Federico Zuccaro

M. Delacre (L.747a), his numbering: 588

Unframed. Laid down. The remains of an old horizontal fold at the centre, another (less distinct) just below the upper edge. A slight loss to the upper left corner, and a small tear (and some creasing from the laying down) at the right of the lower edge. A small hole in the arch of the main figure's right foot. A little surface dirt overall, but otherwise the condition is fine.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

We are most grateful to James Mundy for confirming the attribution on the basis of a photograph.  This is one of a number of surviving drawings made in preparation for Federico's fresco of the Raising of Lazarus, in the Grimani Chapel in S. Francesco della Vigna, Venice, which dates from the early 1560s (fig. 1).  Before the present study came to light, the other preparatory drawings were discussed by Mundy in a Master Drawings article in which he presented a study for the group of onlookers at the left of the scene, in an English private collection, and another which has the same composition as the present work, in the Musée des Beaux Arts, Lille.¹  

In a letter dated 19 February 2008, Mundy suggests that the present study and that in the English private collection both represent early stages in the development of the composition (the central figure in the former taking a different form in the finished fresco), and that both could even have once been part of the same sheet.  Furthermore, Mundy notes that the present drawing must be the primary version from which the Lille sheet was copied; as the composition of the latter is slightly more extended to the right, Mundy suggests that the copy was drawn before the present sheet was trimmed.   

Mundy further states that the figure at the centre right of the composition was re-used in Federico's design for Christ Raising the Child of the Widow of Nain, one of the two altarpieces painted by the artist for Orvieto cathedral in 1568.²

1.  J. Mundy, 'Additions to and Observations on Federico Zuccaro's Drawings from the Critical 1560s', in Master Drawings, vol. 43, 2005, no. 2 , pp. 172-177, figs. 15-16

2.  See C. Acidini Luchinat, Taddeo e Federico Zuccari, fratelli pittori del Cinquecento, Milan 1999, p. 38, fig. 79