attitude of expectation, as if the child were still at some distance from the margin of the water, and the expression of her upturned face is that of eager pitying ex- pectation; whereas in the fresco, the same woman is actually lifting the cradle containing the child out of the water. The other kneeling figure also has little if any resemblance to that of the fresco ; and all the figures are very differently draped. The drapery of the last-named kneeling figure, it should be observed, is repeated again in a more finished manner on the right of the drawing, agreeing in this respect with Raffaello's frequent practice. 105. Raffaello (ascribed to). Design supposed to have been made for the fresco of the Passage of the Red Sea, painted in the eighth cupola of the Loggia. Pen drawing in bistre. Length, 16 inches. Height, 9§ inches. Collections : Paignon-Dijonval and Lawrence. Passavant (Catalogue, No. 466) seems to have accepted this drawing as from the hand of Raffaello, and he has hastily described it as a drawing of four figures for the above fresco. But it is certainly not by the master, and it bears no re- semblance whatever to the composition as executed. It is LOGGIA OF THE VATICAN, CIRCA A.D. 1515-18. 247 however, of considerable merit, and is doubtless an original design of the period of RafFaello's works in the Vatican. The drawing consists of nine or ten figures, men, women, and children, some naked, and others draped. The principal group in the centre represents a woman seated in the act of protecting two naked children whom she enfolds in her lap, behind whom are several other figures confusedly huddled together, whilst a surging wave (or the column of fire?) bends or curls over the group as if on the point of overwhelming it. At each side are standing figures with draperies violently agitated as if by a furious wind, and in attitudes denoting endeavours to escape from the raging blast. The composition displays a somewhat exaggerated Michel Angelesque style of treatment, and it strongly recalls the design for the Moses and the Burning Bush (No. 91). Though somewhat obscure and uncertain, it does appear to be intended for the Passage of the Red Sea, and it may be supposed to represent the moment of the landing of the Israelites. In the opinion of the writer it is an original design for the Loggia fresco, by one of Raffaello's eminent assistants, but which was superseded by the entirely different one actually executed. That composition, it may be observed, is one of the weakest of the entire Loggia series, and seems scarcely worthy of Raffaello. - 106. Copy from Raffaello. Moses striking the Rock; copy, probably by a pupil of Raffaello, from the fresco painted in the eighth cupola of the Loggia. Bistre shaded drawing heightened with white on brown paper. Length, \ \\ inches. Height, 9 inches. Collections : Wicar and Lawrence. This drawing is very much injured and defaced. It does not in any way differ from the fresco, and it was evidently taken from it. Passavant (Catalogue, No. 560 f) notes it as a copy. cj 1 {j \ Us \\ 248 DRAWINGS BY RAFFAELLO. 107. Copy from Raffaello. The Last Supper- copy from the fresco painted in the thirteenth cupola of the Loggia. Pen and bistre washed drawing heightened with white, on broivn paper. Length, \o\ inches. Height, 7 inches. Collections : Wicar and Lawrence. An ancient but much injured copy, of very little merit, cor- responding in every respect with the fresco. Passavant (Catalogue, No. 510 g) also rejects it as unauthentic. 108. Ascribed to Raffaello, but more probably by glan francesco penni. Jacob wrestling with the Angel ; design for one of the subjects painted in chiaro'scuro under the windows of the Loggia of the Vatican. Pen drawing shaded with bistre and heightened with white, oit\ broivn tinted paper. Length, 15 J inches. Height, 5f inches. Collections: Duke of Alva, and Lawrence. This is in all probability the original design for the above composition, painted in imitation of bronze, under the window looking into the sixth arcade of the Loggia. It seems doubtful if any of this particular series of chiaro'scuro pictures were even designed by Raffaello, and Vasari expressly states that they were executed on the wall by Perino del Vaga. Passavant, however (vol. ii. p. 186, and again, Catalogue, No. 463), has classed this drawing amongst those by Raffaello himself. The writer has, however, no doubt whatever that it is the work of a scholar, and he thinks he sees in it unmistake- able evidence of the style of Penni. i LtL*. s<* wo w»Aie*Ktv «c &t,cUtu«iw tew ^*W**» £t~r Ta»l\i£tt (h>X I LOGGIA OF THE VATICAN, CIRCA A.D. 1515-18. 249 109. Ascribed to Raffaello, BUT MORE PROBABLY BY GlAN FRANCESCO PeNNI. David's charge to Bathsheba; design for one of the subjects painted in chiaro'scuro under the windows of the Loggia. Pen drawing in bistre, shaded with dark grey tint, on grey tinted ground. Length, \$\ inches. Height, 5! inches. Collections : Lord Hampden, R. Willett, Duroveray, and Lawrence. This subject is situated under the window looking into the eleventh arcade. It represents David on his deathbed, who has called Bathsheba before him, and is promising to proclaim her son Solomon king (1 Kings ii. 3). The drawing appears to be by the same hand as that last described, and in all probability it is the original design for the wall picture, with which it closely corresponds. Passavant (vol. ii. p. 187, and Catalogue, No, 468) seems, however, to accept it as the work of Raffaello. no. Raffaello (ascribed to). David giving his last charge to Solomon. Pen drawing in bistre. Width, \o\ inches. Height, >]\ inches. Collections : Rutgers, Dimsdale, and Lawrence. This design, very differently treated, represents another version of the subject last described. It is not, however, one of the same long frieze-like com- positions; and its well-proportioned oblong shape, and the general aspect of the composition, suggest that it may have ' Vt**, R/^,K«Uak* ,bwW*»t f,^ Kk r ' 2K0 DRAWINGS BY RAFFAELLO. been originally prepared to fill one of the cupola spaces of the Loggia. The subject is, however, not to be found amongst the ceiling frescos. Apparently this drawing is from the hand of Giovanni da Udine. It may perhaps be conjectured that no place having been found for it in the cupolas, this particular design was abandoned in favour of Gian Francesco Penni's rendering of the same event, which was executed under one of the windows. The drawing represents David reclining on a bed, on the right, with Solomon wearing a crown seated on a stool before him, behind whom are six standing figures, one of whom appears to be his mother Bathsheba. Passavant (Catalogue, No. 469) passes this drawing as authentic. To all appearance, however, neither the design nor the execution are those of the great master. 111. Raffaello (ascribed to). Joseph brought from Prison before Pharaoh. Pen and bis ire washed drawing, heightened with white, on pale brown tinted ground. Length, i6§ inches. Height, 6 inches. Collections : Revil and Lawrence. This drawing, which has every appearance of being an original work by the hand of Gian Francesco Penni, was described by Woodburn as 'The Judgment of Moses on the Sons of Levi' (Numb, xvi.), and as painted in the Loggia series. Passavant (Catalogue, No. 465) also adopts this explanation of the subject and its destination, and includes it amongst the genuine drawings of Raffaello. On the other hand, the same composition is engraved in Landon (pi. 239) under the former title, and in the description of the plates it is noticed as one of the designs executed in ' camaieu ' in the borders of the Sistine Chapel tapestries, and it is also there said to have been previously engraved by Santi Bartoli. The writer has no doubt that the composition re- presents the story of Joseph, but that it had nothing to do with the tapestries. He believes that it is an original drawing LOGGIA OF THE VATICAN, CIRCA A.D. 1515-18. 25 1 prepared for one of the compositions painted under the windows of the Loggia. It was not, however, one of the designs actually executed. Neither of the before-mentioned subjects indeed are to be found in any shape in the Loggia ; the probability therefore is that it was an abortive design made for that series. It should be further noted that neither is any such composition to be found in any of the tapestry borders, and consequently that Landon's attribution of it to that series is a mistake. The composition is distinguished by considerable animation and dramatic action, and as a drawing it is one of the most excellent of the Raffaello school series in the Oxford Col- lection. The design comprises eleven figures arranged as a long frieze. Pharaoh on his throne, in the centre, listens attentively to the recital of Joseph, who kneels before him on the left. Two groups of figures in various animated attitudes stand on the right and left respectively; one of the figures on the right, with a vase or amphora placed near him on the ground, being probably Pharaoh's chief butler. 112. Raffaello (ascribed to). The Preparation of a Repast; on the right a man preparing to kill a kid; a semicircular or lunette- shaped drawing. Pen drawing washed zvith bistre. Length, io\ inches. Height, 5 inches. Collections : Duke of Alva, and Laivrence. This composition, described by Woodburn as 'preparing the savoury meats,' might at first sight be taken for one of those executed on the Loggia ceilings. It is not, however, to be found in that series. The drawing is apparently by some one of the contemporary scholars of Raffaello, certainly not by the master himself, and yet Passavant (Catalogue, No. 549), under the title of ' Les apprets d'un repas,' describes it, though very inaccurately, at some length, and seems to consider it an authentic work of, Raffaello. fi|V4»? ^V'\£ 't be a k k 2 ¥\l 2 5 2 DRAWINGS BY RAFFAELLO* i» ECS* v 1 t \« 113. School of Raffaello. Ascribed to Giovanni da Udine. Sheet of studies of eagles, an owl, and other birds. Pen drawing in bistre. Height, io| inches. Width, 8| inches. Collections : Antaldi and Lawrence. The exact agreement in style of these studies of birds, chiefly eagles in various attitudes and grouping, with similar ones painted on the pilasters and other decorations of the Loggia, and also the touch and general style of manipulation, clearly point to Giovanni da Udine as their author ; in all probability indeed, this was a sheet of studies prepared directly for the Loggia decorations. Passavant (Catalogue, No. 557) also rightly ascribes these studies to Giovanni da Udine. 114. School of Raffaello. Sheet of studies in the style of the antique. Pen drawing in bistre. Length, x$\ inches. Height, JO* Z S^T&LJLI ( I I V 254 DRAWINGS BY RAFFAELLO. Pen draivings in bistre. Height, 12 J inches. Width, 9^ inches. Collections : Wicar and Lawrence. The principal side contains an elaborate arabesque design in the style of the antique, and on the reverse is a composition of acanthus scroll foliage, seemingly designed for a frieze or oblong panel. The style and technique of the drawings are certainly those of Giovanni da Udine, and there can be little doubt that they are by his hand. DRAWINGS HAVING REFERENCE TO THE CARTOONS FOR TAPESTRIES EXECUTED FOR THE SISTINE CHAPEL. Introductory Notice. There were two series of compositions executed by Raffaello and his scholars, to serve as patterns for tapestry hangings; the first of them being eleven in number, and the second thirteen. They took the shape of finished cartoons or pictures executed on paper with chalk and distemper colours. The first set was executed by order of Pope Leo X, a.d. 1 5 15-16, and the tapestries executed from them at Arras in Flanders seem to have arrived in Rome a.d. 15 18, and to have been hung up in the position for which they were destined, in the Sistine Chapel, in the following year. There can be no doubt that Raffaello made all the designs and preparatory studies for these, and as little, that the enlargement of the designs, and their execution as cartoons, were mainly effected by pupils working under his immediate direction. Of the pupils so occupied, Vasari, in fact, expressly names Gian Francesco Penni and Giovanni da Udine. Seven of these cartoons, formerly preserved at Hampton Court, are still extant*; the four others have probably perished. The subjects of ten of the tapestries relate to the history of the Apostles, and the eleventh composition, intended to serve as the altar-piece of the Sistine Chapel, represents the coronation of the Virgin. * The copies of them in the Oxford Galleries, executed in oil colours, are by Henry Cooke, an English painter, who was employed by King William III, towards the end of the seventeenth century, to repair the original cartoons. 25 6 DRAWINGS BY RAFFAELLO. The second series represents subjects from the life of our Saviour; the tapestries are still extant in Rome, but of the cartoons only a few fragments have been preserved. Those tapestries were executed by order of King Francis I, as a present to Leo X, on the occasion of the canonisation of St. Francois de Paul (May i, 15 19); the probability is that the designs were undertaken some time previously, but the tapestries were apparently not delivered in Rome till after the death of both Raffaello and Pope Leo. Raffaello's share in this series was much less than in the former ; apparently only three or four of the designs were of his invention, while the remainder, and. probably the execution of all the cartoons, were by scholars, the ablest of whom seem to have been Giulio Romano and Francesco Penni. THE SISTINE CHAPEL TAPESTRIES, CIRCA A.D. 15 15-16. 117. Raffaello (ascribed to). The Miraculous Draught of Fishes — a copy from the cartoon, probably by a scholar of Raffaello. Pen and bistre shaded drawing on pale brown paper. Length, 13^ inches. Height, 6 inches. Collections : Duke of Alva, and Lawrence. This drawing agrees in every respect with the composition as represented in the cartoon, which is one of the Hampton Court series. A similar contemporaneous drawing, by a different and abler hand, is preserved in the Royal Collection at Windsor Castle. Passavant (Catalogue, No. 560 h) notes the present drawing as a copy. 118. Raffaello (ascribed to). Cardinal Giovanni dei Medici, afterwards Pope Leo X, coming to Rome, is welcomed by an allegorical figure of the City; in the foreground are recumbent figures of the Tiber and the Arno. Pen drawing shaded with bistre tint. Width, 1 1 inches. Height, 9^ inches. Collections : Zanetti, Denon, and Lawrence. The composition represented in this drawing is one of several representing events in the life of Pope Leo X ; they are l 1 258 DRAWINGS BY RAFFAELLO. introduced in panels, within an architectural border or freize, underneath the large subjects of the tapestries. The present composition is one of those placed underneath the Miraculous Draught of Fishes, the original cartoon of which forms one of the Hampton Court series; in the tapestry it is executed in monochrome in imitation of yellow bronze or gold. Passavant (vol. ii. pi. 189), following Vasari, is of opinion that the borders of the tapestries were from the designs of Francesco Penni and Giovanni da Udine. He notices the present drawing (vol. ii. p. 513), and states that there are repliche of it at Vienna and at Paris. The design has been frequently copied by sixteenth-century followers of Raffaello. 119. Raffaello (ascribed to). The outstretched left arm of our Saviour j fragment of a copy of the cartoon of Christ's Charge to Peter. Executed in distemper colours on paper. Length, zo\ inches. Height, 12 inches. Collections : R. Cosway and Lawrence. The original cartoon of this subject forms one of the Hampton Court series. The present fragment is executed exactly in the same manner, and it is probably part of a contemporaneous reproduction. Passavant (Catalogue, No. 560 j) notes it as a copy. 120. Copy from Raffaello. Paul and Barnabas at Lystra; a sketch made from Raffaello's cartoon of that subject. Pen drawing in bistre. Width, 8f inches. Height, 6 inches. Collections: Richardson, J. Barnard, and Lawrence. SIS TINE CHAPEL TAPESTRIES, CIRCA A.D. 1515-16. 259 This is a commonplace copy, probably made from the tapestry. On the reverse is a slight sketch or reminiscence of the tapestry of the Healing of the Lame Man at the Beautiful Gate of the Temple. It is not noticed by Passavant, having been one of the drawings never yet exhibited at Oxford. 121. Raffaello. Design for the tapestry-hanging representing the Coro- nation of the Virgin, executed circa a.d. 1515-16. Pen drawing in bistre. Height, 1 3§ inches. Width, 1 1 § inches. Collections : Mariette, Bordage, B. Lempereur, and Lawrence. This beautiful drawing is unquestionably by the hand of Raffaello, and it is the more important as furnishing a reliable typical example of the great master's style of pen drawing at the zenith of his power. Ten of the tapestries ordered by Leo X were intended to fit into spaces in the lower part of the side walls of the Sistine Chapel, and their respective dimensions (in width) were determined by the projecting piers or pilasters, which bound each space; but the eleventh tapestry was designed to serve as the altar-piece at the east end, standing in front of the wall on which Michel Angelo's great fresco of the Last Judgment was afterwards painted. In all probability the tapestry was so placed until the execution of the last-named great work; and doubtless during that period were executed the only graphic records of the composition we now possess (other than the present drawing): these are in the shape of two engravings, one by the 'Master of the die' (Bartsch, No. 9), the other an anonymous copy of the same plate, in the manner of Agostino Veneziano, marked with a different 'die' (Bartsch, No. 56). l 1 2 i6o DRAWINGS BY RAFFAELLO. Nothing is now known either of the cartoon or of the tapestry itself, and the probability is that both have perished *. The composition ultimately assumed a very different aspect from that presented by this drawing: the print, which it is presumable was taken from the finished tapestry, represents the Virgin and our Saviour seated side by side on an elevated throne, the Virgin being crowned by her son; above them appears the Eternal Father in the act of benediction, sur- rounded by four angels, and also the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove, surrounded by a glory of rays. At the side of the throne two angels draw back a curtain; beneath, on the left, St. John the Baptist points towards the Saviour. The present drawing was probably a study for the general disposition of the subject comprising the greater part of the design. There are, however, no indications of the figure of the Almighty in the upper part, or of the two angels drawing back curtains : and a blank space is left in the centre, occupied in the print by the steps of the throne and two infant angels with scrolls. The drawing, in short, comprises the two figures of our Saviour and the Virgin, seated on a rich architectural throne, and lower down, on each side, the flanking groups of standing figures. Thus, only the main features or framework of the design are given; but these, especially the two principal figures, are executed in Raffaeilo's most finished and careful style of pen drawing. The Virgin, on the left, clad from head to foot in a volu- minous mantle, bends forward, her hands clasped on her bosom, in an attitude of adoration. Our Saviour holds up a crown with His right hand above the head of the Virgin, and is in the act of placing it on her brow. The drapery of both these figures is most carefully and * Passavant gives the following information (vol. ii. p. 211): — ' Le catalogue de la Calcographie pontificale, public en 1748, dans lequel se trouve d<§crite la gravure de cette meme composition, nous fournit le renseignement suivant : " In arazzo nella Cappella di Sisto IV in Vaticano." II est done prouv6 qu'une tapisserie avec figures plus grandes que nature decorait autrefois l'autel de la chapelle Sistine. II est aussi question de cette tapisserie dans le m^moire des frais de port, que nous avons cite, et qui mentionne onze tapisseries apportees de Flandres h, Rome en 1518. Et maintenant, que cette tapisserie soit encore enfouie dans quelque coin du Vatican ou que, pendant les orages de la Revolution, elle ait 6te enlevee et detruite par l'appat de l'or qu'elle pouvait contenir, e'est un point que nous ne sommes pas parvenu k eclaircir.' SISTINE CHAPEL TAPESTRIES, CIRCA A.D. 1515-16. 26 1 minutely designed, evidently with the aid of the lay figure, and the heads, hands, and feet, are also exquisitely drawn; the rich ornamentation of the throne is indicated in a slighter manner, and the two sides are different, i.e. the design is varied, indicating that the artist's choice in that particular was still undecided. The figures at the side standing full length are drawn in a bolder and less finished manner, with grand sweeping lines full of mastery and grace. On the right, the principal figure standing in front is St. Paul, holding a book and a sword, behind him is a sainted monk, probably St. Francis; the heads of one or two other figures are seen in the background. On the left, the corresponding group represents St. Peter with a book and the keys, behind him St. Jerome wearing a cardinal's hat, and the head of a third figure is slightly indicated. Passavant (Catalogue, No. 492) notices this drawing, evidently deeming it one of the most important of the Oxford series. It was engraved in facsimile by Woodburn for the Lawrence Gallery, but the plate was never published. 122. Raffaello (ascribed to). The Adoration of the Magi ; finished drawing for the tapestry of that subject. Pen and bistre washed drawing heightened with white, on pale brown paper. Length, 1 5^ inches. Height, 9§ inches. Collections : R. Udney and Lawrence. The composition here represented was executed as the third of the second series of tapestries. The drawing differs in some respects from the tapestry, and it is evidently of the period. Passavant (Catalogue, No. 560 k) notes it as by Giulio Romano, but the execution of the design is too weak and laboured to have proceeded from the masterly pen of that great artist. The draughtsman's hand seems to be that of a scholar of Raffaello from whom we have many other drawings, 262 DRAWINGS BY RAFFAELLO. but who has not as yet been identified. It may be presumed therefore that it is a copy by one of the younger members of the Raffaello school, from an original drawing or cartoon by Giulio. 123. Raffaello (formerly ascribed to). The Adoration of the Magi. Pen drawing shaded with bistre and heightened with white, on light brown tinted paper. Width, \7.\ inches. Height, 8| inches. Collections : Cosway, J. Harman, and Lawrence. On the left of the composition the Virgin is sitting in front of a ruined building with the Infant Saviour, represented as a naked child of two or three years old, on her knee. On the same side is St. Joseph bending forward with an earthen fire-pot in his hands. On the opposite side the Magi and attendant figures, seven in number, are kneeling in adoration, and in the background on the same side, are two other figures on horseback. Passavant (Catalogue, No. 560 1) says that this drawing is by Giulio Romano in the manner of Raffaello. Although doubtless a contemporary work by one of the eminent scholars of Raffaello, it has no resemblance whatever to the well-known drawings of Giulio. The writer has, however, noted other drawings by this same master; but there is as yet, no positive clue to his identification. Not improbably this design was one of those prepared for the second series of tapestries, but laid aside in favour of the composition represented in the previous drawing. 124. Raffaello (ascribed to). . The Presentation in the Temple j design for the fourth tapestry of the second series. SISTINE CHAPEL TAPESTRIES, CIRCA A.D. 1515-16. 263 Pen drawing washed with bistre and heightened ivith zvhite, on brown tinted paper. Width, 12 inches. Height, 10 inches. Collections : Paignon-Dijonval, Dimsdale, and Lawrence. There can be little doubt that this beautiful drawing is by the hand of Gian Francesco Penni, and it is probably the original design for the tapestry. The scene is laid in the portico of the Temple. The High Priest accompanied by two young Levites receives the Virgin and St. Joseph, who present to him the Infant Saviour. On the side of the High Priest are other figures in the background; and on the left, behind the group of the Virgin and Joseph, are three women, one of whom carries a basket containing doves for the offering. More than one other ancient drawing of this com- position is known, but the present is incomparably the best. See notice in Passavant, vol. ii. p. 222. Passavant also (Catalogue, No. 560 h) ascribes it to Penni. 125. Raffaello (ascribed to). The Resurrection; design for the fifth tapestry of the second series. Pen drawing washed with bistre and heightened with white, on brown tinted paper. Length, 2o\ inches. Height, \o\ inches. Collections : Wicar and Lawrence. The invention of this composition, which greatly resembles in style that of the Adoration of the Kings (No. 122), is probably due to Giulio Romano. The present drawing, how- ever, though apparently made before the execution of the tapestry, and by a scholar of Raffaello, is by a weaker hand than that of Giulio. But Passavant (vol. ii. p. 222) asserts that it is by Raffaello, and he repeats that opinion further on (Catalogue, No. 478). In the writer's opinion, however, there should not be any hesitation in classing it as a production of one of the less distinguished of his scholars. 264 DRAWINGS BY RAFFAELLO. 126. Raffaello (ascribed to). Our Saviour and the two Disciples at Emmaus ; design for the seventh tapestry of the second series. Pen drawing washed with bistre and heightened with white, on pale brown paper. Height, 1 of- inches. Width, *]\ inches. Collections : Metz and Lawrence. Some differences betwixt the composition as seen in this drawing and the tapestry seem to prove that it was not a copy from the finished work, and it is possible that it may be the original design by a scholar of Raffaello ; it is at any rate a sixteenth-century drawing by a dexterous hand, but which cannot be identified. Passavant (vol. ii. p. 223) rightly qualifies it as by a scholar. 127- Raffaello (ascribed to). Sixteen fragments of cartoons, principally hands and feet and portions of drapery. Executed in distemper colours on paper. Collections : Richardson and Lawrence. The style of these fragments indicates that they are of the school of Raffaello. They appear to be disconnected pieces of several different cartoons, or more likely portions of old copies of cartoons ; the greater number are of tame and feeble execution. They appear to belong to the tapestry series, but it is not possible to identify the several cartoons from which they were cut. They are mostly of small size, the two largest pieces measuring respectively 20 inches by 14, and 16 inches by 16; on the whole they are of little import- ance. They are not mentioned by Passavant, owing to their never having been exhibited at Oxford. DRAWINGS FOR THE MOSAICS OF THE CUPOLA OF THE CHIGI CHAPEL IN THE CHURCH OF SANTA MARIA DEL POPOLO IN ROME. Introductory Notice. Besides the frescos of the Farnesina and the Chapel in Santa Maria della Pace (see before, pp. 122 and 235), the Banker Agostino Chigi succeeded in causing Raffaello to undertake also the entire construction and decoration of a sepulchral chapel in another of the Roman churches — Santa Maria del Popolo. The work seems to have been commenced under the pontificate of Julius II, and to have advanced slowly and fitfully till the death of both Chigi and Raffaello in the same month of the same year (a.d. 1520). A stop seems then to have been put to the execution of the design as originally projected; the main fabric, however, was com- pleted at least as early as a.d. 151 6. The most important feature of the Chigi Chapel is the hemispherical cupola which covers it; this is decorated with mosaics, representing in separate compartments the Almighty creating or ordering the movements of the sun and moon and the five planets. With- out doubt the designs for these subjects were made by Raffaello, the drawings about to be described bearing con- clusive testimony to that effect. It may be safely assumed that the cartoons for these alle- gorical figures were made by one or other of Raffaello's pupils from these and other similar sketches by the master, but the mosaics done from them were the work of a certain Luca de Pace of Venice, who has left his signature and the date of their execution (a.d. 151 6) upon them. These mosaics are, however, inadequate representations of Raffaello's admirable compositions; they are, in fact, coarse and mechanical pro- ductions, and but for the noble inventions embodied in them they would be unworthy of notice. The series of compositions has been several times engraved, in the last instance and in by far the most excellent manner, by Professor Louis Gruner, of Dresden. (' I mosaici della cupola nella Cappella Chigiana, &c. ; Roma, 1839, and London, 2nd edition, 1850/) m m THE CHIGI MOSAICS. CIRCA A.D. 1 5 l6. 128. Raffaello. Sheet of studies, drawn on both sides, for the figure of the Almighty ordering the movement of the sun and moon and planets ; executed in mosaic in the centre of the cupola of the Chigi Chapel. Drawings in red chalk. Height, 9 inches. Width, 8^ inches. Collections : Wicar and Lawrence. These drawings are by Raffaello's own hand, and both in conception and execution they display unusual grandeur of style. Woodburn (Oxford Catalogue, No. 44) remarks that they are in the manner of Michel Angelo : and although they are thoroughly Raffaellesque, yet in a certain austere loftiness of con- ception, and a powerful sculpture-like breadth of manner, they certainly bear a resemblance to similar works of the great Florentine. They, however, manifest still more interesting and important analogies with the designs of another great artist of contem- porary date — Correggio. Raffaello indeed seems to have here completely anticipated that great master in those particular qualities, which are usually supposed to have been invented by him. Whoever, in fact, is familiar with the red chalk drawings of Correggio still preserved in different collections, in particular THE CHIGI MOSAICS, CIRCA A.D. 1516. 267 the numerous foreshortened studies of saints and angels prepared for the cupola of the Cathedral of Parma, cannot fail to be struck with the extraordinary resemblance there is betwixt them and these drawings of Raffaello; this resem- blance is perhaps partly owing to the fact that all the figures of the Chigi Chapel mosaics, are, like those of Correggio's cupola frescos, drawn in violent foreshortened positions as if seen from beneath ( £ di sotto in su'), a method of representation which, although put in practice to a certain extent in the previous century by Melozzo da Forli, was certainly carried to its full development by Correggio in the great work in question. But another striking characteristic of Correggio's works, — 'Chiar'oscuro,' or the artistic manage- ment of light and shade, productive of the quality of breadth and suavity of effect, — is in these drawings of Raffaello dis- played in a manner and degree which Correggio never sur- passed. The similarity extends even to the technical mani- pulation or handling of the chalk; and were it not certain that the present studies were by the hand of Raffaello, and made at a considerably earlier period than the designs for the cupola of Parma (the cupola was finished in a.d. i53°)> it might almost be imagined that they were renderings by Correggio in his own manner from the finished compositions of Raffaello. At the same time it must be admitted that there is an appreciable difference in style. These drawings disclose the 4 purity ' of Raffaello as opposed to the ' grace ' of Correggio ; in other words, Raffaello's drawings, instinct with ideal beauty, also display a simplicity and perfect truth of design, which in Correggio's Parma drawings is often replaced by artificial mannerism, manifested in a tendency to soft and flowing forms, the result of which is prettiness, not beauty. That these drawings are really from the hand of Raffaello, is conclusively proved by the fact that the present studies, two in number, made at front and back of the sheet respectively, are for the same figure: one of them being the first drawing from the living model placed in the required position, probably on a scaffolding above the draughtsman, and the other the idealised figure represented nearly as it was executed. The study from nature on one side of the present sheet was apparently made from one of Raffaello's companions or assistants, according to his usual practice. The model is m m 2 268 DRAWINGS BY RAFFAELLO. represented with both hands uplifted, exactly as in the mosaic, clad in his shirt and the tight-fitting hose of the period ; the head is clearly a literal portrait study; the figure is foreshortened with admirable skill, so as to appear to be looking down upon the spectator. It should be noticed that it is drawn in the reversed position. The drawing on the other face of the sheet represents the same figure of the Almighty, but idealised and turned in the same direction as in the mosaic; the arms are upheld by two infant angels, as in the finished work ; but in the mosaic five other figures of angels or cherubs are added. The figures of the Chigi mosaics are arranged in quad- rangular ' caissons' or sunk panels radiating from a circular compartment in the centre. In this last compartment the present group is placed; the other compartments are filled with half-length figures of angels in various attitudes, standing on spheres, representing the celestial bodies, which at the signal of the Almighty they are about to set in motion. All these figures are represented as if they were in the heavens outside the cupola, so that they appear as if looking into the chapel. The drawing next to be described represents one of these angels. On comparing the present drawings with Gruner's beautiful engraving from the mosaic, the infinite superiority of the original design will be at once apparent ; in it the head of the Almighty Father is distinguished by a grandeur of conception approaching the sublime, whereas in the mosaic, the type is insipid and commonplace, resembling that of the classical Jupiter. Passavant (Catalogue, No. 460) rightly includes the drawing amongst those indubitably by RafTaello. 129. Raffaello. Study for the Angel presiding over the planet Jupiter, for one of the mosaics of the cupola of the Chigi Chapel. Drawing in red chalk. Height, 7f inches. Width, 6f inches. THE CHIGI MOSAICS, CIRCA A.D. 1516. 269 Collections : Wicar and Lawrence. This beautiful drawing, unquestionably by Raffaello, is executed in precisely the same vigorous style as those of the previous sheet. The figure is in the reversed position from that of the mosaic, but in other respects the resemblance betwixt the two is very close, the only noticeable difference being in the fact that the wings are outspread and raised upwards in the drawing, whereas they are drooping downwards in the mosaic. Noticed as original by Passavant (Catalogue, No 461). LATE ROMAN PERIOD. CIRCA A.D. 1517-20. 130. Raffaello (ascribed to). Study for the head of St. Elizabeth in the picture of the Holy Family, known as c La Perla, 3 now in the Gallery at Madrid. Drawing in red chalk. Height, 10 inches. Width, 7^ inches. Collections : Wicar and Lawrence. The picture for which this drawing is supposed to have been one of the preparatory studies was formerly regarded as one of the most important easel pictures of Raffaello's later time. Modern criticism, however, has divested it of much of its interest ; it is now generally admitted to have been painted by Giulio Romano, though from Raffaello's design and doubtless under his immediate superintendence. There is no record of the date of its production, but it may be safely ascribed to the last year of Raffaello's life. The picture seems to have been acquired by the Duke of Mantua, who was the patron of Giulio Romano, probably not long after its execution, and about a cen- tury afterwards it came with the rest of the Mantuan pictures into the possession of King Charles I. When the king's collections were sold by order of the Parliament, it was purchased, with many other treasures of art, by the Spanish Ambassador Don Alonzo de Cardenas for King Philip IV, who, on receiving it, exclaimed 'that is my pearl;' hence the above appellation. LATE ROMAN PERIOD, CIRCA A.D. 1517-20. 2J I It seems almost certain that the present study was prepared for the picture ; it is a powerful and masterly drawing, perhaps on the whole not unworthy of Raffaello himself ; but the writer fails to perceive in it any certain evidence of authenticity, and he inclines to believe it to be from the hand of Giulio Romano. Passavant, however, seems to have considered it to be by Raffaello (see vol. ii. p. 252, and Catalogue, 480). 131. Raffaello (ascribed to). Study of drapery for the portrait of Leo X in the picture representing the Pope with the two Cardinals Giulio dei Medici and De Rossi. Chalk drawing on grey paper. Height, 165 inches. Width, iof inches. Collections : Wicar and Lawrence. The celebrated picture of the above subject is in the col- lection of the Pitti Palace in Florence, and a scarcely less famous 'replica' of it by the hand of Andrea del Sarto, is preserved in the Museum at Naples. The composition represents the Pope seated in an arm-chair at a table on which are placed a silver bell and an open book adorned with rich illuminations. On the left near him stands the Cardinal Giulio dei Medici, afterwards Pope Clement VII, and on the right Cardinal de Rossi, his hands placed on the back of the chair in which the Pope is seated. The present study represents the draped figure of the Pope, with slight indications only of the head and left hand, the chair, and the outline of the table; it is a vigorous and beautiful drawing by a great master, yet the writer cannot see in it the hand of Raffaello. Some slight variations in the details of the drapery and the chair seem to favour the supposition that the drawing was a study for the arrangement of the drapery made either from the Pope himself as he sat, or else from the lay figure; but these indications are not conclusive, and, on the other hand, it is possible that the drawing was made at a later period from DRAWINGS BY RAFFAELLO. the picture itself. In support of this latter view it may be observed, that the entire aspect and technic of the drawing seem to be of a rather later time than that of Raffaello, and that it is executed on grey paper, a material rarely employed during the first half of the sixteenth century, and, as far as the writer's observation extends, never by Raffaello himself. The writer indeed inclines to believe that the drawing is by Andrea del Sarto, whose breadth of handling and dexterous touch he thinks he can recognise in it; some analogy may however, perhaps, be thought to be perceptible with the numerous drawings of Francesco Salviati, a still later Florentine master. It is extremely probable that the drapery and accessories of the picture were executed, under Raffaello' s supervision, by Giulio Romano ; indeed, a passage in Vasari's interesting account of the picture in the life of Ardrea del Sarto indirectly says so ; and if the present drawing displayed any marked resemblance to those of Giulio, it might, perhaps, be presumed that it was a preparatory study for the picture by him : whilst, however, it is not impossible that the drawing should be by Giulio, it seems to the writer to be just as unlike his drawings as it is those of Raffaello*. The authorship of this drawing must therefore be left for further consideration ; in the meantime, the reader is referred, for additional materials for information, to the interesting account of the picture, and of the copy of it by Andrea del Sarto in Passavant's work, vol. ii. p. 269 ; that writer, it should be observed (vol. ii. p. 272, and Catalogue, No. 552), seems to accept this drawing without misgiving as by Raffaello himself. 132. Raffaello. The carrying off of Helen • composition of seven un- draped figures. Pen drawing in bistre. Width, 1 63; inches. Height, 10 inches. * Giulio, it is true, frequently made use of the grey or blue paper here employed, but, as there is reason to think, only at a later time, i.e. during his Mantuan period. LATE ROMAN PERIOD, CIRCA A.D. 1517-20. 273 Collections : Rutgers, Plooss van Amstel, Jacob Corntz, Verstegh, and Lawrence, This authentic drawing of Raffaello's later period is unfortu- nately faded and otherwise injured; but it is apparently an unique design, and it has been long known and celebrated from the facsimile engraving taken from it. Nothing is known of the composition for which it may be supposed to have been prepared. In the centre two men are seizing a female who resists their endeavours to carry her off towards the left. On the same side a woman is seen hurrying forwards ; and on the opposite side is a group of two naked men, with a slight sketch of a third, who appear to be warding off the attack of an enemy. It was engraved, on a reduced scale and in the reversed position, towards the commencement of the last century, by Bernard Picart in his 'Impostures innocentes,' and again in Landon's work, pi. 144. Though not an attractive design it displays an admirable power of drawing the human figure in motion, and there can be no doubt that it is actually from Raffaello's own hand. In a.d. 1800 this important drawing was purchased by M. Verstegh from the collection of the previous possessor (Corntz) for the insignificant sum of 28 florins. Passavant (Catalogue, No. 527) accepts it as genuine. 133. Raffaello (ascribed to). St. Jerome kneeling in penitence. Drawing in black chalk repassed with the pen in bistre. Height, 10 inches. Width, 7| inches. Collections : Jeremiah Harman and Lawrence. Nothing is known of the work for which this study may be supposed to have been prepared. The saint kneeling, towards the right, naked to the waist, is in the act of beating his bosom with a stone. The figure is designed in a somewhat exaggerated style of muscular development: hence Passavant's judgment upon the drawing (Catalogue, No. 560 m m) that it is by an imitator of Michel Angelo. The writer, however, 274 DRAWINGS BY RAFFAELLO. although not entirely convinced that it is by Raffaello, cannot, on the other hand, subscribe to Passavant's opinion; he sees in it many points of resemblance to the style and technic of Raffaello's later drawings, and hesitates in condemning it as spurious. It should be noted also that the paper bears the well-known water-mark of crossed arrows, as engraved in the Table of Marks (No. 76), and this is copied from the paper on which an authentic drawing of Raffaello for the 'Disputa' series is made. The authorship of this drawing is therefore left as an open question. *4& ^Rp SERIES OF DRAWINGS PREPARED FOR A COM- POSITION OF THE RESURRECTION OF OUR SAVIOUR. RAFFAELLO'S LATEST PERIOD, CIRCA A.D. 1519-2O. Introductory Notice. The Oxford Collection contains four separate designs having reference to the above subject, and four more draw- ings for the same picture are extant elsewhere ; they were all evidently made at the same time, and there can be no doubt that many other studies for the same work have perished. These drawings are unquestionably by Raffaello's own hand, and their style is of so marked a character as to show that they belong to a definite period of the artist's career — that of its conclusion. In short, they seem to prove that Raffaello had (circa a.d. 1519-20) designed, and carried far towards realisation, a work destined to take the shape of a grand altar-piece, equal in importance, and very similar in mode of treatment, to the Transfiguration. There is no record of the work other than that furnished by these drawings, and the first circumstantial notice of it is now offered. The several drawings, including those in the Oxford series, which will be hereafter described in detail, are as follows : — No. 1. Pen sketch showing the general disposition of the entire composition, formerly in the Lawrence Collection, engraved in facsimile by Woodburn in the Lawrence Gallery ; afterwards for some years in the possession of the late Sir John Hippisley, and now in that of W. Mitchell, Esq. in London. x n 2 276 DRAWINGS BY RAFFAELLO. No. 2. Pen drawing showing the upper part only of the composition with variations ; in the Wicar Museum at Lille. No. 3. Pen drawing of similar aspect, showing the lower part of the composition, also differing in some respects from the correspondent portion of the drawing, No. 1. Oxford Collection, No. 134. No. 4. Finished chalk study of a recumbent undraped figure representing one of the Roman soldiers in the foreground of the composition. Oxford Collection, No. 135. No. 5. Similarly executed study in black chalk for a figure in the foreground, another of the Roman soldiers guarding the sepulchre. Oxford Collection, No. 136. No. 6. Sheet of slight pen sketches apparently for figures introduced into the foreground of the picture; drawn on the reverse of the previous drawing. No. 7. Finished chalk drawing ; group of two figures also representing Roman soldiers or guardians of the sepulchre. Royal Collection, Windsor Castle. No. 8. Another similar study of a Roman soldier with an axe in his hand, also for the foreground of the picture. Windsor Collection. The above drawings comprise what there is good reason to suppose was the first general design for the work ; further sketches and essays in emendation of the composition therein sketched out ; and a series of careful studies apparently from living models for several of the principal figures ; the last named being part of the series of drawings which, according to Raffaello's usual practice, formed the last stage of preparation previous to the execution of the cartoon. Whether or not therefore the composition was finally carried out as a cartoon, it may be safely assumed that it was, at all events, completely settled in the artist's mind. Woodbum, in his Exhibition Catalogue of one hundred drawings of the Lawrence-Raffaello series (a.d. 1836), first noticed the general drawing (No. 1 in the previous list) as an authentic study by Raffaello for an unknown work * ; but he failed to discover the relation which the other drawings, Nos. 3, 4, 5, and 6 (also in his possession at that time) bear to the same composition, and he has erroneously catalogued * Page 18. 38. • The Ascension of our Lord from the Tomb ; a magnificent composition of several figures, admirably sketched with the pen, and particularly valuable as no painting is known of this grand work. Superb. From the Collection of the Duke of Alva.' RAFFAELLO'S LATEST PERIOD, CIRCA A.D. 1519-20. 277 two of them as 'Designs for the History of Constantine, in the Vatican.' Pasavant, however, has displayed still less critical acumen; for although acquainted with all the drawings above enumerated, he not only ignored Woodburn's discovery, and in like manner failed to recognise them as belonging to a connected series, but the observations which he has made upon each separate drawing are for the most part entirely erroneous ; his remarks indeed have only served to confuse and mislead succeeding observers. Passavant, in the first place, dismisses the drawing No. 1 (Catalogue, vol. ii. p. 537 bb) as ' the work of a pupil only; ' at the same time he accepts, though with manifest misgivings, the- Lille drawing, No. 2, as genuine *. No. 3 also (the Oxford drawing) Passavant summarily rejects as the invention of a scholar (Catalogue, No. 560 t). In regard to Nos. 4, 5, and 6 (the Oxford studies), although he accepts them as authentic, he repeats Woodburn's error in ascribing them to the 'Battle of Constantine' (Catalogue, Nos. 520 and 521). No. 7 (the Windsor drawing) he accepts as by Raffaello, but also wrongly ascribes it to the last-mentioned work ; and finally, in No. 8 (also at Windsor and accepted by him as genuine), he thinks he sees a resemblance to one of the figures in the fresco of the Deliverance of St. Peter, in the Vatican (Catalogue, No. 43). So far back as a.d. 1857 the writer, on his first inspection of the Lille Collection, recognised the relation of the Wicar drawing (No. 2) to the general sketch (No. 1), then well known to him as in the possession of the late Sir John Hippisley, and he soon afterwards discovered the further relation to the two of the Oxford and Windsor drawings. Subsequently Mr. Ruland, in the course of the formation of the Windsor Collection illustrating the works of Raffaello, by order of the Prince Consort, independently discerned the nature and relation of the series. * Passavant, Catalogue, No. 374. After his description of the drawing he remarks : ' Ce n'est pas sans une hesitation scrupuleuse que nous avons range" cette esquisse parmi les dessins authentiques de Raphael.' The writer agrees with Passavant in accepting the Lille drawing as authentic, but if any one of the eight drawings above enumerated is open to suspicion it is that one. Had Passavant given any such scrupulous consideration to the others, it seems impossible that he could have escaped the conviction that they are all by the same hand, and for one and the same work. 278 DRAWINGS BY RAFFAELLO. It now remains to describe the work as it is brought in evidence by these drawings. In the first place, the composition bears a strong resemblance in its general nature and aspect to that of the Transfiguration; it represents the moment of the Resurrection of our Saviour from the sepulchre, and, like the Transfiguration, the composition may be considered to be divided into an upper and a lower portion. In it, our Saviour is seen ascending in the midst of an oval glory, surrounded by adoring angels and cherubs, from whence proceeds an overpowering radiance, which dazzles and con- founds the guardians of the sepulchre. In the lower portion these figures are represented in violently foreshortened attitudes, some awakening in affright, others thrown prostrate and blinded by the supernatural effulgence shed upon them. The empty sepulchre, in the form of a sarcophagus of classical type, occupies the centre of the picture, and an angel with outspread wings is seated upon it pointing to the risen Saviour above. The figure of our Saviour in the general drawing (No. 1) is looking downwards, and the outstretched arms seem to indicate the act of benediction; but in the Lille sketch the figure is differently designed; it there appears to be soaring upwards, and it has a distinct resemblance to that of the Christ in the Transfiguration. The unmistakeable similarity amounting almost to coin- cidence in these figures, more than any other circumstance indeed, tends to confirm the writer in his opinion, now for the first time expressed, that these drawings are a portion of an entire set prepared for the altar-piece for which Raffaello received a commission from Cardinal Giulio dei Medici (circa a.d. 1519): a composition, which, after having been carried far towards completion, was nevertheless laid aside and superseded by a different one — that of the Trans- figuration. The general sketch shows the design as an upright com- position (i.e. greater in height than width) with a circular or arched top, and every indication seems to prove that it was intended to be carried out as a great panel picture. That Raffaello himself should have been dissatisfied with this design is most likely. It must have been undertaken at a time when he was overwhelmed with other commissions, and it cannot be denied that it displays indications of haste, and gives comparatively few indications of the sublime genius RAFFAELLO'S LATEST PERIOD, CIRCA A, D. 1519-20. 279 which raise the conceptions of Raffaello so far above those of all other artists. The pen drawings, moreover, of the series are unusually careless and mannered, and there is, both in them and in the life studies in chalk, a certain exaggeration recalling to some extent objectionable characteristics of Michel Angelo. Still, there is no room for doubt or hesitation as to their authenticity ; for not one of them but reveals more or less of the master's inimitable grace ; each one bears the true Raffaellesque stamp, though not in its highest perfection. About the time in question there must have been indications of falling off in the great artist's powers ; it is recorded that, after the conclusion of the Farnesina frescos (circa a.d. 15 18), the increasing share which his various pupils had been allowed to take in the works on hand, and Raffaello's comparative carelessness, doubtless the result of overwork, which more than any other cause hastened his end, had become manifest, and were freely commented on in Rome; it was said, in fact, that Raffaello was no longer the great master he had been *. It may well have been that some such criticism coming to Raffaello's ears whilst occupied in a desultory manner with this very design, his hands at the same time being full of other important occupations, determined him at once to shake off the trammels which had accumulated around him, and to put forth all his strength anew in a concentrated effort. It is certainly difficult to conceive that the present composition, if realised as a picture in the form here foreshadowed, would have added to Raffaello's reputation; whereas that which is * Passavant (vol. i. p. 259), embodying the remarks of various authors from Vasari downward, says : ' La critique s'eleva tres-vivement contre ces peintures du palais Chigi et contre beaucoup de tableaux a l'huile sortis de l'atelier de Raphael, mais qu'il faisait executer presque en entier par ses Aleves, et l'opinion se forma bientot que le talent du grand maitre de l'^cole Romaine declinait. Ce jugement de la critique et du public fut tres- sensible a Raphael, qui resolut de le dementir par quelque production eclatante oil lui seul mit la main. II accepta done avec joie, du Cardinal Jules de Medicis, la demande d'une Transfiguration du Christ, pour une eglise du diocese de Narbonne. Le cardinal avait commande' en meme temps une Resurrection de Lazare, a Sebastiano del Piombo, que Michel Ange s'efforcait d'opposer a Raphael. Michel Ange fit meme plusieurs dessins pour ce Lazare, pensant qu'avec la belle couleur de son ami le V^nitien, le resultat serait ecrasant pour le peintre de la Transfiguration. Raphael en fut informe et dit gaiement : — " Michel Ange, me temoigne un grand honneur, puisque veritablement e'est lui-meme qu'il m'oppose comme rival, et non pas Sebastien." ' MtflillMBl 28o DRA WINGS BY RAFFAELLO. presumed to have replaced it — the Transfiguration, was a step in advance of all that had preceded it. It seems almost certain, however, that it was assisted and determined by the preliminary effort indicated in these drawings. It may be noted, as an. indication for the guidance of future enquirers, that, on the' sheet of paper which contains the Lille study, there is a curious drawing of a shield of arms surmounted by a helmet bearing a crest, the charge three ostrich feathers and the crest an ostrich's neck and head with a horse-shoe in its beak. There is of course nothing to show that these arms had any con- nection with the composition in question, but their juxtaposition on the same sheet suggests further enquiry. RAFFAELLO'S LATEST PERIOD, CIRCA A.D. 1519-20. 134. Raffaello. Design for the lower part of a composition of the Resurrection. Pen drawing in bistre. Length, iof inches. Height, 8 inches. Collections : Lely, Lord Hampden, Reynolds, and Lawrence. This drawing corresponds exactly in style and execution with the general design described as No. 1 in the introductory remarks (p. 275) ; it displays, however, numerous and important variations in details, proving that it was a step in advance. The study comprises the entire lower portion of the picture. In the centre, the angel sitting on the sarco- phagus and one of the soldiers sitting on the step below it, his body thrown backwards in an attitude of wild affright, are nearly identical in both drawings ; also a soldier, on the right, with an axe in his hand, hiding his face from the light, occupies the same place in the two designs. The large finished study for this last-mentioned figure, drawn in chalk from the living model, is at Windsor (see No. 8, in the introductory list, p. 276). But two other principal figures of Roman soldiers, tm the extreme right and left respectively, have replaced others of quite different design in the first sketch. That on the right represents a soldier on the ground, seizing his sword and shield, and in the act of raising himself up in sudden alarm. The finished chalk study for the same figure is in the Oxford series (see the next entry). The action of the correspondent figure in the first sketch o o 282 DRAWINGS BY RAFFAELLO. is different; he is there seen unarmed, shading the light from his eyes with his uplifted hand. The figure which balances the one last described, on the left, a half-draped man seated on a stone, with his back to the spectator, is in an attitude of alarm, shrinking from the apparition of the angel on whom his gaze seems to be fixed. The highly finished chalk study of this figure from the life, is also in the present series (No. 136 ; introductory list, No. 5). The correspondent figure in the first sketch bears no resemblance to it; it there takes the form of a graceful young man reclining on the ground in a foreshortened attitude, the head uplifted and turned in the opposite direction. Passavant (Catalogue, No. 560 t) curtly alludes to the drawing as 'La partie infe'rieure d'une resurrection,' and as a school drawing only. It is, however, unquestionably by the hand of Raffaello. 135. Raffaello. Study from the life for a recumbent figure of a Roman soldier in a composition of the Resurrection. Drawing in black chalk. Length, 12^ inches. Height, *]\ inches. Collections : Lely and Lawrence. This is a highly finished and masterly shaded drawing, on the largest scale which seems to have been adopted by Raffaello for his life studies (if erect the figure would have been about fifteen inches high) ; it is the detailed drawing for the figure of the Roman soldier on the right side of the foreground, undraped, in a difficult foreshortened attitude, and at the instant of motion. The man has been lying asleep on the ground, but has been suddenly awakened, and his first impulse is to seize his sword and shield. The body is half- raised with an instantaneous effort, the head in profile directed upwards with an expression of astonishment. The figure is modelled with striking gradations of light and shade, the brilliant light from above catching all the salient forms. The previous drawing contains the first draught or invention ! RAFFAELLO'S LATEST PERIOD, CIRCA A.D. 1519-20. 283 of the figure, and the present study shows little variation from it. Passavant (Catalogue, No. 521) accepts the drawing as a fine work of Raffaello, but erroneously asserts that it is a study for a figure in the Battle of Constantine. There is, however, no figure in that work possessing any resemblance to it. 136. Raffaello. Study from the life of a figure sitting on a stone; one of the Roman soldiers in a composition of the Resurrection. Drawing in black chalk. Height, 14 inches. Width, \o\ inches. Collections : Lely, Reynolds, and Lawrence. This figure is also seen in the drawing, No. 134 ; it occupies I the left of the composition in the foreground, and balances i the figure last described; as in that instance, it differs but little from the first sketch or invention; it is drawn in the same precise and finished manner, on the same scale, and j evidently from the same model *. It represents one of the guardians of the sepulchre sitting I on a stone, with his back to the spectator; the figure never- | theless is in active movement, the body bent or shrinking in terror towards the left; the left hand resting on the stone, whilst the right arm is held up above the head in a gesture of amazement. The pose, though not perhaps graceful, is striking and original. The head and the left arm and J hand are represented again on a rather larger scale, and with exquisite truth and power of drawing, on the right of i the sheet. The other side of the paper is filled with hasty sketches jotted down without any order, the lines being much blended * It is clear that the same person, doubtless a professional model, ! also posed to Raffaello for the two studies at Windsor. All these life J studies indeed are precisely alike in style and technic; and the model ! wears the same linen cap or turban ; the figure is otherwise in every instance ! represented un draped. 2 28 4 DRAWINGS BY RAFFAELLO. together and confused. The subjects are chiefly essays for the figure of the soldier in the lower part of the composition ; but some slight indications of designs for flying angels may be discerned in the upper part. Of the two studies at Windsor, it has been before stated that one — the man with an axe — is seen in both the early general sketches; the other however, representing a group of two soldiers sitting or kneeling, one of whom holds up his shield to screen the light from his eyes, while the second clings to him in an agony of terror, has no distinct prototype in the former designs : it is probable that the group was intended to occupy a position more in the background of the picture, on the extreme left, immediately behind the figure sitting on a stone just described. Passavant (Catalogue, No. 520) describes the drawing in terms of commendation as an authentic work, but, as in the last instance, erroneously ascribes it to the Battle of Constantine. SERIES OF DRAWINGS MADE FOR THE PICTURE OF THE TRANSFIGURATION. CIRCA A.D. 1519-20. Introductory Notice. The celebrated picture of the Transfiguration was the last work of Raffaello, and was left unfinished at his death, a.d. 1520. A commission for it was given to Raffaello by Cardinal Giulio dei Medici, afterwards Pope Clement VII, who had recently been made Bishop of Narbonne in France, and it was intended by him as a gift to the Cathedral Church of his diocese (see extract from Passavant, before, p. 279, foot-note). It is a great altar-piece, upwards of twelve feet high by nearly nine feet wide, painted in oil on panel, and the figures are of life-size proportions. Following Passavant's explanation of the subject (vol. i. p. 276), it represents the Transfiguration of our Saviour on Mount Tabor, and the design is conceived in two distinct divisions. In the upper part Christ is seen trans- figured, floating in the air above the mountain, surrounded by a brilliant glory of which He is Himself the source. His face and His arms are raised towards heaven; on either side of Him, floating in like manner, are the apparitions of Moses and Elias. On the mountain are seen the Apostles Peter, James and John prostrate on the ground, their eyes unable to support the celestial . effulgence. The moment represented is that when they hear the voice exclaiming, ' This is my beloved Son, hear ye Him.' The lower part of the composition represents a very different scene ; there human misery and weakness are illustrated by a 386 DRAWINGS By RAFFAELLO. father who has brought his son possessed with a devil to the other Apostles, who are unable to cast him out. The Apostles are represented in variously contrasted attitudes indicative of sympathy, and seem to be referring with expressive gestures to the Saviour above as the true remedy and source of consolation. The two scenes are thus united together in an impressive and consistent whole. The picture is preserved in the Gallery of the Vatican, and the innumerable reproductions of all kinds — painted copies, drawings, engravings, &c, — have made it perhaps more univer- sally known throughout the world than any other work of art. Besides the original preparatory drawings in the Oxford Collection many others are extant ; see enumeration in Passavant, vol. ii. p. 294 ; a still more complete list is given in the Windsor inventory. THE TRANSFIGURATION, CIRCA A.D. 15 19-20. 137. Raffaello. Life-size studies of the head and the hands of St. John and of St. Peter in the picture of the Transfiguration. Drawing in black chalk and charcoal, heightened with white chalk. Height, 1 9! inches. Width, 14I inches. Collections : Ten Kate, De Rover of Amsterdam, Jeremiah Harman, and Lawrence. This magnificent and celebrated drawing, perhaps the most important of its kind by Raffaello now extant, represents the two heads in juxtaposition, and the hands in the same attitude and place as in the picture, from whence it may be inferred that besides the detailed studies on a smaller scale, which Raffaello was accustomed to prepare before executing his cartoons, he had in this, his last and greatest effort, actually made a fourth series of preparatory studies of the full size required. Although, on the whole, the details in this drawing closely resemble the corresponding ones in the finished work, they display minor variations of themselves sufficiently note- worthy and conclusive as to its authenticity ; but the admirable power and perfection of the design sufficiently attest the fact that no hand but that of Raffaello could have executed it. The most noteworthy differences are, that in the head of St. John the hair is much shorter in the study than in the picture, whilst the right hand of St. Peter, exquisitely drawn and fully shown in the study, is in great part hidden behind the drapery of the St. John in the picture. 288 DRAWINGS BY RAFFAELLO. The admirable manner in which the brilliant light from above illuminates both the heads and hands, is perhaps not more remarkable than the masterly execution of the drawing, which displays an union of simple truthfulness with seductive grace and facility, in itself most beautiful. Described by Passavant (Catalogue, No. 473) and fully accepted by him as authentic. 138. Copy from Raffaello. Study of the head of one of the Apostles in the picture of the Transfiguration. Drawing in black chalk heightened with white chalk. Height, io§ inches. Width, 9^ inches. Collections: Duke of Devonshire and Sir T. Lawrence. This is the head of an apostle, probably St. Andrew, placed in the centre of the composition; he is represented as an aged man bending forward to look at the demon-possessed boy. The head will be recognised as occupying a position in the picture close to the two last described. The original drawing, which is now in the Malcolm Collection (see Catalogue, No. 186), also came from the Lawrence Col- lection, having been one of the Raffaello series selected by the late King of Holland. Both drawings seem to have been presented by the Duke of Devonshire to Sir Thomas Lawrence (see Passavant, Catalogue, No. 474, and also vol. ii. p. 536 t). A careful comparison of the two, confronted together in Oxford, has left no doubt that the one in Mr. Malcolm's collection is the original. Woodburn has engraved it in facsimile in his ' Lawrence Gallery/ THE TRANSFIGURATION, CIRCA A.D. 15J9-20. 289 139. Raffaello. Two hands j life-sized studies from nature. Black chalk heightened with white chalk. Width, 11 inches. Height, *\\ inches. Collections : Wicar and Lawrence. These studies of hands have heretofore been considered as having been prepared for the cartoon of the Trans- figuration; the outlines are pricked with a needle, doubt- less for transfer to a cartoon, and to all appearance they are genuine studies of Raffaello's latest period. But these particular hands (a right and a left hand) are nowhere to be found in the Transfiguration, and therefore can hardly have been designed for that composition. Probably Sir Thos. Lawrence, Woodburn, and Passavant were alike misled by the resemblance in style and technic to the authentic studies for the Trans- figuration, and did not take the trouble to ascertain if any such hands were really to be found in the picture. The writer has not identified them as occurring in any other of Raffaello's works. ! 140. Raffaello (ascribed to). Study of a left foot, apparently of a female figure, of life-size proportions. Black chalk heightened with white chalk. Height, 11 inches. Width, 8^ inches. Collections : Wicar and Lawrence. This study, like the previous one, is pricked for transference to another surface, and was also always supposed to have been prepared for the Transfiguration; it has indeed considerable resemblance to the foot of the kneeling female figure in the foreground (the mother of the demoniac boy), but on com- parison it will be seen that it could not have been intended for it. Although drawn with great power, the execution is [ p p 2QO DRA WINGS BY RAFFAELLO. somewhat harder and more precise than that of the previous studies ; its genuineness, on the whole, is doubtful. 141. Raffaello (ascribed to). Study of the right foot, apparently of a female figure, of life-size proportions. Drawing in black chalk heightened with white chalk. Width, 10 inches. Height, 7 inches. Collections : Antaldi and Lawrence. This is carefully drawn in the same manner and by the same hand as the one last described, and it has also passed for one of the studies for the Transfiguration. There is, however, no such foot to be found in the picture. Although not unworthy of Raffaello himself, this drawing does not display the same specific resemblance in style and execution which is seen in the study of hands (No. 139), and its authorship must in consequence be left in doubt. Passavant (Catalogue, No. 474) notices this and the two previous drawings in the following terms : ' Trois autres dessins a, la pierre noire pour des mains et des pieds. de la meme composition (Transfiguration) sont pique's aux contours et paraissent avoir servi pour une copie faite d'apres le tableau peut-etre pour celle de F. Penni.' It is unfortunate that Passa- vant, before expressing this circumstantial opinion, did not ascertain whether the hands and feet in question were really to be found in the picture. 1 142. . Copy from Raffaello by Nicholas Dorigny. Drawing in red chalk representing the entire com- position of the Transfiguration. Height, 29! inches. Width, 19 J inches. This appears to be the original drawing made by the engraver Dorigny for the well-known print of the Transfiguration, executed by him in Rome, a.d. 1709. DRAWINGS HAVING REFERENCE TO THE FRESCO DECORATIONS OF THE CHAMBER OF CONSTANTINE. CIRCA A.D. 1519-24. 143. Raffaello. Sheet of studies, from the living model, for two figures '/ in the fresco of the Battle of Constantine. Black chalk heightened with while chalk on light brown tinted paper. Length, 1.4^ inches. Height, i,o| inches. Collections : Duke of Alva, and Lawrence. The figures in question are on the extreme right of the fresco ; they represent two of the soldiers of Maxentius struggling in the water, and endeavouring to save themselves by entering a boat, already overcrowded with fugitives, one of whom is savagely repelling them with his sword. The figures in these studies are naked, whereas in the fresco the figure clinging to the boat is clad in scale armour, and wears a helmet. It is interesting to note that the individual model, who posed to Raffaello for these two figures, was evidently the same man who served for the foreground figures in the composition of the Resurrection (see before, Nos. 135 and 136, &c). On the reverse of the sheet are two other beautiful studies, p p 2 DRAWINGS BY RAFFAELLO. drawn with the pen in bistre, of a man sitting in an attitude of repose or meditation, his body bent forwards, the head supported by the right hand and arm, the elbow resting on the knee. These were evidently two rapid studies from the same model, in the same pose, but seen from two different points of view. They were discovered by the writer when he detached the drawing from its old mount for close examination. There can be no doubt that the studies both in front and at back of this sheet are by the hand of Raffaello. Passavant (Catalogue, No. 519) agrees that those on the front are so (he was not aware that there was anything at the back) ; and his hasty impression, that the studies for the Resurrection before described (Nos. 135 and 136) were for the Battle of Constantine, doubtless arose from his having noticed the fact, that they were drawn from the same professional model who posed for the two figures on the front of the sheet. (The model who served for the pen sketches at the back was a different person, apparently an old man.) See the remarks, p. 184, in the general notice of the 'stanze' frescos. It is there stated that Raffaello himself pre- pared the designs for the Battle of Constantine, but that the fresco was executed by Giulio Romano, after Raffaello's death, circa a.d. 1523-24. The present studies were probably made by Raffaello towards the end of a.d. 1519 or the beginning of a.d. 1520, the year in which (April 6) he died. The paper bears the well-known water-mark of a double anchor within a circle with a star above (similar to No. 79 in the Table of Facsimiles). 144. Raffaello (ascribed to). A woman with three children, emblematical of Charity ; drawing for a group which forms part of the accessory decoration of the Chamber of Constantine. Drawing with black chalk heightened with white chalk. Height, 12 inches. Width, 6 inches. Collections : De Rover, Revil, and Lawrence. The beautiful design here represented is one of a series of emblematical figures and groups painted as complementary (VoW £,{.- Sib) CHAMBER OF CONST A NTINE, CIRCA A.D. 1519-24. 293 accessories to the great frescos of the Chamber of Constantine. There can be little doubt that its original conception is due to Raffaello, but in all probability he carried the design no further than a slight sketch. The present drawing, though not by his hand, is a masterly performance, and the writer agrees with Passavant (vol. i. p. 306, and Catalogue, No. 560, o) in ascribing it to Gian Francesco Penni; it does not differ in any material respect from the fresco, but it does not appear to have been copied from it. The writer's belief is that it is an advanced drawing of Penni from Raffaello's first sketch for the cartoon. Penni, it should be noted, appears to have been the principal associate of Giulio Romano in the execution of the frescos of the Chamber of Constantine after Raffaello's death. This drawing was engraved in facsimile by Woodburn, in the ' Lawrence Gallery.' DRAWINGS BY VARIOUS SCHOLARS OF RAFFAELLO. 145. Raffaello (ascribed to). Sheet of studies ; a head or full-faced mask of a man, and three anatomical studies of legs. Pen drawing in bistre on reddish brown tinted paper. Width, 9^ inches. Height, 7f inches. Collections : Antaldi and Lawrence. The writer believes these drawings to be copies by Timoteo della Vite from studies by Raffaello, and that they (i.e. the originals) were mere exercises in design, not studies made for any set purpose. This sheet was unknown to Passavant, having been one of the drawings formerly not exhibited. v 146. Ascribed to Raffaello, but really by Giulio Romano. Sheet containing four studies of elephants. Drawing in red chalk. Length, \2\ inches. Height, 8^ inches. Collections : Wicar and Lawrence. These careful drawings are preparatory studies for a well- known composition executed as an engraving. The print DRA WINGS BY VARIOUS SCHOLARS OF RAFFAELLO. 295 n question, representing a Battle of the Persians with Elephants against the Romans, was engraved by Cornelius Cort in a.d. 1567 as the invention of Raffaello; but the internal evidence of the composition would alone suffice to indicate Giulio Romano as its real author. Besides this, however, the finished drawing of the whole composition, from which the engraving seems to have been made, is still extant (in the [collection of Mr. Gatteaux of Paris) ; and this, being certainly [from the hand of Giulio, places the original authorship of the fpresent design beyond question. Passavant (Catalogue, No. 560 m) also ascribes it to. Giulio. See also Passavant, vol. ii. p. 593, for further information in regard to the print, tt * «J tit'Mui & .w*' .*w;<^> t~o ^ ^ ru v 147. Ascribed to Raffaello, but more probably by glulio romano. Head or bust in profile of a young man clad in an antique tunic or mantle. Drawing in red chalk. Height, 15! inches. Width, \o\ inches. Collections : Duke of Alva, and Lawrence. This beautiful study, described by Woodburn (Oxford Exhibition Catalogue, No. 51) as 'A young man from the antique,' and by Passavant in as equally vague manner as ' un adolescent' (Catalogue, No. 529 g), is probably an idealised or conventional rendering from a living model, with the drapery added from the lay figure. The spirited and powerful manipulation has all the character- istics of Giulio Romano's work. Passavant properly classes it amongst the drawings wrongly ascribed to Raffaello. 296 DRAWINGS BY RAFFAELLO. 148. Raffaello (ascribed to). A boat at sea in a storm, in which are two Saints in the attitude of prayer, mariners rowing, and a figure swimming in the sea. Pen drawing shaded with bistre. Height, 5 inches. Width, \\ inches. Collections : Richardson, Holditch, Reynolds, and Lawrence. This little drawing, although conceived and executed with almost Raffaellesque grace of style, is not by the master's hand; in all probability it is an original design by Gian Francesco Penni. The subject appears to be a saintly legend, and it may perhaps have been designed for a compartment of a predella. Passavant (Catalogue, No. 560 a a) describes it as a school drawing. ^ >v k <*»< 1 <*» ^■•^&*»w*An *f >•. 149. Raffaello (ascribed to). 'Hercules Gaulois,' or Eloquence. A circular com- position representing Hercules in a sitting position leaning on his club, and surrounded by nine draped figures, who are listening to his discourse. From the mouth of the god golden threads proceed to the ears of his auditors, and above the head of Hercules is in- scribed the word € Eloquentia.' Pen drawing washed with bistre and heightened with white, on pale brown paper. H-.^m >^wt»L* U+cU Diameter, 9f inches. Collections : Antaldi, Crozal, Lagoy, Dims dale, and Lawrence. This drawing is obviously by the same hand as that last described, and there can be little doubt that it is by Gian Francesco Penni; it has been long known and celebrated, DRAWINGS BY VARIOUS SCHOLARS OF RAFFAELLO. 297 having been engraved, near the beginning of the last century, as a chiar'oscuro print by Ch. Nic. Cochin and V. Lesueur for the Crozat Gallery, and afterwards in outline in Landon's work, (pi. 468). Passavant (Catalogue, No. 525) classes it amongst the genuine drawings of RafFaello, and before him, Mariette and other eminent connoisseurs of the last century, seem to have accepted it as authentic. It is impossible, however, not to I perceive that it is entirely different in style from any of the genuine drawings of Raffaello in the Oxford and other Collections, nor to overlook the great resemblance which it bears to the numerous drawings of his eminent pupil Gian Francesco Penni. 150. Raffaello (ascribed to). Sheet of studies ; a standing draped figure, various small sketches of figures and of antique ruins. Also four lines of a sonnet. - Pen drawing in bistre. Height, n\ inches. Width, 7 inches. Collections : Sir J. Reynolds, Lord Hampden, and Lawrence. Doubtless by a contemporary scholar, but whose hand cannot now be identified. Passavant (Catalogue, No. 560 b b) also rejects this drawing as not by Raffaello, - w . 151. Raffaello (ascribed to). Sheet of studies ; a standing figure of Hercules leaning on his club, and a design for a candelabrum ; various sketches of figures, &c, on the reverse. Pen drawing in bistre. Height, 13! inches. Width, 9 inches. Collections : Ottley and Lawrence. Qq Ml h I 1 i V J \$1 ■ < TIaa' f s vvi hi In- 7 2 9 B DRAWINGS BF RAFFAELLO. These studies are not by Raffaello, nor do they' seem to have relation to any of his works ; they are, however, probably original designs by one of the less eminent of his contemporary followers. Not having been exhibited with the rest of the Oxford drawings this sheet was unknown to Passavant. 152. Raffaello (ascribed to). The Virgin standing at a prayer-desk, for a composition of the Annunciation. Pen drawing in bistre. Height, d\ inches. Width, d\ inches. Collections : Antaldi and Lawrence. Although this drawing is marked in one corner with the well-known initials R. V., supposed to show that it came from the Antaldi Collection, and although Passavant has included it . (Catalogue, No. 472) amongst the genuine drawings of the Oxford Collection, the mediocrity of the work itself, and the obvious difference in manner of execution from that of any phase of Raffaello's pen drawings, render it certain that it is not by the great master. It is apparently a con- temporary drawing by a scholar. The rather loose and heavy execution somewhat resembles that of Giovanni da Udine. t^*^ *v$*vt.\x T\**<7hw tfe*-W« 153. Raffaello (ascribed to). A Roman Emperor or Consul seated, with a wand or sceptre in one hand, the other extended in an attitude of command. Pen drawing in bistre. Height, 6f inches. Width, 5 inches. Collections : Reynolds and Lawrence. Apparently an original study of a principal figure for a pictorial composition, by some one of the scholars or imitators of Raffaello, certainly not by the master himself. DRA WINGS BY VARIOUS SCHOLARS OF RAFFAELLO. 299 Passavant (Catalogue, No. 528) nevertheless seems to include this drawing amongst those which he believed to be by the hand of Raffaello. . , . £ v. Ji ccur^iA. arf^vrA aiaWim UvC- f* run*^ *■ ""f (f 154. Raffaello (ascribed to). A group of four standing female figures undraped, styled by Woodburn, C A study of the Muses or the Graces/ Pen drawing in bistre. Width, 9 inches. Height, 8 inches. Collections : Duke of Alva, and Lawrence. This drawing is probably an original composition by one of the contemporary scholars of Raffaello, but it does not seem possible to ascribe it with certainty to any known hand. The subject also is of uncertain signification. Passavant (Catalogue, No. 560 c c) also rejects this drawing. 155. Raffaello (ascribed to). Study for a votive picture; an Ecclesiastic kneeling before St. John the Evangelist, another patron Saint standing behind him. Styled by Woodburn, < Two of the Evangelists and a Saint on his knees/ Bistre washed drawing heightened with white, on dark olive- brown prepared ground. Length, 8| inches. Height, inches. Collections: Earl of Arundel' Lord Hampden, and Lawrence. There seems to be no clue to the real authorship of this carefully wrought drawing ; it is, however, doubtless an original work, and by a follower of Raffaello. Passavant (vol. ii. p. 513) also states that it is not by Raffaello. ^uM-lt^ ^ Q Cj 2 "4' "p*^ — 300 DRAWINGS BY RAFFAELLO. 156. Raffaello (ascribed to). t kr\r m fW • ■ ft i. ' I II The Annunciation. Bistre shaded drawing heightened with white, on dark grey prepared ground. w c Jt*X v»*^ /. *-A -rp- 9%. 157. Raffaello (formerly ascribed to). A horse's head. Black chalk. Width, 8 inches. Height, 6 inch.es. Collections : T. Dimsdale and Lawrence. An unimportant and mannered drawing of the School of Raffaello. It is not mentioned by Passavant. DRAWINGS BY VARIOUS SCHOLARS OF RAFFAELLO. 301 158. Raffaello (ascribed to). Study of the naked torso of a man, back view, probably from an antique marble statue. Pen drawing in bistre. Height, inches. Width, 5^ inches. Collections : Richardson, Lord Hampden, and Lawrence. The head is not indicated, and the arms appear as if broken off at the shoulders. This torso has some resemblance to that of one of the two colossal marble figures with horses known as the ' Monte Cavallo Groups.' Although a masterly study of the early part of the sixteenth century, the style of drawing and the touch or handling are not those of Raffaello. Passavant (Catalogue, No. 138) nevertheless seems to have accepted it as genuine. 159. Raffaello (ascribed to). Sheet of studies from antique statues of Venus. Pen drawings in bistre. Height, 13^ inches. Width, 9§ inches. Collections : Duke of Alva, and Lawrence. These carefully drawn and masterly studies are made from two different mutilated statues of Venus, one a standing figure wanting the head and right arm, the other a torso only. Passavant (Catalogue, vol. ii. p. 508, No. 527) says of this drawing : ' Etudes d'apres des statues antiques. Parmi les dix feuilles de ce genre qui se trouvent dans la collection d'Oxford il n'y en a qu'une seule, que l'on puisse, avec certaine raison, attribuer a Raphael, c'est une Venus, et le fragment d'une figure de femme sans tete,' &c. On the reverse of the sheet is a careful shaded study, in red chalk, of the torso of a man, back view. The writer, on the contrary, is convinced that these studies are not by the hand of Raffaello, and although probably by one of his scholars, it does not seem possible to refer them to any one in particular. DRAWINGS BY RAFFAELLO. 160. Raffaello (ascribed to). Study from an antique statue of a recumbent draped female figure known as the Ariadne or Cleopatra of the Belvedere. Pen drawing in bistre. Length, i2| inches. Height \ 9 inches. Collections : Duke of Alva, and Lawrence. Doubtless by the same masterly hand as the previous sheet. The same statue served as the original of an engraving by Marc Antonio (Bartsch, No. 199), but the engraver, probably from having misunderstood the purport of the ornamental gold armlet in the form of a serpent, which encircles the left arm of the figure in the marble, has transformed the figure into a dying Cleopatra. ' Although this is obviously by the same hand as the previous drawing, Passavant, who has accepted that as by Raffaello, nevertheless classes this drawing amongst the spurious specimens (Catalogue, No. 529 f). 161. Raffaello (ascribed to). Study from an antique statue of a draped female. Pen drawing in bistre. Height, 14I inches. Width, 9! inches. Collections : Wicar and Lawrence. This masterly drawing is obviously a careful representation of a fine classical draped statue, wanting the head and arms. The marble may perhaps have been intended for a Ceres or a Flora. Although this study is evidently of the Raffaellesque technic and period, there is no clue to the draughtsman. Passavant (Catalogue, No. 529 a) classes it as of doubtful authenticity; the writer is convinced that it is not by Raffaello. DRA WINGS BY VARIOUS SCHOLARS OF RAFFAELLO. 303 162. RAFFAELLO (ascribed TO). Study from a mutilated antique statue of a female, half draped. Shaded drawing in bistre executed with the point of the brush. *v* Height, n\ inches. Width, 6 inchesx Collections : Antaldi and Lawrence. The right arm is seen as broken off at the upper part. The graceful statue here represented was probably intended as a Psyche, and judging from the 'pose/ it may have been originally grouped with a figure of Cupid. The drawing is doubtless of the school of Raffaello. Passavant (Catalogue, No. 529 a) also denies its authenticity. 163. Raffaello (ascribed to). Two studies from antique marbles; Hercules leaning on his club, and a half-draped torso of Apollo or Bacchus. Drawing in red chalk. > • u-j Height, i6§ inches. Width, tt\ inches. Collections : Duke of Alva, and Lawrence. Apparently a contemporary school drawing. Passavant (Catalogue, No. 529 f) also places it in that category. 164. Raffaello (ascribed to). Sheet of studies from the antique marble fragment of a statue of Hercules known as c The Torso.' Drawing in red chalk. «%i y Width, 1 6% inches. Height, 9^ inches. 304 DRAWINGS BY RAFFAELLO. Collections : Wicar and Lawrence. The studies from this celebrated work are two in number, both representing the back of the figure from different points of view. On the reverse of the sheet is a slighter drawing of the antique marble recumbent figure of the Tiber. They are apparently by one of the ablest of Raffaello's scholars, perhaps Polidoro da Caravaggio. Passavant (Catalogue, No. 529 b) classes it amongst the drawings of Raffaello's school. 165. Raffaello (ascribed to). Architectural design; geometrical elevation of the facade of a villa with a projecting portico of three semi- circular arches, surmounted by a balustrade. On the reverse, various sketches of ground plans for the same edifice. Pen drawing shaded with bistre tint. Width, \\\ inches. Height, 10 inches. Collections : Count de Fries, and Lawrence. This graceful design may possibly be the work of Raffaello ; it is doubtless of his time, but the technical execution, although to a certain extent resembling that of the great master, seems to reveal a heavier and feebler hand. In the writer's opinion, it is by a scholar: but Passavant (Catalogue, No. 560) ascribes it to Raffaello himself. Both Passavant and Woodburn (Oxford Exhibition Catalogue, No. 3) seem to lay stress on the fact that the drawing bears some words of writing and the signature 'Raffaello Santio;' these inscriptions, however, are not in the hand of Raffaello. CM 1 I DRAWINGS BY VARIOUS MASTERS FORMERLY ASCRIBED TO RAFFAELLO. 166. Florentine School, Fifteenth Century. The Adoration of the Shepherds. Pen drawing in bistre. Height, 6 inches. Width, $\ inches. Collections : Harman and Lawrence. This drawing bears no resemblance whatever to the style of Raffaello, and is evidently by an earlier master, probably a Florentine, working during the second half of the fifteenth century. It is an unimportant sketch, and it is difficult to con- ceive on what grounds it could have been formerly ascribed to Raffaello. This being one of the drawings not exhibited at Oxford was not seen by Passavant, and it is consequently not described in his work. ~Fi*r . A.t?t> . 60 , 167, Florentine or Siennese School. The Angel appearing to Joachim, and on the reverse, the meeting of Joachim and Anna. Pen drawings washed with bistre and heightened with whits. Height, i2f inches. Width, \\\ inches. r r 1J G n f 306 DRAWINGS ASCRIBED TO RAFFAELLO. Collections : Lagoy and Lawrence. These excellent drawings are obviously original designs by an eminent master of the beginning of the sixteenth century, but whose style does not seem to have been directly influenced by Raffaello or his school. The writer thinks he perceives in them some resemblance to the manner of composition and technical execution of Gian Antonio Razzi, called II Sodoma. Passavant (Catalogue, No. 560 i i) agrees that these drawings are not by Raffaello. Master uncertain, Early Sixteenth Century. Sketch of a composition of numerous figures, the most conspicuous of which are two draped personages, kneeling in attitudes of prayer before a statue placed in a niche, on the left side of the drawing. Styled by Woodburn, C A study for the subject of Solomon's idolatry.' Pen outline in bistre. Width, 10 inches. Height, j\ inches. Collections: Antaldi and Lawrence. The writer has no clue to the authorship of this slight and unimportant sketch ; there is certainly nothing whatever in it to connect it with Raffaello. 169. Mariotto Albertinelli. Sheet of studies for a standing draped figure of the Archangel Michael. Silver point drawing washed with bistre and heightened with ivhite, on pale brown prepared ground. Width, 9^ inches. Height, 8| inches. fret- fe*rtotr>«vCO . j^U*'s (^Ji 7\sd\cA tort O-M-Q. DRAWINGS ASCRIBED TO RAFFAELLO. 307 Collections : Antaldi and Lawrence. These very beautiful studies represent the figure twice over and portions of drapery on a larger scale. There can be little doubt that they are by the hand of the excellent Florentine master above named. Albertinelli was the friend and associate of Fra Bartolommeo and the present studies bear a close re- semblance to many by that artist. The drawings by Mariotto, however, which have come down to us, are much less numerous than those of the Frate : as in the present example, they usually manifest points of difference sufficient to enable them to be readily distinguished. Passavant (Catalogue, No. 560 v) classes this sheet amongst the drawings erroneously ascribed to Raffaello. The Virgin reading at a lectern in a hall or chamber of elaborate architectural design. Other studies for the same composition on the reverse. Pen drawing washed with bistre. Height, 1 if inches. Width, 8f inches. Collections : Cosway and Lawrence. This masterly drawing is evidently an original design, but certainly not by Raffaello ; nor does it display any evidence of being of his school. There is no clue to the real author. Passavant (Catalogue, No. 560 h h) alludes to it as being erroneousy ascribed to Raffaello. 170. Florentine School, Early part of the Sixteenth Century. Study cf a female figure, apparently a peasant woman, in the costume of the sixteenth century. Pen dr Giving in bistre. Height, 9f inches. Width, 6§ inches. Master unknown. 171. K tx. 308 DRAWINGS ASCRIBED TO RAFFAELLO. Collections : Wicar and Lawrence. There is no resemblance in this drawing to any phase of Raffaello's style. Although without special merit, the manner is not without a certain individuality; the hand is unknown, but it is probably that of a second-rate Tuscan master of the early part of the sixteenth century. 172> Copy from Michel Angelo. A dog gnawing a bone. Pen drawing in bistre. Height, 5f inches. Width, 4^ inches. Collection: Lawrence. This is a timid copy of a portion only of a well-known and important drawing by Michel Angelo, now in the collection of John Malcolm, Esq. ; — a grand ideal head of a warrior in profile wearing a fantastic helmet surmounted by a dog gnawing a bone (the design above reproduced) as a crest. The head was intended as an ideal portrait of a Count of Canossa, from whom Michel Angelo supposed himself to have descended, and the dog with a bone is a rebus or punning ' impresa' founded on the name Canossa. The original drawing, which is in black chalk, seems to have ' been very frequently copied, and it has been more than once engraved. The present reproduction of a portion of it is probably by an engraver of the sixteenth century. (See the Malcolm Catalogue, No. 51, for a further notice of the celebrated original work.) Not having been exhibited at Oxford, this drawing escaped the notice of Passayant. Aft#* J?.M.Atwvwy rfV* 1 ** OwefA. 173. School of Pietro Perugino. Two studies of landscape, one on each side of the sheet DRAWINGS ASCRIBED TO RAFFAELLO. 3°9 j^ra drawings in bistre. Length, 8g inches. Height, 2 1 inches. Collections : Vasari, Crozat, Comte de Fries, and Lawrence- On one side the scene represents a farmhouse or hamlet on a rocky knoll, and on the other a country-house picturesquely embosomed in trees. Both are carefully drawn with a fine pen, probably a crow-quill, and doubtless from nature. Passavant (Catalogue, No. 558) has -accepted them as genuine drawings of Raffaello, a judgment in which the writer does not concur. Passavant makes the following observations : ' Deux petits paysages l^gerement dessinds a la plume, d'apres nature. lis sont du premier temps de Raphael, Tun repr^sente une ville situee pres d'une montagne ; l'autre quelques habita- tions agrestes. 4 lis ont e"t6 grave's par le Comte de Caylus pour le Cabinet Crozat, No. 47.' 174. School of Pietro Perugino. Study of landscape from nature; a castle or villa within a walled enclosure surrounded with trees. Pen drawing in bistre. Length, 6g inches. Width, z\ inches. Collections : Crozat, Comte de Fries, and Lawrence. This is by the same hand as the previous studies, and was doubtless done at the same time. It was engraved in facsimile by Woodburn, a.d. 1836, in his Exhibition Catalogue of one hundred drawings by Raffaello, of the Lawrence series. Noticed by Passavant along with the two previous drawings, but erroneously stated to be on the reverse of the sheet on which they are drawn. 35 r> ^L^-/^ 7 JFKA 6 A Kit? Lg 175. School of Pietro Perugino. Landscape or fortified city, with a castle and numerous stately buildings, apparently an ideal composition. m ah ■1 3IO DRAWINGS ASCRIBED TO RAFFAELLO. Pen drawing in bistre. Length, 9^ inches. Height, 6^ inches. Collections : Antaldi and Lawrence. This is evidently by the same hand as the three previous drawings, and, like them, it is executed in a delicate and minute style with a crow-quill. Passavant (Catalogue, No. 559) believes in its authenticity; it was also engraved in the last century by the Comte de Caylus for Crozat's work. The preceding series of landscape studies has been long known and has been received as authentic; but the writer is convinced that the drawings are not by Raffaello. Their mannered and mechanical style appears to him to be that of some one of the early Umbrian followers of Perugino. On confronting them with indisputably authentic landscape studies by Raffaello (see, for example, the drawings before described, Nos. 5 and 17), their real character can scarcely fail to be perceived ; they are, in fact, timid conventionalised renderings, very different from the exquisitely truthful landscape drawings of the great master. 176. Baccio Bandinelli. Design for a triumphal arch. Pen drawing in bistre. Height, 165 inches. Width, 14^ inches. Collections : Paignon-Dijonval and Lawrence. The general arrangement of this interesting composition is based on that of the arches of triumph of ancient Rome. A large panel in the attic stage above the cornice contains a sketch for a bas-relief, representing the daughter of Herodias presenting the head of John the Baptist to Herod; and lower down, the armorial bearings of the Medici family surmounted by the Papal tiara and cross keys are conspicuously introduced. These arms and the bas-relief seem to indicate that the structure represented had some connection with the city of Florence, whose patron saint was St. John; and in Vasari's Life of Baccio Bandinelli (ed. Lemonnier, vol. x. p. 300) an account is given of temporary decorations executed by that artist, DRAWINGS ASCRIBED TO RAFFAELLO. 311 a.d. 1 51 5, to commemorate the passage of Pope Leo X through his native city on his way to Bologna; very likely, the present drawing was for an arch executed on that occasion. It is somewhat extraordinary that Sir Thomas Lawrence, whose collection comprised a numerous series of drawings by Bandi- nelli, should have remained blind to the evident fact that the present design is by the hand of that master, and that it has no resemblance whatever to the drawings of Raffaello or of any of his scholars. Passavant (Catalogue, No. 560 ff) classes this drawing as non-authentic. 177. Master unknown. Design for a state bed. Pen drawing in bistre. Height, \ \\ inches. Width, %\ inches. Collections : Cosway and Lawrence. The style of execution of this beautiful design has no resemblance to that of Raffaello, or any of his known scholars ; it is, however, probably of the early part of the sixteenth century, and it seems to display a certain resemblance to the vigorous style of Baccio Bandinelli. Passavant (Catalogue, No. 560 s) somewhat carelessly classes it amongst ' autres dessins de l'e'cole de Raffaelle.' tfow *ctwfci4*i h B^lvnt&L fry N*l.&*ljbn£ cl^ftv >t t& MnruM*- Florentine School, Beginning of the Sixteenth Century. A composition of unknown signification, — numerous female figures in antique classical costume. Reed-pen drawing in bistre. Height, 15^ inches. Width, \\\ inches. Collections : Richardson and Lawrence. The author of this drawing does not seem to have been in any way influenced by Raffaello or his school. The style of 3 I2 DRAWINGS ASCRIBED TO RAFFAELLO. design and execution, on the contrary, somewhat resembles that of the drawings of Baccio Bandinelli, and also, in some respects, that of the contemporary Florentine sculptor Tribolo; it is not, however, possible to ascribe the drawing with certainty to any master in particular. Having been formerly not exhibited in Oxford, it was not noticed by Passavant, 179. Federigo Baroccio. Life-size study of a female head, called by Woodburn, C A very interesting study for the head of one of the females in the cartoon of the Murder of the Innocents.' Pastels or coloured chalks. Height, ii^ inches.' Width, io\ inches. Collections : Lord Spencer, and Lawrence. Even if the general style and aspect of this drawing were not of themselves sufficient to show that it could have no kind of connection with Raffaello, the peculiar technic which it displays would be conclusive. It is executed in the modern method, with coloured chalks or ' pastels,' a style of drawing much in vogue in the last century, though its first appear- ance can be traced as far back as the second half of the sixteenth century. One of the earliest, perhaps the only known artist of note, who then practised this method, and who may possibly have been its original inventor, was Baroccio. The writer believes that this much-injured study is his work. Passavant (Catalogue, No. 560 i) also denies the authenticity of this drawing. Gw&ifc**j H*Ht^i*4*£ ti^tf^ 180. Raffaello (ascribed to). Study from an antique statue of Venus holding an apple, with a landscape background. DRAWINGS ASCRIBED TO RAFFAELLO. 313 Highly finished shaded drawing with the pen in bistre. Height, io| inches. Width, 6f inches. Collections : Lely, Lanckrinck, Lord Hampden, and Lawrence. This is apparently a drawing of the second half of the sixteenth century, and, judging from the careful and somewhat mechanical style of the pen hatching, it is the work of an I engraver. Not having been exhibited at Oxford, it was unknown to \ Passavant. u> *Uc rttio'c ^ NOTICE OF DRAWINGS BY OR HAVING REFERENCE TO RAFFAELLO, IN THE GUISE COLLECTION AT CHRIST CHURCH, OXFORD. 1. Giovanni Sanzio (the father of Raffaello). Federigo da Montefeltro, Duke of Urbino, on horse- back, armed at all points. Silver point drawing heightened with white, on dark grey or lead coloured prepared ground. Height, 12^ inches. Width, 7§ inches. This most interesting and important drawing represents the famous condottiere on his war horse clad in complete armour, and to all appearance it is a study made from the life, perhaps in order to introduce the figure into a votive picture. Federigo's head is in profile (it is on record that the numerous portraits of this celebrated mediaeval personage were always executed in profile, owing to one side of his face having been disfigured by the loss of an eye from the thrust of a lance) ; the resemblance betwixt the head as represented in the drawings, and the medals and pictures of Federigo, is unmistakable; at the bottom of the drawing, however, is written in an ancient hand : ' Gio Sanzio da Urbino,' and 'Ritratto del duca d'Urbino*.' * At a later period, however, perhaps early in the eighteenth century, some other possessor of the drawing has scored through the attribution to Giovanni Sanzio, and substituted the name of Bramantino ; the drawings of the latter artist, however, are well known, and they have no analogy what- ever with the present. If cm £vj, iLi per mia giustificatione.' ' La chopia della lettera ch' io Michelagnolo Buonar . . . . ta stamani a di 18 d' ottobre 1524 a Giovanni S . . . . . . . . e Salviati, lo portatore e stato Antonio Mini che .... .... in sur una carta come questa.' Note 12 (page 62). The Relic Chamber in San Lorenzo. The following circumstantial and most curious information respecting this chamber and its contents is to be found in ' Cianfogni Memorie Istoriche dell' Ambrosiana S. Basilica de S. Lorenzo in Firenze (continuazione delle Memorie, &c, del Canonico Moreni). Firenze, a.d. 1804-17, torn. i. p. 276 : — 'Leone X avea fatte trasportare a Roma molte insigni Reliquie di Santi, acquistate e nella Grecia, e in Costantinopoli ; molte di esse predate furono nel sacco dato a quella Citta, ma Cle- mente VII si dette tutta la premura di ricuperarle, ed essendovi felicemente riuscito, le colloco colle proprie mani in quaranta- cinque preziosi vasi, dei quali ne avean fatto acquisto i Suoi Antenati, e specialmente Cosimo, e Lorenzo il Magnifico. Avendo egli intanto determinato di farcene un dono ordinb a Michelagnolo Buonarroti di ideare un Tabernacolo (1), o pic- cola Cappella, dove collocar le si potessero decentemente, e mostrarsi al popolo. Fu questa da quel divino ingegno scavata nella grossezza del muro della facciata sopra la porta Maggiore della Chiesa, e fu fatta una ringhiera nella parte interna della Chiesa Sostenuta da due Colonne in tutto Conformi a quelle delle navate con tre bellissime porticelle, il tutto con tanta sime- tria, e tanta grazia, che invece di deturpare, e di alterare in alcun modo 1' Architettura, fa anzi un mirabile accordo, e serve di un Maggiore ornamento. Finalmente con una Bolla data in Roma il di 16 di Nov. 1532, (Num. xlix.) di suo proprio moto donolle coi preziosi vasi alia nostra Chiesa, ed al Priore, e Capitolo con le seguenti conditioni, cioe, che le si pongano nel sopraddetto tabernacolo, avanti a cui debba ardere e giorno, e notte una lampada; debbano chiudersi con tre chiavi diverse, una delle quali tener la debba il principale erede della Casa Medici, 1* Altra il Priore, ed il Capitolo, e la terza lo Spedalingo degl' Innocenti (2) ; che non si extraggano mai da quei vasi, e non si tras- portino altrove, e non se ne dia qualunque benche minima 33 6 APPENDIX. particella ad alcuno di qual si sia dignita, grado, e condizione ; che nel Sabato Santo dah" Altar Maggiore fino alia porta si faccia con un tavolato di quattro cubiti di Altezza la divisione della Chiesa, affinche gli uomini stiano in essa separati dalle donne corpore et aspectu (3) ; che dopo il Vespro solenne della Domenica di Resurrezione, ancorche la Citta, e la Chiesa fossero sottoposte all' interdetto, il Priore, o uno dei Canonici piu anziani, o quando il volesse, un Suffraganeo dell' Arcivescovo Fior, Chirothecis Serico albo Contextis, le mostri dal terrazzino al popolo ad una, e due Cappellani ad alta, ed intelligibil voce, 1' uno in latino, e 1' altro in Toscano dichiarino il nome di ciascuna di esse, e 1' Ostensore coll' ultima benedica il popolo, prima gli uomini alia sinistra, e quindi le donne alia sua destra. (1.) Al di Sotto questo Tabernacolo vi pose il Buonarroti un' Arme Medicea molto semplice, ma come dice il Bocchi, colma di bellezza isquisita ; in questa egli non h alcuno artefice, pure, che sia accorto, il quale nella semplicita dell' opera non riconosca somma bellezza con mille ornamenti. (2.) Nel libro dei nostri Ricordi A, pag. 35 1. leggesi : ' Ricordo come a questo di 21 d' Aprile 1535 si presentb alio Spedalingo degl' Innocenti una delle tre Chiave della porta delle nostre Reliquie, come appare al Giornale, e Ricordanze di detto Spedale segn. T. pag. 51, portb M. Francesco Dino nostro Canonico.' (3.) Una tale divisione degli uomini dalle donne costumavasi fino a questi ultimi tempi ancora nell' ultimo giorno dell' anno, in cui dal Gran Duca Cosimo III, a insinuazione dell' Immortale Oratore P. Paolo Segneri il Seniore fu la Chiesa nostra pres- celta, e destinata per il rendimento di Grazie. Questa divisione nel 1799, anno per noi memorabilissimo per la sfrenatezza della liberta, per evitare un mal maggiore fu tolta, ne mai piu ristabilita. The writer has ascertained, through the kind offices of his friend the Marquis d' Azeglio, that the relics are still pre- served in their precious monstrances of goldsmith's work in the chamber constructed for them by Michel Angelo, and that they are, at present, brought out into the balcony and exhibited to the people beneath, in the body of the church, every Sunday after Vespers. MICHEL ANGELO. 337 Note 13 (page 79). The design for a group of Sampson killing a Philistine. Vasari (ed. Lemonnier, vol. x. p. 289), in the life of Pierino da Vinci, mentions that Pierino, who was a professed imitator of Michel Angelo, undertook to produce a marble group of this subject from Michel Angelo's designs, but it would seem that the work was never completed. The following is the original text : — ' Mandb dipoi Luca a Carrara a far cavare un marmo cinque braccia alto e largo tre ; nel quale il Vinci, avendo gia veduto alcuni schizzi di Michelagnolo d' un Sansone che ammazzava un Filisteo con la mascella d' asino, disegnb da questo suggetto fare a sua fantasia due statue di cinque braccia. « Onde, mentre che '1 marmo veniva, messosi a fare piu mo- delli variati T uno dall'altro, si fermb a uno e dipoi venuto il sasso, a lavorarlo incomincib e lo tirb innanzi assai, immitando Michelagnolo nel cavare a poco a poco de' sassi il concetto suo e' 1 disegno, senza guastargli o farvi altro errore. Condusse in questa opera gli strafori sotto squadra e sopra squadra, ancora che laboriosi, con molta facilita, e la maniera di tutta 1* opera era dolcissima. Ma perche 1' opera era faticosissima, s' andava intrattenendo con altri studj e lavori di manco importanza.' Note 14 (page 82). The unfinished ' Pieta' groups. Since writing the account of this group the author has found curious incidental notices of it in unexpected quarters. In C. Rogers' work, ' Facsimiles of Ancient Drawings/ in the notice of Michel Angelo, p. 41, the following foot-note is appended to a mention of the Florence Deposition : — ' The authors of the Trattata della Pittura, &c, da un Theologo e da un Pittore, p. 210, mention two groups of the subject, of which Michel Angelo left sketches only ; one of these was found buried in an apartment underground, and about a.d. 1650 publickly seen in a shop in Rome ; the other stood in Cardinal Bandino's garden at Monte Cavallo. These two sketches, besides others which were neglected, are so beautiful that Taddeo Zucchero esteemed his x x 338 APPENDIX. labour well employed in drawing, colouring, and introducing them into his own works ; as is seen at Rome in the Madonna de' Monti, and in the Pieta del Consolato de' Fiorentini.' The group above alluded to as being in the Bandini garden in Rome was doubtless that which is now in the Duomo at Florence; and Vasari (Life of Michel Angelo, p. 248) gives us a circum- stantial account of the manner in which, when it left Michel Angelo's hands, it came into the possession of Francesco Bandini, doubtless an ancestor of the Cardinal above mentioned ; and a note by the editor of the Lemonnier edition of Vasari further informs us, when, and under what circumstances, it found its present resting-place in Florence. This was in a.d. 1 7 2 2, as indicated by the following inscription, on the pedestal, written by Michel Angelo's descendant, the Senator Filippo Buonarroti : — ' Postremum Michaelis Angeli opus quamvis ab artifice ob vitium marmoris neglectum eximium tamen artis canona Cosmus 1 1 1 Mgn. dux Etruriae Roma jam advectum hie p. j. anno MDCCXXII.' The other group, according to the foregoing note found in an apartment underground and engraved in a.d. 1650, was evidently the marble mentioned in the text, and seen by the present writer in the court-yard of the palace of the Russian Legation in Rome (a.d. 1857), when, being in Rome on Her Majesty's service, he endeavoured, but unsuccessfully, to pur- chase it for the South Kensington Museum. Note 15 (pages 86, 87). The Crucifix, executed for Vtrioria Colonna. Grimm, in his Life of Michel Angelo, alludes to the Oxford drawing, No. 73, as if it were the original; it is, however, certainly only a good old copy : the writer is not aware if the original is extant. Vittoria Colonna's letter, already printed by Grimm in the Appendix to his second volume, note 57, from the autograph in the British Museum, is as follows : — ' Unico Maestro Michelagnolo et mio singularissimo amico. • Io havuta la vostra et visto il crucifixo, il qual certamente ha MICHEL ANGELO. 339 crucifixe nella memoria mia quale altri picture. Viddi mai ne se po veder piu ben fatta, piu viva et piu finita imagine, et certo Io non potrei mai explicar quanto sottilmente et mirabil- mente e fatta, per il che ho risoluta de non volerlo di man d' altri ; et pero, chiaritemi, se questo e d' altri patientia : se e vostro io in ogni modo vel torrei, ma in caso che non sia vostro et vogliate fare a quel vostro, ce parlaremo prima, perche cog- noscendo io la difficulta che c' e e di imitarlo, piu presto mi resolvo che colui faccia un altra cosa che questa. Ma se h il vostro questo, habbiate patientia che non son per tornarlo piu. Io 1' ho ben visto al lume et col vetro, et col specchio et non viddi mai la piu finita cosa ' Son ' Al conta da vostro le . . . . 1 Note 16 (page 93). Motto on an architectural design for a di pastello, d' altezza palmi due, e once 3, larghezza pal. 1 e one 8, belliss mo a maraviglia e ben conservato. 14. Altro ritratto di simil grandezza ed in carta come 1' altro di sopra, in pastello rappresentante i' effigie e ritratto di Timoteo, fatto da se med mo ed b belliss mo e ben con- servato. 15. Altro pastello fatto del Tintoretto d' un vecchio di grandezza quasi simile al soprad to , in carta ***** belliss mo e ben conservato. RAFFAELLO. 345 Disegni. Un disegno in lungo fatto di penna dal divin Raffaelle, 16. rappresentante un assunta, con molti angeli e cherubini all' venduto. intorno, il tutto bellisso, di larghezza palmi uno e mezzo, d' altezza one tredici : in carta. Altro disegno nell' istessa carta dall' altra parte, dello stesso 17. Raffaelle, rappresentante la SS ma Annunziata, con di sopra venduto. un Dio Padre e molti angeli e cherubini, il disegno e fatto di penna ben rifornito ed e p alto, il tutto belliss mo e per- fettamente conservato. Altro disegno in lungo, fatto di penna, con alquante figure 18. ignude in atto di legare uno, con un espressione incredibile, venduto. in fuora vi sono alcuni motti, questo disegno e di grandezza un palmo e once nova p il lungo, alto o>nc : 13, di mano del sopra detto RafFaello. Altro disegno di molte figure fatte medesimam te di penna, 19. con la med ma espressione, e med m0 sogetto- — dall' altra parte venduto. del soprad foglio, di mano dello stesso Raffaello. Altro disegno poco piii grande con due motivi, p un 20. S. Giovanni predicante nel deserto : del med m0 Raffaello fatto venduto. di penna. Un disegno o testa fatta di lapis nigro ben rifornito, che 21. rappresenta una Santa, con la palma in mano, in mezzo foglio di carta reale p alto, di mano del med m ° Raffaelle. Un disegno in lungo, fatto di penna, con molte figure nude 22. in atto di legare uno, — di grandezza d' un palmo e oct' oncie, e p altezza one: 13, questo pure h di Raffaelle e conforme Y altro di sopra descritto — ben conservato. Altro disegno dell' istesso Raffaelle in mezzo foglio reale, 23. ove vi sono molti attitudini di putti che stanno giocando — schizzi fatti a penna dal soprad to , ed e ben conservato. Un disegno di grandezza simile p. alto, che rappresenta 24. una battaglia di figure ignude, fatto con penna grossa, dal venduto. med m0 Raffaello e ben custodito. Yy 346 APPENDIX. 25. Un disegno pure di penna di quattro figure, che portono venduto. UF1 Christo morto — di lunghezza un palmo e mezzo, ed alto one 14 : pure di Raffaelle. 26. Un altro disegno dalla parte opposta del soprad to nel quale venduto. vi e una figura appogiata ad un tronco con alcuni pomi in mano, un putto a piedi : del med m ° Raffaelle fatto di penna. 27. Altro disegno, poco piu piccolo, con un Christo morto portato al sepolcro p Giovanni e le Marie, fatto di penna e trattigiato di Raffaelle. 28. Altro disegno fatto dal med mo Raffaelle dalla parte opposta, venduto. ove vi sono alcune figure di donne morte ed infasciate ne panni ed uno che alza un cadavere e tre puttini belliss mi : il tutto ben conservato. 29. Un disegno di penna — del med mo Raffaelle, che rappresenta una Madonna seduta con le Marie, alto one 16, e largo one. 11. 30. Uno schizzo di penna d' una carita con tre putti, del med mo venduto. Raffaelle, alto un palmo e mezzo, largo one 11. 31. Un disegno in mezzo foglio reale p alto, vi sono molte venduto. figure che corrono e ballano con due putti in terra; fatto di penna dal med mo Raffaelle ed e bellissimo. 32. Altro disegno in carta simile con tre figure fatte di penna venduto. dal medmo Raffaelle. 33. Un disegno d'una Madonna, Bambino, e S. Gio. fatto di penna dal med mo Raffaelle alto one 15' e largo one : 10. 34. Altro disegno fatto dal med mo Raffaelle dall' altra parte venduto. del soprad foglio ove vi e un Christo morto, con due figure che lo sostentono e alquante teste, il tutto di penna ben conservato. 35. Un disegno pure di penna di grandezza poco piu del venduto. soprad che rappresenta le Marie a piedi della croce : di Raffaelle. RAFFAELLO. 347 Altro disegno di penna, del med mo Raffaelle, di grandezza 36. poco piu del soprad , che rappresenta la Madonna e Bambino venduto. con due motivi diseguali ignude. Disegno di simil grandezza pure di penna, con quattro 37. motivi di Donne e Bambini, e due altri pensieri, fatti di lapis venduto. rosso : di Raffaelle. Altro simile in grandezza, del med mo Raffaelle, con diversi 38. motivi come sopra venduto. Un disegno grande one 14: in quadro con diverse figure di 39. Re ed altri schizzi di penna, di Raffaelle. Una Madonna col Bambino ed un Angelo lo sostenne, di 40. grandezza quasi simile al sopradetto, pure schizzo di penna ven duto. del med mo Raffaelle. Un Adamo fatto di penna dal med mo Raffaello, d' altezza un 41. palmo e due oncie, Larghezza one otto. Altro disegno dalF altra parte del soprad foglio, con due 42. figure, pure di penna del med mo Raffaelle. venduto. Altro disegno di simil grandezza con pensieri di molte figure, 43. fatte di penna dal med mo Raffaelle. non trovato. Altro disegno di simil grandezza p lungo con pensieri 44. d' una Madonna, Bambino e S. Gio. fatti di penna dal med mo venduto. Raffaelle. Un altro disegno di grandezza poco piu d' un palmo, con 45. una figura d' una donna sedente, fatto di penna dal med m0 . Altro disegno o schizzo fatto di penna, con una Madonna, 46. Bambino, e due santi in mezza figura, di grandezza un palmo venduto. in circa, di Raffaelle. Altro disegno pure di penna con un pensiere di Madonna, 47. Bambino e S. Gio. di grandezza quasi simile: del med mo Raffaelle. Una testina fatta di lapis negro, d' altezza un palmo due onci, 48. larghezza un palmo, del med mo Raffaelle. Y y 2 348 APPENDIX. 49. Un altro motivo di Madonna, Bambino e S. Anna, schizzo venduto. fatto di penna da Raffaelle di grandezza quasi un palmo. 50. Altro pensiero di Madonna e Bambino, pure schizzo di penna dello stesso Raffaelle, e della med^a grandezza. 51. Altro motivo di Madonna, Bambino e S. Gio. con diversi schizzi, di grandezza d' un palmo, fatti di penna del med mo Raffaelle. 52. Una mezza figura della SS™» Annunziata fatta di penna, one. 9, in quadro, del med m <> Raffaelle. 53. Una Madonna, Bambino e S. Gio. schizzo di penna, del non trovato. med mo Raffaelle, alto one. io, e largo one. 7. 54. j Altro disegno piu piccolo dello stesso Raffaelle, col motivo d' una Madonna e Bambino, ed una testa da una parte, schizzo di penna. 55. Una S. Maria Madalena a piedi della Croce, schizzo di penna, non trovato. del med mo Raffaello, alto one. 7. 56. Una mezza figura di Madonna col Bambino in braccio, fatta di lapis negro : di simil grandezza e del med 1 ™ Raffaelle. ' 57. Altro schizzo di penna d' una Madonna e bambino, di gran- dezza simile e del med mo Raffaelle. 58. Un altro schizzo di mezza figura di penna del nudo, un poco non trovato. piu piccolo del soprad : di Raffaelle. 59. Un disegno in lungo in mezzo foglio reale con una Madonna sedente in un trono e Bambino su le ginocchia con un putto a sedere piu sotto, ed alquanti santi all' intorno— schizzo di penna di Raffaelle. 60. Una Madonna in quarto di foglio reale, col Bambino e venduto. S. Gio. disegno fatto d' acquarella del med mo Raffaelle. 61. Un disegno in mezzo foglio reale con una Madonna, Bambino venduto. e S. Gio. ed un altra figura di donna; fatto di penna e disegna to ignudo, del med mo Raffaelle. RAFFAELLO. 349 Altro disegno d' Una figura fatta dalla parte opposta del 62. tried™ foglio, pure di Raffaelle : di penna. venduto. In un mezzo foglio di mano di Raffaelle vi sono, fatti di 63. penna, diversi putti ben contornati. venduto. Altro disegno del med mo Raffaelle ove vi sono quattro 64. figure che portano un Christo morto, d' altezza palmi uno e venduto. mezzo : di Raffaelle fatti a penna. Una Madonna col Bambino fatta di penna, disegno di 65. grandezza one. 1 5 p alto : di Raffaelle. venduto. Altro disegno di simil grandezza, fatto di penna dalto stesso 66. Raffaelle, ove sono trS figure, venduto. Altro motivo di Madonna, fatto di lapis negro del med mo 67. Raffaelle. non trovato. Altro schizzo, simile di grandezza, di penna, del medesimo 68. Raffaelle. non trovato. Altro piu piccolo, con alcune Teste, di penna, del med m0 69. Raffaelle. non trovato. Altro disegno di Rafaelle in carta * * * fatto di lapis 70. * * * * nel quale vi h una testa di vescovo con mitria, un in due pezn. altra mitria da parte, quattro altre teste di omini e donne, due putti in aria, due libri aperti sostenuti da una mano p libro, e vi sono altri mani ancora : dall' altra parte di questo istesso foglio vi si leggano scritte alcune poesie e rime, di carattere ed invenzioni del soprad Divin pittore Rafael Sanzi d' Urbino. Perfettamente custodito conforme tucti gli altri di sopra descritti. Un disegno di Paolo Veronese con alcune figure di Santi, 71. fatto d' acquerella rossa, alto palmi uno e mezzo largo one. io. Una testa di lapis negro in mezzo foglio reale, fatta di 72. Timoteo. Un sacrificio con quattro figure che portano trofei, in mezzo 73. foglio reale, fatto di penna da Timoteo. venduto. 35° APPENDIX. 74. Una Madonna, disegno fatto di penna, col Bambino in non trovato. braccio, di grandezza one. 10: di Timoteo. 75. ^ Altro disegno rappresentante quando Christo vien depo- non trovato. sitato nel sepolcro, di octo figure toccato d' acquerella e bianca, di Timoteo, grandezza one. 14 p il lungo. 76. Una figura di S. Sebastiano alta one. 10, disegno fatto di repiicato neii penna di Timoteo della Vite. altra nome ? 77. Una testa fatta di lapis negro d' una Santa, di grandezza di un palmo, di Timoteo. 78. Un disegno in carta turchina fatta d 'acquerella e bianco, con non trovato. tre figure, di grandezza one. 1 5 p lungo : di Timoteo. 79. Una figura d' un orfeo fatta d' acquerella e bianca, grandezza repiicato. one. 18 p lungo, disegno di Timoteo. 80. Una testa di lapis negro grande al naturale, disegno fatto del repiicato. med m ° Timoteo. 81. Una figura alta one. 16 fatta di penna, che rappresenta un repiicato. monacho con un libro in mano, disegno di Timoteo. 82. Altra figura fatta di lapis negro che rappresenta una donna, repiicato. di grandezza del soprad , disegno di Timoteo. 83. Una figura d' un Christo che sta orando, fatto di lapis negro, repiicato. alta one. 1 4 ; disegno del med mo Timoteo della Vite d' Urbino, e questo conforme tutti V altre descritte di sopra sono benis- sime conserva te e sono di tutta perfezione. 84. Un motivo d' un ritratto d' uomo in piede fatto di lapis rosso, repiicato. in carta turchina, da Federico Baroccio, alto one. 15, per- fettamente conservato. 85. Un paesetto assai bello fatto di penna, d' altezza one. 13 repiicato. dell' istesso Federico Barocci d' Urbino. 86. Un disegno in carta turchina fatto d' acquerella e bianco repiicato. assai bello e ben rifornito, alto one. 20 largo one. 13 di Polidoro da Caravaggio. RAFFAELLO. 35 1 Altro disegno in carta turchina fatto d' acquerella e bianco, 87. assai bello e ben rifornito, con molte figure al pari di quello repikato. di sopra, alto one. 20 largo one. 13. di Polidoro da Caravaggio e sono perfettamente conservati. Una testa fatta di pastelli, disegno grande al naturale, di 88. Pietro Perugino ed e ben conservata. replicato. In oltre vi sono fra schizzi e disegni d' altri pittori illustri dei secoli passati, trenta e piu altre carte di diverse grandezza, tutti assai belli e benissimi conservati. '/ disegni descritti in questa nota appartennero alia famiglia Vile in Urbino, e furono raccolti da Timoteo, celebre pillore di quel cognome. I discendenti Viti ne venderono una parte a M. Crousaz il rimanente passo per eredita alia famiglia Antaldi anch' essa di l/rbino' ' This Catalogue was given to me by the Jlfarquis Antaldi, from whom I purchased, in 1824, all the drawings of this Collection remaining in his possession! Sam. Woodbum. ' This Catalogue was found by me among the papers of the late Sir Thomas Lawrence.' A. Keightley, his Executor. Note 18 (page 113). The lost picture of the Crowning of St. Nicholas of Tolentino. The intrinsic importance of this masterpiece, which the world seems to have been deprived of, will justify any con- tribution however indirect, tending to throw light on it. Passavant's account derived from Vasari, Lanzi, Pungileoni, and the Lille drawing, is less ample than might have been expected. That writer has, moreover, without due consider- ation dismissed as incorrect an important indication contained in the account of Pungileoni, which indication, nevertheless, the writer believes is elucidated in an interesting manner by the drawing now brought to light at Oxford. It will in the first place be convenient to quote a portion of Passavant's account, especially as it embodies Lanzi's description, vol. ii. p. 8. 35 2 APPENDIX. 1 Le Couronnement de Saint Nicolas de Tolentino. Selon Vasari, Lanzi et Pungileoni, ce tableau, qui se trouvait dans l'eglise S. Agostino a Citta di Castello, serait un des premiers ouvrages de Raphael. " J'appris a Citta di Castello," dit Lanzi, dans son ouvrage : Storia pittorica del? Italia, " que Raphael avait peint, a l'age de dix-sept ans, le Saint Nicholas chez les ermites. Le style dtait du Pe'rugin, mais le tableau n'avait pas la composition ordinaire d'alors, avec la Vierge assise sur un trone, entour^e de saints personnages. Ici il repr^sente l'Elu, auquel la Vierge et saint Augustin, en partie caches dans un nuage, posent une couronne sur la tete. De chaque cote* des saints se trouvant deux anges, de mouve- ments divers, qui ddroulent des bandes de parchemin sur lesquelles sont £crites des louanges en l'honneur du saint ermite ; dans le haut, on voit encore Dieu le Pere, demi-figure, dans une aureole formee de tetes de cherubins. Toutes les figures sont place*es dans une espece de temple dont les pilastres sont couverts de petits ornements dans le genre du Mantegna. Les plis des draperies sont encore, dans quelques parties, d'un gout surann^, mais, dans d'autres cependant, d'un gout meilleur. De meme, le demon, couche" sous les pieds du saint, n'a pas cette laideur capricieuse que les anciens lui donnaient, ici il ressemble a un negre." ' Pungileoni fait aussi di ce tableau une description a peu pres semblable, dans son Elogio storico di Raffaello Santi (P- 34) > mais il fait entrer a tort dans V ordonnance de la com- position un saint Nicholas de Bari. En effet, l'esquisse qui est au Muse'e Wicar a, Lille se rapporte parfaitement a, la description de Lanzi, avec cette seule difference que, dans le dessin, chacune des trois figures du haut tient une couronne audessus de la tSte du saint.' Passavant gives in addition the following description of the Lille drawing (vol. ii. p. 483). 386. ' Le Couronnement de saint Nicholas de Tolentino. Esquisse ldgerement dessine'e a la pierre noire pour le tableau d'autel qui se trouvait autre- fois dans l'dglise des Augustins a. Citta di Castello. Au milieu, le saint, tenant une croix d'une main et un livre de l'autre, foule aux pieds Satan vaincu. Cette figure nue est dessine'e d'apres le modele vivant. Des tetes de cherubins voltigent dans Fair audessus de lui, et plus haut se voit Dieu le Pere. Ce peut aussi 6tre le Christ tenant une couronne dans ses deux mains, cette figure, vue a demi, est ^galement dessine'e d'apres nature. Un peu plus bas, au cote', sur des petits RAFFAELLO. 353 nuages, a gauche la sainte Vierge, a droite saint Augustin, tous deux en demi figure, offrant des couronnes. Au cote" gauche, sous la sainte Vierge et pres du saint, un Ange debout, en adoration. L'ensemble est renferme' dans une architecture de deux pilastres qui portent un arc. Au verso, la tete de saint Nicolas, plus grande de proportion, dessinee d'apres un moine et ex^cutee a la pierre noire. Ensuite, des dessins a la plume et quatre cygnes, deux Etudes de draperies et un portique dont les colonnes soutiennent des arcs sur- mont^s de fenetres. Cette architecture ressemble beaucoup a celle du palais d'Urbin ou de Gubbio. Feuille in-folio, d'autant plus precieuse qu'elle seule peut encore donner une ide'e du tableau qui a et^ detruit dans un incendie.' Pungileoni's notice should be next extracted. It is contained in his work, 'Elogio storico de Raffaelle Santi;' Urbino, 1829, p. 34 : — ' Tra queste nominero una tavola da lui dipinta nel 1500 per quella chiesa degli Agostiniani tutta sul fare del Perugino. ' II prototipo e S. Niccola da Tolentino avente ambo i piedi sul dosso di Lucifero, ed in mano la croce, due figure che non si potevano lodare per essere, come dicono quei dell' arte strapazzate. 'Piacevano ad essi bensi li quattro Angioli di grandezza naturale, due a destra, e due a sinistra del Santo Eremitano. Cosi giudicavano degna di molta lode la figura del Padre Eterno, collocata nella parte superiore del quadro, ricinta da varie teste di serafini, avente da un lato la Madonna e Sant' Agostino, ambi due in atto di coronare il Taumaturgo di Tolentino, dalT altro San Nicolb di Bari mitrato. Se mai alcuno volesse riprendere Raffaello per averlo piantato li ritto in luogo non suo, avverta che il fine del pittore fu di richiamare alia mente, come ad intercessione del Santo Vescovo di Bari, la Madre di San Niccola ebbelo in dono da Dio. 'Imperiose circostanze astrinsero i posseditori del suddetto quadro a privarsene nel 1789, dacche quella citta dai tremuoti restb per meta rovinata. II pittore Ponfreni, per cenno del sesto Pio, cosi malconcio com' era 1' acquisto a prezzo d' oro, e, fattolo in pezzi, del Padre Eterno, oltre le altre belle figure bellissimo formb un quadretto, che il prelodato Pontefice dilettantissimo di belle arti tenne nelle sue stanze finche gente straniere qui vennero a lanciar senza freno il latrocinio z z 354 APPENDIX. ed a tingere di sangue quasi ogni gleba della sventurata Italia.' From the preceding accounts it seems evident that neither Lanzi nor Pungileoni saw the picture whilst in its original place at Citta di Castello. The former writer, however, seems to have gleaned his information in that town, shortly after the sale and removal of the picture to Rome; but although he does not explicitly say so, it is possible that he may have seen the disconnected fragments when they were afterwards for a short time hung up in the Vatican. On the other hand, it may be presumed that the Abbate Pungileoni, whose book was published thirty years after the final disappearance of the fragments, could not have seen those remains. His descrip- tion, nevertheless, seems to have been derived to a certain extent at least from an independent source. To all appear- ance the information which he gives was also gleaned on the spot, probably from aged persons who retained more or less accurate recollections of the complete picture. It will be observed that Pungileoni intimates that the picture con- tained, in addition to the St. Nicholas of Tolentino, a stand- ing figure of another St. Nicholas {of Ban), a fact of which Lanzi makes no mention, and which Passavant, it will be remembered, alluded to only to dismiss as an erroneous supposition. We must regret that Pungileoni was not more explicit in his allusion ; the explanation probably is, that although certain of the fact that a standing figure of St. Nicholas of Bari was introduced somewhere or other in the picture, he was himself in the dark as to the position which it really occupied. His words (put into English, see the original text given before) are, in regard to the other mitred St. Nicholas, ' if ever any one were to censure Raffaello for having planted him there erect in a position not his own, let him observe that the purpose of the painter was to recall to mind how at the intercession of the sainted Bishop of Bari, the mother of St. Nicholas (of Tolentino) received the child as a gift from God.' Presuming that this saint really was introduced into the picture, it must have been into the lower part of the com- position. Pungileoni's incidental allusion clearly enough indicates this. Both he and Lanzi, however, have distinctly stated that the lower part of the picture was occupied in the centre by the St. Nicholas of Tolentino standing on the RAFFAELLO. 355 prostrate figure of the devil, and that this principal group was accompanied by four figures of standing angels, placed two on each side. The St. Nicholas of Bari must then have been introduced as a fifth or additional figure, un- symmetrically placed on one side of the principal group; or else it must have taken the place of one of the angels, in which case the arrangement would really have been that of two angels on one side, and the St. Nicholas of Bari and one angel on the other. Now it should be noted that in the Lille drawing, which is a preparatory essay for the local distribution of the various figures and motives of the design, there is a vacant space on each side of the central group of the saint standing on the devil, the standing angel (the only one of the four indicated in the sketch) being placed close to the margin of the picture (on the left), leaving a blank space betwixt it and the central group, evidently for the insertion of another standing figure, whilst on the opposite side the paper is altogether unoccupied. It may perhaps be inferred from this incompleteness, that at the time the drawing in question was made, Raffaello was still hesitating as to the personages to be ultimately introduced in the lower part of the composition. The writer's supposition is that the painter was embarrassed by changes of purpose in the Augustinian monks his patrons, who, when he had settled the disposition of the various figures, as Lanzi has described, i.e. with two angels on each side of the central group, finally decided on the introduction of the St. Nicholas of Bari, for the legendary reasons recounted by Pungileoni. Now the standing figure wearing a cope and in an attitude as if reading a book, in the Oxford drawing, evidently repre- sents a sainted bishop, and the writer has little doubt that it is the first study for the figure in question. (See, more- over, the representation of this same St. Nicholas of Bari introduced by Raffaello into the ' Sacra Conversazione ' of the Ansidei family — the Blenheim picture — painted a few years later, a.d. 1505). The position of the figure indicates that it was to be placed on the right side of the picture, and the peculiarity alluded to by Pungileoni of its having been 'planted' in an unusual position (' piantato 11 ritto in luogo non suo '), may have been that it occupied the place next to the central group, originally designed to have been filled by an angel. On this supposition the right side of the picture would have contained the St. Nicholas of Bari and one standing angel, 35* APPENDIX. and the left side two standing angels ; which the writer inclines to think must have been the real arrangement. On the other hand, it may have been that there were really four angels as stated, the St. Nicholas of Bari forming a fifth figure inserted on the right-hand side of the picture. Further discoveries will probably clear up these difficulties and seeming contradictions. The mystery in which the final disappearance of the frag- ments of the picture is involved, is in itself not a little extraordinary. There seems no reason to suppose that they have absolutely perished. If, as the Italian writers intimate, the fragments were carried off by the French, the probability is that they were taken to Paris in a.d. 1814, and that not being considered of much importance they were not sent back to Italy; in that case it is not impossible that they may have been dispersed amongst the provincial Museums of France. Or, on the other hand, it may be that they never were removed from Rome, and that they may yet be identified amongst the hidden treasures of the Eternal City. Note 19 (page 127). Rajfaelld's drawings for ibe Siena frescos. It is a remarkable fact nevertheless, that in the original contract for the execution of these frescos, drawn up by Cardinal Piccolomini himself (dated 29th of June, 1502), there is a special clause to the effect that Pinturricchio should make all the drawings for the historical subjects himself See the interesting document in question recently discovered in the Siena archives, and printed in the Commentary on the Life of Pinturricchio in the Lemonnier edition of Vasari, vol. v. p. 287. The passage is as follows : — 'Item sia tenuto fare tutti li desegni delli istorie di sua mano in cartoni et in muro, fare le teste di sua mano tutte in fresco, et in secho ritocchare et finire, infino a la per- fectione sua.' The difficulty of accounting for the fact that several of the historical designs, 'istorie,' were actually made by Raffaello, notwithstanding the legal stipulation above quoted, is great. The editors of the Lemonnier Vasari have discussed the matter at much length in the afore-mentioned Commentary; RAFFAELLO. 357 their conclusion seems to be that Pinturricchio merely made use of Raffaello's talent as a draughtsman in working out his original sketches. But Raffaello's drawings for the frescos, and especially the Oxford study, point to an entirely different conclusion, and there is no escape from the obvious fact that they disclose the very act of original invention. It is not, however, necessary to infer that Pinturricchio surreptitiously violated his agreement in employing Raffaello in the preliminary designs ; it seems far more likely that Cardinal Piccolomini himself, who was evidently a connoisseur and an enlightened patron of art, had become acquainted with the pre-eminent talents of Raffaello, and that his services were enlisted in the work with the Cardinal's full knowledge and concurrence. On this supposition Pinturricchio may be held to have generously and thankfully accepted the assistance of the young artist; nor is there any improbability in such a supposition, for all accounts of Raffaello's life at the time in question concur in stating that his modesty and goodness subdued all hearts, whilst his commanding genius made envy, as it were, impossible. Note 20 (pages 190, 192). Sonnets written on the reverse of two sheets of studies for the ' Disputa.' The following transcripts are given in Passavant, vol. i. p. 492, and they were doubtless copied by him from Fernow's version, published a.d. 1801, in Wieland's ' Mercure.' The drawings were then in the possession of the Antaldi family. Como non podde dir d' arcana dei Paul como disceso fu dal celo Cosi el mio cor d' uno amoroso velo A ricoperto tuti i penser mei Pero quanto ch' io viddi e quanto io fei' Pel gandio taccio che nel petto celo E prima cangero nel fronte el pelo Che mai 1' obligo volger penser rei. 35« APPENDIX. E se quello alter almo in basso cede Vedrai che non sia a me, ma al mio gran focho Qual piu che gli altri in la ferventia esciede Ma pensa ch' el mio spirto a pocho a pocho El corpo lasara se tua mercede Soccorso non li dia a tempo e locho *. Amor tu m' envescasti con doi lumi Degli occhi dov' io me strugo e face Da bianca neve e da rose vevace Da un bel parlar e d' onesti costumi Tal che tanto ardo che ne mar ne flume Spegner potrian quel focho, ma piace Poi ch' el mio ardor tanto di ben mi face C ardendo ognor piu d' arder mi consumi. Quanto fu dolce el giogo e la catena De suoi candidi braci al col mio volti Che sciogliendomi io sento mortal pena. D' altre cose io non dicho che son molti Che soperchia dolcezza a morte mena E perb taccio a te i pensier rivolti. Note 21 (page 195). Sonnet on a sheet of studies for the ' Disputa,' Sfc. The writer is indebted to the kindness of Signor di Tivoli for the following reading of this sonnet by Raffaello; he believes it is now published for the first time. Sorte servir parmi sdegnasse amore Per li affetti dimostro da me in parte Tu sai il perche senza vergarti in carte Ch' el dol restrinse del ferito core. * Raphael a essays de differentes manieres les deux dernieres strophes, mais il les effa^a ensuite ; nous n'en donnerons q'une ici, comme exemple : 'Adunqua tu sei sola alma felice In cui el eel tuta beleza pose Ch' el tien mio cor come in focho fenice.' (Passavant.) RAFFAELLO. 359 (S' esso si vede al marzial furore) Io grido e dico or che sei il mio Signore Dal centro al ciel phi su che Giove e Marte E che schermo non val ne ingegno o arte A schifar le tue forze e il tuo furore Or questo qui fia noto il fuoco ascoso Io portar nel mio petto ebbi tal grazia Ch' inteso alfin fu il suo spiar dubbioso E quell' alma gentil non mi disazia Ond' io ringrazio amor che m' h pietoso E che quella che il sol vince di luce. Note 22 (page 223). The Mass of Bolsena. Ottley ('Italian School of Design,' p. 52) incidentally alludes to one of the three Oxford drawings (the No. 87) ; he has, however, shown less than his usual acuteness in a theory which he has broached concerning it. He says, 'I am un- acquainted with any of the original studies for the fresco of the Mass of Bolsena; a design representing that subject differently composed was indeed engraved by Mr. Metz, in his work of "Imitations of Drawings" as an original of Raffaello ; but it is certainly not by his hand. It is at present in my collection ; and I am rather inclined to believe it to be the design for a picture which had been painted in the same place, probably by one Bramantino of Milan, before Raffaello was called to Rome; and which, with other works of painting already executed in the suite of rooms by various artists, were destroyed soon after his arrival, by order of Pope Julius, in order that he might have a more ample field for the display of his genius.' Ottley's first remark that he had never seen any sketches or studies by the hand of Raffaello for the Mass of Bolsena confirms the opinion of the writer that none such are extant ; but his supposition that the drawing represents a design of Bramantino or some other of the artists who had, before Raffaello's time, been employed in the decoration of the ' stanze,' is a most unlikely one. It would be scarcely worth while to discuss that hypothesis, for it is clear on the face of the design in question that the invention (though not the "^■1—1— mi 360 APPENDIX. execution) could have been due to no other than Raffaello. Ottley's hypothesis, at all events, shows that he found it difficult to determine the precise ' raison d'etre' of the design in question. Note 23 (page 244). The Loggia frescos. It is not here the place to enter minutely into the question of the share which Raffaello himself really had in the Loggia frescos; certainly his was the master mind, and it is to be presumed that he gave a close and minute attention to the undertaking in every stage, but the writer is of opinion that his eminent assistants (the chief of whom were, Giulio Romano, Gian Francesco Penni, Giovanni da Udine, Perino del Vaga, Polidoro da Caravaggio, Pellegrino da Modena, and Raffaelle del Colle), were not so completely kept in leading strings as is generally imagined; indications are not wanting that more than one of those able artists co-operated with the great master in the invention as well as the execution of some of the compositions. In all proba- bility Raffaello made the first designs, doubtless in the shape of rapid pen drawings, for the greater number if not all of the ceiling pictures, and also in many instances the studies from nature and other detailed drawings which formed the necessary preparation for the cartoons. The cartoons, on the other hand, it is to be presumed were mainly executed by the pupils. As regards the actual execution of the pictures in fresco, it is likely that Raffaello occasionally painted portions and altered and retouched other parts, and that he gave that universal assistance which furnished, so to speak, the key-note or standard of excellence for his disciples' guidance. It would indeed have been literally impossible for Raffaello to have done more, at that particular time, burthened as he was with so many other urgent commissions. It is a signi- ficant fact that although a great number of miscellaneous drawings ascribed to Raffaello relating to the Loggia frescos are still extant in various Collections, scarcely any of them are really by his hand. The writer indeed can specify only one certainly authentic design for a complete composition of the Loggia series. It is a pen drawing for ' The division PAPER-MARKS. of the lands by lot' (painted in the tenth arcade), in the Windsor Collection; that drawing zs unquestionably by the hand of Raflfaello; but the numerous others, usually drawn with the pen and washed with bistre tint, are nearly all obviously either the work of contemporary pupils or else copies from the finished frescos. In respect to the Loggia series there is, moreover, an entire absence of those beautiful and instructive detailed studies and illustrative drawings from nature, of which so many are still extant for other works; when, for instance, it is considered what a considerable number of preliminary drawings by Raflfaello himself are still extant for the one fresco of the Dispute of the Sacrament, and that scarcely one indubitably authentic study of the same kind for the fifty-two frescos of the Loggia has come down to us, it is fair at least to conclude that he made few original studies for the Loggia pictures. Note 24. Paper - marks. The water-marks or devices of paper manufacturers, of which the copies on a reduced scale are hereafter given, have all been carefully copied from the sheets of paper on which original drawings and written documents by Michel Angelo and Raflfaello are executed: the marks are reduced in size, in most cases to about one -half the original dimensions. The writer has reproduced the marks in the paper of all the drawings, &c, to which he has had access since he undertook the present work; the series might be greatly augmented by further research and observation, especially amongst con- tinental Collections. In deciding to include the numerous paper-marks gleaned from the Buonarroti correspondence in the British Museum, the writer was determined by the fact that the kinds of paper on which Michel Angelo's letters are written, generally speaking, seem to be the same as those on which he executed his drawings. The utility of the observation of paper-marks is obvious: such marks frequently indicate with more or less probability 3 a 362 APPENDIX. the date, and in some instances the place of production of the drawings on which they occur. Thus, for instance, in the case of the two marks, Nos. 42 and 43, on letters written by Michel Angelo from Bologna in a.d. 1506, whilst he was engaged in the production of the colossal bronze statue of Pope Julius II, the marks are the capital letter B, doubt- less indicative of Bologna; the paper may therefore be fairly presumed to have been fabricated in that city, and to have been purchased there by Michel Angelo. Now the letters in question are full of details concerning the great work which he had in hand, and which, as we know, was destroyed three years later. We have, moreover, to lament that no certainly authentic plastic or pictorial representations of it are now known to exist. It is obviously not impossible that amongst the drawings and sketches of Michel Angelo yet to be brought to light, studies for this lost work may be identified, or that contem- porary representations of the statue by his scholars or admirers may hereafter be discovered, and it is scarcely necessary to remark what important corroboration of the reality of such discoveries would be furnished by the recurrence of these same makers' marks on the paper of the drawings. Such testimony would be almost conclusive. List of Paper -marks, Michel Angelo. 1. Oxford Collection, No. 6 (p. 9), the drawing a naked recumbent figure, executed circa a.d. 1501 ; also in the paper of a letter in the Buonarroti correspondence in the British Museum, written from Rome 25th April, a.d. 1525. 2. Oxford. No. 8 (p. 10), studies of the figure undraped, circa a.d. 1500. 3. Oxford. No. (p. 11), study of a man's head, &c, circa a.d. 1 500 ; and on a sheet in the Windsor Collection, representing a Holy Family, with a sonnet at the back, circa a.d. 1540 ? 4. Oxford. No. 17 (p. 20), figures for the background of the Cartoon of Pisa, circa a.d. 1504; and No. 19 (p. 22), other studies for the same work. LIST OF PAPER-MARKS. MICHEL ANGELO. 363 5. Oxford. No. 20 (p. 24), sheet of studies, probably period of the Cartoon of Pisa, circa a.d. 1504. 6. Oxford. No. 27 (p. 37). study of a figure for the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, circa a.d. 1508-11. 7. Oxford. No. 32 (p. 42), sheet of studies of heads, Sistine Chapel period, circa a.d. 1 508-11; also on a drawing by Raffaello in the Oxford Collection, No. 4 (p. 113), a sheet of studies for the destroyed picture of the Coronation of St. Nicholas of Tolentino, circa a.d. 1500. 8. Oxford. No. 41 (p. 52), sheet of studies for the Medici Tombs, circa a.d. 1520-34? 9. Oxford. No. 43 (p. 55). sheet of studies for the Medici Tombs, circa a.d. 1520-34? 10. British Museum Collection. Sheet of studies of Hercules and Antaeus, &c, quoted in text, p. 57, circa a.d. 1520-34? 11. Oxford Collection. No. 45 (p. 58), sheet of various studies, period of the Medici Tombs, circa a.d. 1520-34; also No. 55 (p. 69), Sampson and Delilah, circa a.d. 1520-34 ; and No. 58 (p. 71), study for a figure in the Last Judgment, circa a.d. 1534-41. 12. Oxford. No. 47 (p. 59), study from the Medici Tomb statue * La Notte ' after Michel Angelo. 13. Oxford. No. 49 (p. 63), plan of a relic chamber for San Lorenzo, circa a.d. 1520-34 ? 14. Oxford. No. 56 (p. 69), head of a female (ascribed to Michel Angelo), circa a.d. 1520-34. 15. Oxford. No. 66 (p. 77), torso of a male figure, circa A.D. I534-4I- 16. Oxford. No. 72 (p. 86), study for the Crucifixion, and also on another study for the same composition in the Windsor Collection. 17. Oxford. No. 74 (p. 89), the Salutation of the Virgin, circa a.d. 1541-63. 18. Oxford. No. 75 (p. 89), study of a head; architectural details on the reverse, circa a.d. 1541-63. 19. Oxford. No. 80 (p. 97), architectural drawing, design for a window, circa a.d. 1541-63. 3 a 2 3^4 APPENDIX. 19 a. Oxford. No. 18 (p. 21), sheet of studies for the Cartoon of Pisa, circa a.d. 1504. 19 b. Oxford. No. 22 (p. 25), the Virgin with the Infant Saviour seated on the lap of St. Elizabeth, circa a.d. 1504. 20. Windsor Collection. Study of the figure of our Saviour for a ' Deposition,' &c, middle period. 21. Windsor. Sheet of studies; torso of a grotesque figure, a helmeted head, &c, Medici Tomb period, circa a.d. 1520-34. 22. Malcolm Collection. Study for the head of St. Bartholomew in the Last Judgment, circa a.d. 1534-41. 23. Malcolm. Sheet of sketches for the Medici Tombs, circa A.D. 152O-34. 24. Malcolm. Study for the Last Judgment, fresco, circa a.d. I534-4I- 25. Malcolm. Study for a figure in the Crucifixion of St. Peter, circa a.d. 1549-50; and the same mark is found on many letters in the Buonarroti correspondence in the British Museum, written from Rome chiefly a.d. 1543. 26. Malcolm. Study for the statue of St. Matthew, and sketch for part of the background of the Cartoon of Pisa, circa a.d. 1504. 27. Malcolm. Two studies for the Crucifixion, circa a.d. 1540-47. 28. Malcolm. Study for the figure of Haaman in the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, circa a.d. 1 508-n; also on another drawing in the same Collection, representing soldiers with arquebuses, Sec, of the Medici Tomb period. Also on a study for the figure of Adam on the Sistine ceiling in the Collection of F. Locker, Esq. 29. Malcolm. Study for the Flagellation, for the painting executed by Sebastian del Piombo, circa a.d. 151 1-20. 30. Malcolm. Study of a figure supposed to have been designed for the Last Judgment, circa a.d. 1534-41. 31. Collection of Henry Vaughan, Esq. Sheet of studies for the Infant Saviour in the Bruges Holy Family, and for a figure in the Cartoon of Pisa, circa a.d. 1504. LIST OF PAPER-MARKS. MICHEL ANGELO. 365 32. Vaughan. Study of a figure in the Cartoon of Pisa, circa a.d. 1504. 33. Vaughan. Study for the figure of our Saviour, for a composition of the Resurrection, circa a.d. 1518-20. 34. British Museum Collection. Study of figures, period of the Sistine Ceiling, circa a.d. 1508-11. 35. British Museum. Sheet of architectural studies, Medici Tomb period? circa a.d. 1520-34. 36. British Museum. Sheet of studies of figures, early period. (This mark also occurs in the paper on which some of Andrea Mantegna's engravings are printed.) 37. British Museum. Study for the raising of Lazarus for the picture executed by Sebastian del Piombo, circa a.d. 1 5 19. 38. British Museum. Study of a recumbent figure, &c, period uncertain. 39. British Museum {Buonarroti Correspondence). Letter written apparently from Florence, undated. 40. British Museum {Buonarroti Correspondence). Letter written from Rome, dated 8th March, 15 10; also on a drawing in the Vaughan Collection, a study for the Sistine Chapel ceiling, same period. 41. British Museum {Buonarroti Correspondence). Letter written by Michel Angelo from Bologna whilst he was engaged upon the bronze statue of Julius II for San Petronio, dated Oct. 16, a.d. 1506. 42. British Museum {Buonarroti Correspondence). Letter written from Bologna, dated Jan. 22, a.d. 1506. 43. British Museum {Buonarroti Correspondence). Letter written from Bologna, dated Feb. 1, a.d. 1506. 44. British Museum {Buonarroti Correspondence). Letter written from Bologna, a.d. 1506. 45. British Museum {Buonarroti Correspondence). Letter written from Bologna, dated Dec. 21, a.d. 1507. N.B. This mark of a prelate's hat is seen in the paper on which many engravings by Marc Antonio are printed, it is also found in the paper of the well-known Florentine quattro cento book, illustrated with engravings on copper by Baldini, ' II monte di Santi di dio.' 46. British Museum {Buonarroti Correspondence). Letters 3 66 APPENDIX. from Rome, dated Feb* a.d. 1510, and June 2, and July 4, a.d. 1 5 15. 47. British Museum {Buonarroti Correspondence). Letter dated Oct. 26, a.d. 1520, probably written from Rome. 48. British Museum {Buonarroti Correspondence). Letter written from Rome, May 19, and August 18, a.d. 15 15. 49. British Museum {Buonarroti Correspondence). Letter written from Pietra Santa, April 2, a.d. 1517. (This mark is a monogram composed of the letters P and S. It probably indicates that the paper was made at Pietra Santa. The same mark occurs on certain majolica wares known to have been executed about the above date under the patronage of the Medici family, here- tofore supposed to have been produced at a ' botega ' or manufactory established at Caffaggiolo near Florence.) 50. British Museum {Buonarroti Correspondence). Letter written from Serravezza, August 12, a.d. 1518. 51. British Museum {Buonarroti Correspondence). Letter written from Rome, undated. 52. British Museum {Buonarroti Correspondence). Letter written from Rome, no date. (This mark occurs in the paper on which several of Marc Antonio's engravings are printed.) 53. 54. British Museum {Buonarroti Correspondence). Letters written from Rome, one of them dated Feb. 27, a.d. 1542. 55. British Museum {Buonarroti Correspondence). Letter written from Rome, no date. 56. British Museum {Buonarroti Correspondence). Letter written from Florence a.d. 15 19; and on manuscript memoranda a.d. 1518, 1558. 57. British Museum {Buonarroti Correspondence). Letter written from Florence, Nov. 30, a.d. 1525. 58. British Museum {Buonarroti Correspondence). Letter dated August 24, a.d. 1532. 59. British Museum {Buonarroti Correspondence). Letter from Rome dated August 13, a.d. 1542, and on several others dated the ensuing year a.d. 1543. 60. British Museum {Buonarroti Correspondence). Letter from Rome, dated Jan. 5, a.d. 1545. LIST OF PAPER-MARKS. RAFFAELLO. 367 61. British Museum {Buonarroti Correspondence). Letter from Rome, dated Sept. 26, a.d. 1555. 62. British Museum (Buonarroti Correspondence). Letter from Rome, dated August 9, a.d. 1557. 63. British Museum (Buonarroti Correspondence). Letter from Rome, dated August 17, a.d. 1558. 64. British Museum (Buonarroti Correspondence). Letter undated. 65. British Museum (Buonarroti Correspondence). Letter from Rome, dated a.d. 1547 and 1550. 66. British Museum (Buonarroti Correspondence). Letters from Rome, dated a.d. 1554 and 1555. 67. British Museum (Buonarroti Correspondence). Letter from Rome, dated a.d. 1555. 68. British Museum (Buonarroti Correspondence). Letter from Rome, circa a.d. 1561. 69. British Museum (Buonarroti Correspondence). Letter from Rome, circa a.d. 1561. Raffaello. 70. Oxford Collection. No. 6, study for a Virgin and Child and St. John, circa a.d. 1495-1504. 71. Oxford. No. 15, study of two young men standing, in the costume of the period, circa a.d. 1495-1504. 72. Oxford. No. 17, St. Jerome in penitence, with a view of a city in the background, circa a.d. 1495-1504. 73. Oxford. No. 27, head of a female saint, circa a.d. 1504-8. (See also a similar mark before, No. 41.) 74. Oxford. No. 30, preliminary study for a figure of the Almighty in clouds, circa a.d. 1504-8; also on No. 36, studies of a head and a hand, same period. 75. Oxford. No. 51, seven amorini playing, and a woman carrying a child in her arms, circa a.d, 1508-12. 76. Oxford. Nos. 61 and 62, studies for the Disputa, circa a.d. 1508-11; also No. 133, St. Jerome in penitence, circa a.d. 1517-20; and Malcolm Collection on a study for the Disputa. 77. Oxford. No. 67, sheet of studies for the Disputa, circa 3 68 APPENDIX. a.d. 1508-n; also on another study for the same fresco in the British Museum. 78. Oxford. No. 68, study for the Parnassus; also No. 73, study for the School of Athens, circa a.d. 1 508-11. 79. Oxford. No. 79, study for the figure of Melpomene in the Parnassus, circa a.d. 1508-11. 80. Oxford. No. 96, study for the Phrygian sibyl in the fresco in Santa Maria della Pace, circa a.d. 151 2-1 4. 81. Oxford. No. 135, study of a recumbent figure for a com- position of the Resurrection, circa a.d. 1519-20. 82. Malcolm Collection. No. 159, study for an altar-piece 'a sacra conversazione/ circa a.d. 1500. 83. Malcolm. No. 183, study of a Hercules, circa a.d. 1516-20? 84. Malcolm. No. 187, study of hands for the Transfiguration, circa a.d. 1519-20. 14 376 PAPER-MARKS. RAFFAELLO. The End. -263 2.S3 ,/ 7 ID* & it 1? 31 1)4 f V*. u* ( /< U 2^2 . f. ^ - r. • •* £ . • * 2 «ua. }»f. i*/ Z. W- it o-j