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Lot Essay
A study for one of the figures on the balustrade in the background of the Martyrdom of Saint Lawrence, painted by Macchietti in 1573 for the Church of Santa Maria Novella, Florence (fig. 1).
After his early training with Michele Tosini, Macchietti entered Vasari's workshop in 1555 and assisted in the decoration of the Palazzo Vecchio in Florence. After a brief sojourn in Rome, he became a member of the Accademia del Disegno in 1563 and participated in the preparations of the decoration for the wedding of Francesco de'Medici and Giovanna of Austria (1565) in Florence. In 1570-1, Macchietti contributed two paintings for the decoration of the Studiolo of Francesco de'Medici, Medea and Jason and The Baths of Pozzuoli. Soon afterwards he painted the Martyrdom of Saint Lawrence, which proved to be one of the most influential altarpieces paintings of the last quarter of the 16th century in Florence. The diagonal composition and the complex architecture demonstrate Macchietti's knowledge of Venetian art, particularly Titian's altarpieces. After Vasari's death in 1574, Macchietti worked in Tuscany and Naples, and also briefly visited Spain.
The present drawing is closely related to studies of nudes, all executed with red chalk on red prepared paper, for Macchietti's Baths of Pozzuoli in the Louvre, the Princeton University Museum, and the Uffizi, C. Monbeig-Goguel, Vasari et son temps, Paris, 1972, nos. 35-7 and P. Pouncey, Contributo a Girolamo Macchietti, 'Bollettino d'Arte', 1962, I-II, p. 237-40.
We are grateful to Dr. Marta Privitera for connecting the drawing with the painting in Santa Maria Novella.
After his early training with Michele Tosini, Macchietti entered Vasari's workshop in 1555 and assisted in the decoration of the Palazzo Vecchio in Florence. After a brief sojourn in Rome, he became a member of the Accademia del Disegno in 1563 and participated in the preparations of the decoration for the wedding of Francesco de'Medici and Giovanna of Austria (1565) in Florence. In 1570-1, Macchietti contributed two paintings for the decoration of the Studiolo of Francesco de'Medici, Medea and Jason and The Baths of Pozzuoli. Soon afterwards he painted the Martyrdom of Saint Lawrence, which proved to be one of the most influential altarpieces paintings of the last quarter of the 16th century in Florence. The diagonal composition and the complex architecture demonstrate Macchietti's knowledge of Venetian art, particularly Titian's altarpieces. After Vasari's death in 1574, Macchietti worked in Tuscany and Naples, and also briefly visited Spain.
The present drawing is closely related to studies of nudes, all executed with red chalk on red prepared paper, for Macchietti's Baths of Pozzuoli in the Louvre, the Princeton University Museum, and the Uffizi, C. Monbeig-Goguel, Vasari et son temps, Paris, 1972, nos. 35-7 and P. Pouncey, Contributo a Girolamo Macchietti, 'Bollettino d'Arte', 1962, I-II, p. 237-40.
We are grateful to Dr. Marta Privitera for connecting the drawing with the painting in Santa Maria Novella.