The beheading of Saint John the Baptist

Details

ANDREA BOSCOLI (FLORENCE 1560-1607)
The beheading of Saint John the Baptist
with inscription ‘[Ventur]a Salimbeni’ (lower left)
black chalk, pen and brown ink, brown wash
5 ½ x 4 ¼ in. (14 x 10.6 cm)

Provenance

with Nissman, Abromson & Co., Brookline (Italian Drawings 1550-1800, New York, 1989, no. 12, ill.).

Conditions of sale

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Giada Damen, Ph.D. Specialist

gdamen@christies.com +1 212 641 7532

Lot Essay

Two other drawings by Boscoli showing the Beheading of John the Baptist are in the Istituto Nazionale per la Grafica in Rome (inv. FC 130536 and 130564; N. Bastogi, Andrea Boscoli, Florence, 2008, no. 224, ill. and no. 225). Both are similar in size and execution to the present sheet. The artist’s account book records a now lost painting of this subject made for the Florentine goldsmith Orazio Vanni in 1596 (ibid., p. 279, no. 35). It is possible that these drawings were made to plan the composition for the painting.

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