Giovanni Battista Gaulli, il Baciccio* (1639-1709)

A Scene of Martyrdom with a Saint seated on a Pyre, and monks being decapitated in the background (recto); A kneeling Cleric looking to the right (verso)

Details

Giovanni Battista Gaulli, il Baciccio* (1639-1709)
A Scene of Martyrdom with a Saint seated on a Pyre, and monks being decapitated in the background (recto); A kneeling Cleric looking to the right (verso)
black chalk, pen and brown ink, gray wash heightened with whiteon light brown paper
10.1/8 x 13.3/8 in. (257 x 340 mm.)

Provenance

1st Earl of Leicester, and by descent; Christie's London, 2 July 1991, lot 59 (16,500).

Literature

A.E. Popham and C. Lloyd, Old Master Drawings at Holkham Hall, Chicago, 1986, no 127.

Lot Essay

The attribution was first suggested by A.E. Popham. The drawing appears not to be related to any known painting and dates probably from late in the artist's career; it is comparable to lot 57 in the Holkham sale.