Portrait of Pope Innocent XII in profile

Details

Attributed to Carlo Maratti (Camerano 1625-1713 Rome)
Portrait of Pope Innocent XII in profile
black, red and white chalk on buff paper; sold together with the related medal
8 ¼ in. (20.8 cm) (diam.)
(2)

Special notice

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Sale room notice

Please note that Francesco Petrucci, to whom we are grateful, has suggested an alternative attribution to Giovanni Battista Gaulli, il Baciccio (1639-1709). Two drawings by Baciccio showing popes, also executed in black, red and white chalk, are in the Royal Collection, Windsor (inv. 905531 and 905533).

Brought to you by

Jonathan den Otter

jdenotter@christies.com +44 (0) 207 389 2736

Lot Essay

Pope Innocent XII, born Antonio Pignatelli (1615-1700), was known for his strict morals and staunch battle against nepotism in the Church. The sheet resembles closely his portrait on a medal cast in 1695 signed by the Roman goldsmith Giovanni Martino Hamerano (Fig. 1). While Stella Rudolph attributed the present drawing to Carlo Maratti (letter to the owner, dated 20 November 2009), Simonetta Prosperi Valenti Rodinò believes it is the work of an anonymous Roman artist active in the late 18th Century, suggesting for comparison the works of Guido Ubaldo Abbatini and Giovanni Maria Morandi, who both worked in black and red chalk.

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