Lot Essay
Few individual illuminations by Clovio survive, but according to Vasari, he made a miniature of the Pietà for his patron, Cardinal Grimani, which was subsequently owned by Giovanni Gaddi. A further miniature with the Madonna and other figures was presented by Cardinal Alessandro Farnese to Pope Paul IV. A similar work was executed for the Marchesa di Pescara and a replica sent to the Empress by Cardinal Farnese. A signed miniature of the Pietà dated 1553 is in the Uffizi, M. Giononi-Visani, Giorgio Clovio, A miniaturist of the Renaissance, New York, 1980, illustrated p. 63.