Lot Essay
This drawing was made after Michelangelo's sculptured figure in the New Sacristy, San Lorenzo, Florence. It has been suggested that it may be by the same hand as another black chalk drawing of the same figure, similarly truncated at the knees but seen from above rather than the side, at Chatsworth, variously attributed to Salviati (M. Jaffé, The Devonshire Collection of Italian Drawings, London, 1994, no. 62, illustrated), or Naldini A. Cecchi, Francesco Morandini detto Il Poppi, Florence, 1995, D.17, pp. 215-6. It remains doubtful, however, whether the two drawings are in fact by the same hand, since the treatment of the light is very different.
It seems likely that the present drawing, certainly by a Florentine artist, was made in front of the original rather than from a reproduction. The angle at which Michelangelo's figure is seen suggests a date for it between 1534, when Michelangelo left Florence for good, and 1545, when the Times of Day were set up on the Medici tomb. In the drawing the sculpture appears to be tilted back rather than set at the descending angle for which it was planned, and at which it was placed, and it is probable that the draughtsman saw it still lying on a trestel on the Sacristy floor. Salviati's copy of the Aurora in the British Museum (1900-8-24-118; J. Wilde, Italian Drawings in the Department of Prints and Drawings in the British Museum, Michelangelo and his Studio, London, 1953, no. 102, illustrated) probably shows it in the same position. The watermark (J. Roberts, A Dictionary of Michelangelo's Watermarks, Milan, 1988, Star C, found on paper used by Michelangelo in 1525), supports the view that the present drawing was made at an early date, which would rule out any of the Florentine artists of the generation of Naldini, Morandini, or Allori, all active as copyists of Michelangelo's work. Nevertheless, since the present sheet appears stylistically close to the work of Allori, it may have been produced in the circle of his master Bronzino. We know from Vasari that Bronzino, together with Battista Franco, made drawings of the New Sacristy sculptures circa 1536-37, and at least one of these copies, probably by Bronzino, survives on the verso of a drawing in Dresden (C.85 verso). We are grateful to Dr. Paul Joannides for his assistance in cataloging this lot.
It seems likely that the present drawing, certainly by a Florentine artist, was made in front of the original rather than from a reproduction. The angle at which Michelangelo's figure is seen suggests a date for it between 1534, when Michelangelo left Florence for good, and 1545, when the Times of Day were set up on the Medici tomb. In the drawing the sculpture appears to be tilted back rather than set at the descending angle for which it was planned, and at which it was placed, and it is probable that the draughtsman saw it still lying on a trestel on the Sacristy floor. Salviati's copy of the Aurora in the British Museum (1900-8-24-118; J. Wilde, Italian Drawings in the Department of Prints and Drawings in the British Museum, Michelangelo and his Studio, London, 1953, no. 102, illustrated) probably shows it in the same position. The watermark (J. Roberts, A Dictionary of Michelangelo's Watermarks, Milan, 1988, Star C, found on paper used by Michelangelo in 1525), supports the view that the present drawing was made at an early date, which would rule out any of the Florentine artists of the generation of Naldini, Morandini, or Allori, all active as copyists of Michelangelo's work. Nevertheless, since the present sheet appears stylistically close to the work of Allori, it may have been produced in the circle of his master Bronzino. We know from Vasari that Bronzino, together with Battista Franco, made drawings of the New Sacristy sculptures circa 1536-37, and at least one of these copies, probably by Bronzino, survives on the verso of a drawing in Dresden (C.85 verso). We are grateful to Dr. Paul Joannides for his assistance in cataloging this lot.