Giovanni Alberti

Hans Calmann;
Yvonne Ffrench, by whom sold to
David Daniels,
his sale, London, Sotheby's, 25 April 1978, lot 11, reproduced

Condition very good, paper strong and clean. Stuck down around edges on strip of mount which leaves verso revealed. Chalk strong.
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 is a particularly strong and vigorous study, showing careful observation of the musculature of the figure in a complex pose.  The recto was identified by Kristina Fiore as preparatory for the youth who supports the coat-of-arms of Pope Clement VIII Aldobrandini in the northeast corner of the ceiling of the Sala Clementina in the Vatican (fig. 1).  The studies on the verso seem to be for the companion figure on the left, but his position is changed in the finished composition.  A more elaborate study for the same figure is in the Ambrosiana, Milan, and bears an old attribution to Giovanni Alberti.¹  Numerous other figure studies for the decoration are known, for example in the Gabinetto Nazionale delle Stampe, Rome, the Ashmolean, the Philadelphia Museum and the Metropolitan Museum.²  The frescoes were commissioned by Pope Clement from Giovanni and Cherubino Alberti in 1596, and seem to have been finished by late 1599.  The section to which this drawing relates bears the date 1597.

 

 

1.  G. Bora, I Disegni del Codice Resta, Bologna 1978, no. 149, reproduced

2.  K. Herrmann-Fiore, Disegni degli Alberti, exhib. cat., Rome, Villa Farnesina, 1983-4, p. 62 ff., and J. Bean, 15th and 16th Century Italian Drawings..., New York 1982, pp. 18-19, nos. 2 and 3, reproduced