Matteo Rosselli

Harold Day (bears his collector's mark, not in Lugt);
sale, London, Sotheby's 7 December 1987, lot 20;
with David Jones, Paris;
sale, New York, Sotheby's, 14 January 1992, lot 140;
acquired in 1998

 

London, E. Parsons, catalogue 44, no.68, reproduced

This lot was probably once laid down. There are traces of spots and foxing which have been cleaned. Tiny tears and its bottom repaired. The drawing has been cleaned and restored. Chalk slightly rubbed.
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.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Together with Cristofano Allori, Jacopo da Empoli and Lodovico Cigoli, Matteo Rosselli was one of the late sixteenth-century Florentine artists who rejected the elaborate excesses and artifice of late mannerism and moved towards a more natural style which became a hallmark of the Florentine baroque.¹   The key to this change was Rosselli's use of figures studied from life, and the present sheet is a fine example.  The distinctive facial features of the seated figure emphasize that this is not an idealised form, but instead a true representation of a live model, as may also be seen in the other figure study by Rosselli in the Horvitz Collection (lot 41).  A number of other drawings by Rosselli are comparable.  These include a standing, draped male figure in the Palais des Beaux-Arts, Lille,² and a study for the figure of Saint Francis in the Uffizi, Florence.³  Like the Horvitz drawing, both those studies are drawn in the red chalk that was so often Rosselli's medium of choice. 

1. See Gainesville, et al., p. 77

2. See Bellezze di Firenze: Disegni fiorentini del Seicento e del Settecento dal Museo di Belle Arti di Lille, exhibition catalogue, Florence 1991, pp. 76-7, inv. no. 2173

3. See S. Nauburger, 'Early Florentine Baroque Drawings in the Staatliche Graphische Sammlung in Munich', Master Drawings, vol. XX, Autumn 1982,  p. 266, fig. 8