Giulio Pippi, called Giulio Romano

Jonathan Richardson Senior (L.2184);
Sir Joshua Reynolds (L.2364);
John MacGowan (L.1496, verso);
Sir Thomas Lawrence (L.2445);
Lord Francis Egerton, 1st Earl of Ellesmere (L.2710b);
by descent to the 5th Earl of Ellesmere, 6th Duke of Sutherland,
his sale, London, Sotheby's, The Ellesmere Collection, Part II, 5 December 1972, lot 15;
sale, London, Sotheby's, 9 April 1981, lot 75, purchased by Ralph Holland

 

Newcastle, 1982, no. 5

Catalogue of the Ellesmere Collection of Drawings at Bridgewater House, London 1898, no. 167;
F. Hartt, Giulio Romano, New Haven 1958, vol. I, pp. 251 and 308, no. 358;

The drawing is silhouetted and laid down on another sheet of paper. Overall the condition is very good. The pen and ink is still strong and sheet relatively free of staining.
"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."

Hartt discussed this drawing in connection with others of children which he suggested are all studies for tombs (his nos. 357, 359 and 360).¹  He provided a possible dating for them of 1540-46, placing them as late works in Giulio Romano's oeuvre.  As noted in the Ellesmere sale catalogue, however, Michael Hirst believed this to be an early work, executed shortly after Giulio's arrival in Mantua, making a comparison with Mantegna's Christ Child in the National Galley of Art, Washington.²  Ralph Holland's notes indicate that he felt this drawing was more likely to be a birth-portrait, suggesting that it may have been of a Gonzaga princeling.  Holland compares it to the portrait drawing of Ottavio Leone's son in the Ashmolean Museum³, which adopts the same formula of an upright infant in swaddling clothes.

1.  Hartt, op. cit., vol. I, p. 251 and 252, figs. 513 and 509, reproduced vol II
2.  Washington, D.C., National Gallery of Art; Inv. no. 1952.5.67
3.  Oxford, Ashmolean Museum; Inv. no.  WA1959.64.