Niccolò Martinelli, called Il Trometta

With Alister Mathews, Bournemouth, from whom purchased, 1955 (as Domenichino)

Newcastle, 1974, no. 23, reproduced pl. X;
London, 1975, no. 18;
Newcastle, 1982, no. 13

J.A. Gere, 'Drawings by Niccolò Martinelli, Il Trometta,' Master Drawings, I, no. 4, 1963, pp. 9, 12 and 17, no. 29, reproduced pl. 13 

Laid down on an old mount. Some small losses at the bottom margin. Some creases at the top toward the left corner and one at the bottom corner. The white heightening is oxidised and the ink has sunk into the paper.
"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."

The attribution to Trometta was first suggested by John Gere, who subsequently published the drawing in his informative article on the artist's drawings (loc. cit.).  Gere believed the drawing dated from the later part of the artist's career and to derive from Federico Zuccaro's Raising of the Widow's Son¹ '...in the shape of the composition, in the heavely simplified style of the architecture, and in the relation of the architectural background to the figures....'² He also noted that in later works Trometta's style became less inventive and more dependent on that of more famous artists around him, as Baglione described in his account of Trometta's late years: 'he lived to be seventy; and having lost the reputation he had had as a young man he was condemned to a life of continuous drudgery from which, however, he derived small benefit.'³ Gere stressed the strong stylistic differences between this late work and the early group of studies for the Basilica of S. Maria d'Aracoeli, characterising the former as: '...Trometta reverting to something admired in his youth, rather than evidence of Federico's influence in his formative years.'⁴  Gere also clearly stated that it was Taddeo who played a vital part in the development of Trometta's style.

1. J.A. Gere and P. Pouncey, Artists working in Rome, c. 1550 to c. 1640, London 1983, vol. I, p. 189, no. 297, reproduced vol. II, pl. 283
2. Gere, op. cit., p. 9
3. Ibid., p. 12
4. Ibid., p. 9