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Lot Essay
The drawing can be dated 1550-55 on the basis of the coat-of-arms of Pope Julius III de Monte, holded up by ignudi in two of the four corners. During his short pontificate Pope Julius III had ambitious artistic plans, but only a few projects were realized. As a patron he is primarily known for two Roman projects, both involving the foremost artists of his time. The first is the so-called Cappella del Monte in S. Pietro in Montorio, built and decorated by Vasari and Ammanati under the supervision of Michelangelo, the second is the extensive fresco decoration of his Villa, called Villa Giulia, outside the Porta del Popolo, J. Gere, The Decoration of the Villa Giulia, Burlington Magazine, April 1965, pp. 199-206. Initially Vasari was also put in charge of the Villa but after the completion of the Cappella del Monte in 1552 he left the service of the Pope who, as the artist stated in his autobiography 'was hardly ever satisfied and usually rejected at night the designs which he had already approved in the morning'. Work in the Villa began in the spring of 1553 and was largely finished at the time of the Pope's death in March 1555. The most important artists decorating several rooms with frescoes and stucco friezes were Prospero Fontana and Taddeo Zuccaro, but the young Tibaldi.
The present drawing is most probably a design for a ceiling in one of the rooms in the Villa Giulia. It shows two alternative designs for the fresco and stucco decoration of a ceiling, leaving out the space for the central fresco and the wall paintings. In his book on the artistic patronage of Pope Julius III, Alessandro Nova published a drawing from the so-called Chinnery sketchbook in Sir John Soane's Museum, London, which seems to be by the same hand as the present one, A. Nova, The artistic patronage of Pope Julius III, New York and London, 1988, note to p. 290, fig. 136. The handling of the pen as well as the figure types of the ignudi are almost identical. According to Nova, the London drawing reflects an invention by Tibaldi: and is probably connected with a lost frieze or decoration made for Julius. The figure types are close to Tibaldi's, the drawing, however, does not seem to be by his hand. It also shows the infuence of Vasari's pen and ink drawings. An attribution to Fontana, who was strongly influenced by Vasari, seems possible, drawings by the artist in this linear pen technique, though, are not known to date.
The present drawing is most probably a design for a ceiling in one of the rooms in the Villa Giulia. It shows two alternative designs for the fresco and stucco decoration of a ceiling, leaving out the space for the central fresco and the wall paintings. In his book on the artistic patronage of Pope Julius III, Alessandro Nova published a drawing from the so-called Chinnery sketchbook in Sir John Soane's Museum, London, which seems to be by the same hand as the present one, A. Nova, The artistic patronage of Pope Julius III, New York and London, 1988, note to p. 290, fig. 136. The handling of the pen as well as the figure types of the ignudi are almost identical. According to Nova, the London drawing reflects an invention by Tibaldi: and is probably connected with a lost frieze or decoration made for Julius. The figure types are close to Tibaldi's, the drawing, however, does not seem to be by his hand. It also shows the infuence of Vasari's pen and ink drawings. An attribution to Fontana, who was strongly influenced by Vasari, seems possible, drawings by the artist in this linear pen technique, though, are not known to date.