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Lot Essay
The present sheet and the following lot are both related to the Supper at Emmaus in the Schnborn collection at Pommersfelden, one of Strozzi's most famous compositions, L. Mortari, Bernardo Strozzi, Rome, 1995, no. 255. Strozzi executed several versions, the first of which, at the Muse des Beaux-Arts, Grenoble, was painted in Genoa about 1630, before the artist's departure for Venice, M.C. Galassi, Bernardo Strozzi. Genova 1581/82-Venezia 1644, exhib. cat., Palazzo Ducale, Genoa, 1995, no. 50. After his arrival in Venice about 1633, Strozzi painted a second version, the one at Pommersfelden. The two drawings therefore date from the artist's Venetian period, and were kept in Strozzi's studio, the contents of which were acquired by the Venetian senator Antonio Sagredo.
The present sheet, the larger of the two drawings, matches the figure of Christ in the Schnborn painting down to the smallest detail: the position of Christ's hands holding the bread, the hair curling around His right ear, the shape of the tear in His garment, and the chair's arm terminating in a downward scroll.
The smaller drawing is a more precise study of Christ's profile. Here Strozzi clearly defines the eyes, the open mouth, the beard and the long curling hair.
The existence of these drawings and of a third of the two hands of Christ, all from the Sagredo collection, show Strozzi's assimilation of Venetian studio practice. Like Veronese, who used members of his family to execute ricordi of the pictures, Strozzi drew details of his most popular compositions. These drawings were used by his workshop for further replicas. Luisa Mortari lists altogether seventeen painted versions of the subject, op. cit., nos. 243-60.
The larger drawing emphasizes the dramatic position of the hands that Strozzi studied in the third drawing, P. Scarpa, op. cit., p. 399. This constitutes the essential difference between the Genoese and the Venetian versions. The first shows Christ's hands resting on the table and holding a loaf of bread, with the two disciples just about to recognize Him. In the later picture Strozzi represents the moment immediately after recognition, thus intensifying the drama of the story. Christ has just broken the loaf into in two pieces. His arms are raised and ready to offer the bread to His disciples who have now recognized Him.
All known drawings by Strozzi come from the Sagredo albums. A few of them are now at the Accademia Carrara, Bergamo, while others were taken to Lyon by the painter Jean-Jacques de Boissieu during the Napoleonic period. Later dispersed, some drawings appeared in the Dhikeos collection and were sold to the Louvre, Paris, Muse du Louvre, Acquisitions du Cabinet des Dessins 1973-1983, 1984, nos. 36-41. Other drawings by Strozzi, sold by a descendant of Boissieu, were sold at Christie's Monaco, 2 July 1993, lot 38-41, illustrated.
The present sheet, the larger of the two drawings, matches the figure of Christ in the Schnborn painting down to the smallest detail: the position of Christ's hands holding the bread, the hair curling around His right ear, the shape of the tear in His garment, and the chair's arm terminating in a downward scroll.
The smaller drawing is a more precise study of Christ's profile. Here Strozzi clearly defines the eyes, the open mouth, the beard and the long curling hair.
The existence of these drawings and of a third of the two hands of Christ, all from the Sagredo collection, show Strozzi's assimilation of Venetian studio practice. Like Veronese, who used members of his family to execute ricordi of the pictures, Strozzi drew details of his most popular compositions. These drawings were used by his workshop for further replicas. Luisa Mortari lists altogether seventeen painted versions of the subject, op. cit., nos. 243-60.
The larger drawing emphasizes the dramatic position of the hands that Strozzi studied in the third drawing, P. Scarpa, op. cit., p. 399. This constitutes the essential difference between the Genoese and the Venetian versions. The first shows Christ's hands resting on the table and holding a loaf of bread, with the two disciples just about to recognize Him. In the later picture Strozzi represents the moment immediately after recognition, thus intensifying the drama of the story. Christ has just broken the loaf into in two pieces. His arms are raised and ready to offer the bread to His disciples who have now recognized Him.
All known drawings by Strozzi come from the Sagredo albums. A few of them are now at the Accademia Carrara, Bergamo, while others were taken to Lyon by the painter Jean-Jacques de Boissieu during the Napoleonic period. Later dispersed, some drawings appeared in the Dhikeos collection and were sold to the Louvre, Paris, Muse du Louvre, Acquisitions du Cabinet des Dessins 1973-1983, 1984, nos. 36-41. Other drawings by Strozzi, sold by a descendant of Boissieu, were sold at Christie's Monaco, 2 July 1993, lot 38-41, illustrated.