Ventura Salimbeni* (1567-1613)

A kneeling Man with another figure who is raising his Arm

Details
Ventura Salimbeni* (1567-1613)
A kneeling Man with another figure who is raising his Arm
signed (?) 'V.S.'
black and white chalk on blue paper
7 7/8 x 9 5/8 in. (200 x 243 mm.)

Lot Essay

The kneeling boy is related to the repoussoir figure in the foreground of the altarpiece The Way to Calvary in the church of Sant'Agostino in Siena (photograph in the Witt Library). The picture, signed and dated 'Opus venturae de Salimbenis senesis 1612', was mentioned by Faluschi (Breve relazione delle cose notabili della città di Siena, Siena, 1784) as begun by Casolani and finished by Salimbeni.
Another drawing by Salimbeni for this altarpiece, very close in style and composition to the present sheet, is in the Uffizi, Florence, P.A. Riedl, Disegni dei Barocceschi senesi, exhib. cat., Gabinetto disegni e stampe degli Uffizi, Florence, 1976, no. 113, fig. 114.
The model for the kneeling boy was probably a garzone from Salimbeni's studio who was depicted as slightly younger in the picture.