Giovanni Balducci

Mario Garilli (his collector's mark, not in Lugt, on the backing sheet)

Laid down. There are damages to the central section of the sheet, possibly from being folded in the past. At the top a strip of paper has been replaced from the top to below the foot of the Christ and the latter head and central section of the body has been redrawn, quite sensibly by a later hand. There are other damages and losses along the central section. The hand of St. Peter has also been redrawn. There is an horizontal crease in the middle. Damages and small losses at the upper corner and some minor losses towards the bottom corners. Some yellow staining towards the right margin below the centre. Some staining also at the bottom of the sheet.
"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 of this drawing to Balducci was first suggested, on stylistic grounds, by Julian Brooks, a proposal that is confirmed by the connection, established by Silvana Musella Guida, with Balducci's decorative scheme in the apse of the Cathedral in Velletri.  This project was instigated by the Cardinal Alfonso Gesualdo (1540-1603), who appears, kneeling in prayer, in the foreground of the present drawing, to the left of the central figure of St. Peter.  The apse fresco for which this very finished study is a modello was seriously damaged during the Second World War, and has since been replaced by a mosaic, a faithful replica of the lost composition.  Although there are several differences in detail between the present sheet and the mosaic, the two compositions are basically the same.  The subject of the lost fresco was Paradise, with Christ and the Virgin in Glory, surrounded by rows of angels, and beneath them six Saints standing on clouds.  

In a publication of 1723, Musella Guida has also discovered a fascinating account of the genesis of this commission and the subsequent decoration.¹  This account relates how Cardinal Gesualdo, having arrived in Velletri in July 1592 to celebrate the Synod, decided to embellish the Cathedral, and hired Giovanni Balducci to paint the decorations in the apse ('Or egli venuto in Velletri nel mese di Luglio 1592 celebro il Sinodo….in oltre datasi ad ornar la Cattedrale fece dipingere tutta la Tribuna del Coro da Giovanni Balducci Fiorentino….).  The work was completed by 1595, the date borne by the now destroyed fresco, which was lavishly inscribed: Alphonsus Episcopus Ostien & Veliter. S. R. E. Cardinalis Gesualdus S. Collegi Decanus faciendum curavit M. DLXXXXV.  The decorations were formally unveiled in January 1596.  The iconography of the apse was described by Nibby in 1849,² who identified the Saints as: Eleuterio, Clemente, Pietro, Paolo, Ponziano and Gualdo.  

Together with Ciampelli, Balducci had moved from Florence to Rome in 1594, at the invitation the Cardinal Alessandro de’ Medici.  Soon afterwards, he accompanied the retinue of Cardinal Gesualdo south to Naples, where he remained for the next thirty years.  In Naples, his Tuscan style was extremely well received.  The discovery of this sheet is an important addition to the corpus of Balducci’s drawings.

¹ A. Borgia, Istoria della chiesa, e città di Velletri descritta in Quattro libri, e dedicata all’Eminentissimo e Reverendissimo Principe il Sig. Cardinale D. Bernardo Conti Fratello del santissimo Padre, e signor Nostro Papa Innocenzo XIII, Nocera 1723, pp. 463-464
² A. Nibby, Analisi storico-topografico-antiquaria della carta de’dintorni di Roma, vol. 3, Rome 1849, pp. 464-465