Studies of a reclining Female Nude, seen from Behind

Details

CESARE MARIANI (1826-1901)
Studies of a reclining Female Nude, seen from Behind
signed in pen and black ink 'Cesare Mariani' (lower right)
black and white chalk on blue paper
12 7⁄8 x 17 1⁄8 in. (33 x 43.5 cm.)

Provenance

Giovanni Piancastelli (1845-1926), Rome.
Probably Edward Brandegee (1857-1933) and Mary Brandegee (1871-1956), Brookline, MA.
The Revd. Francis Agius (1891-1958), Inwood, New York.
Shepherd Gallery, New York.
John Richardson (1924-2019), New York.
Anonymous sale; Christie's, New York, 22 May 1997, lot 62.
Anonymous sale; Christie’s, New York, 31 January 2019, lot 93.
Acquired at the above sale.

Literature

G. di Domenico Cortese and L. Barroero, Mostra delle opera del pittore Cesare Mariani (1826-1901) conservate nel Museo di Roma, exh. cat., Rome, Museo di Roma, Palazzo Braschi, 1977, p. 61, under no. 219.

Exhibited

New York, Shepherd Gallery, Italian 19th Century Drawings & Watercolors. An Album: Camuccini & Minardi To Mancini & Balla, 1976, no. 101, ill..
Washington, National Gallery of Art, and elsewhere, Italian Drawings 1780-1890, 1980-1981, no. 67 (lent by John Richardson).

Conditions of sale

Brought to you by

Leo Webster Specialist

lwebster@christies.com +44 (0)20 7389 2013

Lot Essay

An admired fresco painter active in Rome, Mariani became the drawing teacher of King Vittorio Emanuele III of Savoy (1869-1947). He favoured vibrant bright blue paper for his life sketches. This sheet studies a nude female from three angles, as well as details of her feet. The pentimenti suggest the artist initially sketched the model and then later returned to rework her figure, particularly in the highly finished drawing at the bottom of the composition.

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