Jacopo Ligozzi

Sale, New York, Sotheby's, 26 January 2000, lot 48

Laid down twice, backed with japan paper. Drawn on two joined sheets of paper. Damage and large losses to upper centre and corners, with several vertical tears and creases. Other, much smaller, losses along the lower edge. Lower left qurter with several tears and creases. A matt varnish appears to have been applied to the surface, which has clouded in parts, darkening the brown wash and making the drawing harder to read. Some rubbing of the surface, especially in the background figures. Sold in wood and gilt modern frame.
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.

This unpublished drawings is a modello for Ligozzi's fresco in the north-east corner of the cloister of the Ognissanti, Florence.¹  The painting is the largest in the extensive cycle depicting scenes from the life of St. Francis, which was commissioned from Ligozzi by the Franciscan Order of Florence; the artist worked on this commission, the most important of his career, between 1600 and 1616. 

Other studies for this fresco cycle, mostly in lunette form and smaller than the present work, but also executed as modelli heightened with gold, are in the Uffizi, the Berlin Print Room, Christ Church Picture Gallery, Oxford and the Louvre.²  James Byam Shaw refers to the study in Berlin, for Innocent III granting the Franciscans the right to preach, as being, like the present work 'upright in shape'.³

1.  See A. M. Amonaci et al, Il Chiostro di Ognissanti a Firenze..., Florence 1989, p. 78
2. See F. Viatte, Dessins toscans..., Paris 1988, pp. 141-2, cat. no. 247.
3. See Drawings by Old Masters at Christ Church, Oxford, Oxford 1976, vol. I, p. 87